Shiyam: This will be last year fishermen wait in queue

Fisheries Minister Ahmed Shiyam said on Tuesday that 2025 will be the last year that fishermen need to wait in queues to sell their catch.

Shiyam, who attended the Parliament to answer questions from lawmakers on Tuesday morning, Shiyam said that fishermen are forced to wait in queues to sell their catch because past administrations failed to make any effort to eliminate queues.

He said that the efforts by the incumbent administration will ensure that fishermen are able to sell their catch with convenience in the future.

“They are issued a queue number. Fishing boats are assigned a queue number after they call and say they are on their way with some 40 or 50 tons of catch. But once they arrive at the harbor it becomes apparent, they have 20 tons. So, the boat in second place is moved up in the queue,” he said.

“In Sha Allah, this will be the last year that fishermen need to wait in queue. This queue will be eliminated with the implementation of the government’s developmental plan or through our efforts to develop the fisheries sector."

Shiyam said that the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) has a daily capacity of 420 metric tons. But he said that many of the ‘Jazeera’ series of ships procured by the former administration were grounded.

He said that MIFCO is repairing ‘Jazeera 2’ and ‘Jazeera 3’, and expect to make it operational in the next two days.

“…When this happens, it will significantly lower queue time. MIFCO currently purchases full 420 tons, and even 450 tons on some days,” he said.