Regular and timely payments to local fishermen has revitalised the flailing fishing industry, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has said.
Outlining ongoing efforts to enhance the fisheries industry, the President noted that his Administration’s highest priority was to settle payments to fishermen within 48 hours.
When this Administration took office in November 2023, arrears to local fishermen amounted to around USD 15 million, which the President said has now been cleared.
"Since the arrears were cleared, USD 31.6 million has now been paid to fishermen. In total, USD 103 million has been disbursed since we took over the government. That includes fuel subsidies,” he detailed.
According to the President, the number of fishing vessels heading out to sea has increased since payments to fishermen have been regularised, while the country has seen increased investments in the fishing industry.
In addition to timely payments to fishermen, the government is also working to develop the industry including capacity building initiatives.
"When we took over, we had a cold storage capacity of 9,500 tonnes. If the planned projects are carried out properly, increasing the cold storage capacity to 25,000 tonnes is an achievable target. It is not what I pledged. The pledge was to double the cold storage capacity,” he said.
In addition to the establishment of cold storage facilities, the President said that a lot of work will be done to develop the processing capacity.
The President said that projects are underway to increase the processing capacity to 250 tonnes. Work is also underway to increase the production capacity by another 500 tonnes, he added.