Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company Limited (MIFCO) has settled around USD24.6 million to local fishermen in the first quarter of the year, the State-owned fisheries firm’s figures have shown.
When this Administration took office in November 2023, arrears to local fishermen amounted to around USD15 million.
Despite some initial setbacks, this Administration has gradually settled the arrears.
On last year’s Fishermen’s Day, celebrated on 10 December, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu had announced that his Administration had now made arrangements to settle payments to fishermen within 48 hours.
True to the President’s pledge, MIFCO is now depositing payments to fishermen well within 48 hours.
According to the MIFCO’s statistics, USD11.5 million was settled in January, USD7.8 million in February while March saw USD5.3 million in payments to fishermen.
The considerable drop in March was down to less fishing vessels heading out to sea during the Holy month of Ramadan.
MIFCO has highlighted the assistance and cooperation from the Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources along with Bank of Maldives (BML) in the efforts to deposit payments to fishermen within 48 hours of purchases.
This Administration since taking over, has initiated significant efforts to enhance and diversify the country’s fisheries industry. The government has pledged to alleviate the issues faced by local fishermen within the next two years.