President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has given assurance that he will find solutions to fishermen’s concerns in collaboration with boat captains. He said this during a meeting held at the President’s Office to discuss the concerns of boat captains. President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said that in the meeting with boat captains, they expressed happiness that the issues they raised in the previous meeting with him were accepted and are being addressed. He also said that the boat captains noted that with the introduction of paying for fish within 48 hours, the industry has seen progress and more youth are entering the field.
The boat captains shared their concerns during this meeting. They requested to change the fish price to 20 rufiyaa as per the government’s promise, to facilitate easy access to fuel for fishermen from MIFCO, and to switch to using digital scales for weighing fish. Additionally, they proposed increasing fish aggregating devices, expanding fish weighing locations, and establishing a system for daily payment for fish caught. Providing information to PSM News about this meeting, the Vice President of the Boat Captains’ Lobby, Azvad Farooq, said that many challenges faced by fishermen and their families were shared with the President. Azvad also said that the President gave assurance that he will find solutions to the fishermen’s concerns as per his promise.
“The President himself promised today that he will always work closely [with us]. So the hope is that things will always turn out well for us,” said the Vice President of the Boat Captains’ Lobby. In the meeting with boat captains, the President assured that he will increase the fish buying price to 20 rufiyaa as promised. He also mentioned that work is being done to provide daily payments for fish and that digitizing the entire fishing industry is a goal. Furthermore, he noted that bank loans have now started and said he will work to make it more accessible. The President also assured that he will proceed with and complete the work of increasing ice plants as mentioned in the Presidential Address.
