The Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) has reported that the number of boats landing fish increased in the past week. According to statistics, more than 370 boats landed fish at MIFCO during the past week.
Statistics released by the state-owned fishing company MIFCO show that the number of boats landing fish at MIFCO has increased, and the amount of money disbursed to fishermen has also risen. As such, 379 boats landed fish at MIFCO in the past week, which is a 55.9 percent increase compared to the number of boats that landed fish at MIFCO in the previous week. In the week before that, 243 boats had landed fish at MIFCO.
According to the statistics, a total of 24,030,291 Rufiyaa was disbursed for the fish landed by fishermen in the past week. This is a 112.6 percent increase compared to the 11,300,377 Rufiyaa disbursed to fishermen in the previous week.
The highest amount of money was disbursed to fishermen on Monday of the past week. On that day, 75 boats landed fish at MIFCO, and a total of 5,156,362 Rufiyaa was disbursed to fishermen.
In line with President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s pledge, payments for fish landed by fishermen are being disbursed within 48 hours. This pledge was implemented starting from the past Fishermen’s Day. The government has stated that the number of boats going out for fishing has increased with the new system.
With the regular cash payments to fishermen, the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) statistics show that the number of boats going out for fishing has increased, and the volume of fish exports has also risen. According to MMA’s Monthly Statistics Report, 38,800 metric tons of fish were exported from the Maldives in the first 5 months of this year. During the same period in 2024, 23,356 metric tons of fish were exported. This represents a 66% increase.
The most exported fish from the Maldives were chilled and fresh tuna. In the first 5 months of this year, 35,260 metric tons of fish were exported. During the same period last year, 19,689 metric tons of fish were exported. This represents a 79% increase. The government’s goal is to further expand the fishing industry and make it one of the largest revenue-generating industries for the Maldives. As such, work is ongoing to develop fishing facilities to resolve issues faced by the fishing industry within the first 3 years of the government.
