Govt. permits commercial fishing amid travel ban

The government of Maldives has decided to permit fishermen to head out to sea at a time when the whole country is in a state of lockdown.

The move by the Fisheries Ministry comes after the government moved to restrict non-essential travel between all islands of the country. The order by the authorities does not apply for commercial fishermen who will be allowed to head out to sea for work. However, fishermen are still not allowed to disembark their vessels to an island or islands where their catch is weighed. The vessel and fishermen are also required to head back to the belonging island afterward.

Fisheries Ministry stated that further details regarding this would be provided by the Health Protection Agency duly and requested everyone to follow the instructions of the authorities.

it was announced last night that the government was banning non-essential travel between islands across the country from 18:00 onwards tomorrow.

The statement also read that essential travels such as cargo supplies are to be carried out under the instructions of the council. The order also announced a ban on public gatherings of any kind on any island. Activities such as Maahefun, parties and ceremonies, trips, swimming and other such activities involving sports as well as other community activities are also banned.

Other than this, the HPA announcement also requested islands to:

• To quickly inform the HPA if a suspected case or symptoms of Covid-19 are noticed or identified from an individual that may have traveled to the island from Male', a resort or safari.
• To practice social distancing and follow the instructions of the authorities at all times as well during visits outdoors for essential purposes.