Rescue diving training program for fishermen commences

A rescue diving program – with aim the of certifying one crew member in each fishing vessel in the Maldives as a rescue diver – has commenced on Friday.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, at the recommendation of his cabinet, decided to implement a rescue diving training program for fishermen at the state’s expense on December 25^th.

The current administration’s first 100-day roadmap, ‘Hafutha 14’ includes providing a special training program to ensure that at least one crew member of every fishing boat is certified as a rescue diver.

The training program launched on Friday at GDh. Madaveli.

Speaking to Sun regarding the program – Fisheries Minister Ahmed Shiyam said it is the first batch that has commenced the training at Madaveli today.

He said President Muizzu’s vision is to ensure that at least one crew member of every fishing boat is certified as a rescue diver by the end of his five-year term.

The Minister underscored that fishermen, in the course of the operations, dive, during which devastating accidents have occurred. He cited the main reason behind this as they lack the proper training to actually dive. Therewith, he stressed the importance of each fishing vessel having a certified diver.

In this trajectory, he said participants will be trained to attend to diving incidents through this program. They will also be taught to provide first aid in case of decompression and administer oxygen.

Minister Shiyam said the target is to complete these efforts within two years and including the completion of this program as a requirement when issuing the fishermen’s license.