Statistics from the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) show that 6.3 million rufiyaa was disbursed for fish sold by fishermen last week. During the past past week, 160 vessels sold fish to MIFCO. According to the statistics released by the state-owned fishing company MIFCO, while 160 vessels sold fish to MIFCO last week, this is a 26.6 percent decrease compared to the number of vessels that sold fish to MIFCO the previous week. In the week before, 218 vessels had sold fish to MIFCO.
While the number of vessels selling fish to MIFCO has decreased, the amount of money disbursed to fishermen last week has also decreased. As such, a total of 6,374,926 rufiyaa was disbursed to fishermen last week. This is a 32.1 percent decrease compared to the 9,390,235 rufiyaa disbursed to fishermen the week before.
According to MIFCO’s statistics, the highest amount of money was disbursed to fishermen last Friday during the past week. On that day, 34 vessels sold fish to MIFCO, and a total of 1,476,368 rufiyaa was disbursed to those vessels. Advancing the fishing industry of the Maldives is an important vision prioritized by the current government. To achieve this vision, the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources has now initiated a special training program to generate interest in fishing among youth and to bring young people into the fishing sector.
Fish products constitute the largest share of goods exported from the Maldives. Increasing the income from Maldivian fisheries and enhancing the industry’s contribution to the economy is a goal of the government. To achieve this, efforts are underway to increase fish processing capacity and fish storage capacity. The government’s aim is to increase fish processing capacity by 9 times within 3 years, as stated by the Ministry of Fisheries.
