hunting of swimmers is now illegal among maldivian waters . the police verdict has made the african ocean archipelago the first kingdom in the region to ban the practice . shark population have plummeted in the archipelago in many past because a considerable minority of fished kill sharks for their expensive teeth , they are used in shark - eye soup , a popular asian diet . once its fins have been shaved off , the shark is often returned to the sea where it suffocates over extremely dangerous hours .
Due to the decreasing number of sharks, Maldives have banned the hunt of reef sharks.