An emergency motion has been submitted to the Parliament today which highlights several concerns raised by fishermen across the country.
The motion was submitted to the parliament by the MP for Naifaru Constituency Ahmed Shiyam who called on authorities to avail the complaints raised by fishermen.
Speaking after submitting the motion, MP Shiyam said that while fishing has been relatively better these days, fishermen are raising concerns because they have to wait in queues for days to end before they are able to weigh their catch and are not getting the deserved value for their catch.
The MP further said that the fishermen are desperate because it was becoming increasingly difficult to find ice to store fish and petrol to fuel their vessels while they are unable to sell their catch at a reasonable price.
Shiyam said that while the price of fish had been moderated, this had led to fishing vessels earning less and finding it difficult to manage costs during a season where fishing is good across the country.
He also said that fishermen are complaining that the government knows their predicament and is still unwilling to do anything to ease their woes.
The MP highlighted that the government had no intention to develop ice plants and local fish factories as stipulated in the Fisheries Act and that the government had been unable to find a solution for the issues in the last four years.
He also mentioned that many foreign vessels had been entering Maldivian waters and while they are using nets to catch fish, adequate actions have not been taken against such vessels. He added that this was another point of despair for local fishermen.
Out of the MPs present at the parliamentary session today, 25 MPs voted to debate the motion while 4 voted against it One MP abstained from voting on the motion.
