President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has stated the government will always work to address the concerns of fishermen and increase profits for them. He made the remark in a tweet posted commemorating National Fishermen's Day which is celebrated on December 10 every year.
Commemorating the day, President Solih extended his best wishes to fishermen and all those involved in the fisheries industry. The government is working to take immediate steps to address the problems faced by the fishermen. As such, a vessel with a storage capacity of 100 tonnes and a 300-tonne capacity vessel was procured for storage, and a 2,400 tonnes reefer carrier was also procured for the exportation of fish. In addition, the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company Limited (MIFCO) purchased three more vessels to increase its fish processing capacity.
Fishermen have faced challenges in processing their catch due to the current fish processing capacity being inadequate during the high season. The government has also launched major projects to upgrade the fish purchasing centres operated by MIFCO in order to solve the issues faced by fishermen.
Moreover, the government is working to establish ice plants across the country to make ice easily available for fishermen. As such, ice plants are already operated on 20 islands in the country.