Fish on the menu in the Maldives: what you are eating

On a coral island with little farmland, the sea has always been the larder, and that still shows in daily food. Breakfast, lunch, tea-time snacks and dinner can all include tuna in some form: fresh, dried, smoked or as a paste.

Fishing is also one of the country’s oldest industries and, after tourism, one of its most important.

Skipjack (kanduli)

Skipjack is the everyday fish of the Maldives. It is a small, fast tuna with darker, richer flesh than the big steaks you may know from home. It goes into curries, soups, breakfast dishes and most short eats.

According to the Maldives’ national report to the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, skipjack made up about 81% of the country’s tuna landings in 2023, and around 99% of that skipjack was caught by pole and line. That is a method where crews throw live bait to bring a school to the surface and then hook fish one by one with short poles. It is slow work, but it means very little bycatch. Read more in our guide to pole-and-line tuna fishing.

Yellowfin (kanneli)

Yellowfin is the larger tuna, with paler, firmer flesh. It made up the other 19% or so of tuna landings in 2023, and most of it is caught by handline. In cafés you will usually see it as a grilled steak, in sashimi-style dishes, or cubed in a curry. If a menu just says “tuna steak”, it is almost certainly yellowfin.

How tuna turns up on your plate

Tuna comes in many forms, sometimes several in one meal:

• Fresh – grilled, fried or in a curry such as mas riha.
• Boiled into broth – garudhiya, the clear fish soup eaten with rice, lime and chilli.
• Smoked and dried – valhoamas (see below), flaked into dishes.
• Canned – shredded tuna mixed with coconut, onion and chilli in mas huni, the classic breakfast.
• As a paste – rihaakuru, a thick, salty paste made by slowly boiling down tuna stock.
• In snacks – hedhikaa such as gulha, masroshi and kulhi boakiba nearly all hide tuna inside.

Valhoamas, often called “Maldive fish” abroad, is the traditional way of keeping tuna without a fridge. The fish is cleaned and cut, boiled in salted water, then smoked and dried until the pieces are very hard. It keeps for a long time without refrigeration, which made it a valuable trade good in the past.

In the kitchen it is grated or flaked and used like a seasoning: a little gives curries, sambols and rice dishes a deep, savoury taste.

If you are vegetarian, this is the hidden ingredient to watch for. Many dishes that look plant-based, including some vegetable curries and sambols, are seasoned with dried fish or rihaakuru. Our vegetarian and vegan food guide has tips on asking.

Most tuna is caught out at sea, but reef fish are caught in and around the atolls. In Maldivian homes they are eaten less often than tuna; in tourist cafés and at beach barbecues they are more common. The names you will see most are groupers and snappers, both firm white fish, often grilled whole or as fillets. Other reef fish are often sold simply as “reef fish” or “catch of the day”, so ask what it is.

A whole grilled fish with garlic, chilli and lime is a very good meal. Just know that some reef species are under pressure, which brings us to the rules.

Groupers and size limits

Groupers are long-lived, slow to mature and gather in predictable spots to spawn, which makes them easy to overfish. The Ministry of Fisheries’ Grouper Fishery Management Plan, introduced in December 2020, set minimum landing sizes for 23 grouper species, based on research by the Maldives Marine Research Institute. It is illegal to catch, keep, land or export these groupers below their size limits. The institute had found that most of the highly valued groupers being landed were immature.

For you, the practical point is simple. A small, plate-sized grouper served whole is worth questioning. A larger fish served as fillets is more likely to have been caught legally.

Some animals are protected by law in the Maldives. If you see any of these offered as food, do not order it, and you can politely mention that it is protected.

Parrotfish deserve a special mention. They graze algae off coral and grind dead coral into the fine white sand of Maldivian beaches. Protecting them protects the reef. Our guide to reef fish explains why these animals matter so much alive.

Lobster is a grey area. The export of lobster, Napoleon wrasse and triton shells is prohibited under Maldivian fisheries regulations, and local stocks are limited. If you do order it, avoid very small ones.

Menus on local islands are usually in English, and staff are used to questions such as:

• “Is this skipjack or yellowfin?” – useful if you prefer the richer or the milder taste.
• “Was it caught today?” – on many islands the answer is genuinely yes.
• “What kind of reef fish is it?” – if the answer is parrotfish, choose something else.
• “Is there fish in this?” – ask about sambols, curries and rice if you avoid fish.

Useful words: “mas” is fish, “kanduli” skipjack and “kanneli” yellowfin.

At tourist cafés, a 10% service charge and 17% tourism GST are commonly added to the bill, so check the menu notes.

Watching the catch come in is one of the best free experiences in the Maldives.

• In Malé, the fish market is a busy, working place where tuna is landed, sold and cleaned. Go in the afternoon, keep clear of the knives and ask before taking photos.
• On a local island, ask around the harbour. On Dhiffushi, for example, you can see the day’s catch at the local minimarts and fish market, and island cafés serve it grilled or curried.
• On the water, some local islands run evening line-fishing trips where the catch is grilled afterwards. Dhiffushi’s night fishing and beach barbecue is one example. Return small fish and anything protected to the water.

A few simple habits help keep fish on Maldivian plates for generations to come:

• Choose tuna first. Pole-and-line skipjack is a highly selective fishery.
• Be curious about reef fish. Ask what it is and roughly how big it was.
• Skip anything protected. Parrotfish, sharks, rays, turtles and Napoleon wrasse should never be on a plate.
• Don’t buy shells, coral or turtle products as souvenirs. Many marine products need a permit to leave the country, and some are banned outright.
• Eat local. Simple Maldivian dishes in local cafés usually use tuna caught nearby and support island families.

For more on caring for the reefs while you are here, see our responsible travel guide and Maldivian food: dishes to try.