Minister of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture Zaha Waheed has stated all the regulations which need to be enacted under the new Fisheries Act have been completed.
Speaking at the Parliament of the Maldives, Fisheries Minister Zaha Waheed said 7 regulations under the Fisheries Act have been published in the Government Gazette, including the general fisheries regulation, regulation on preventing Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, regulation on taking administrative measures and imposing fines with respect to the Fisheries Act, regulation on approving fisheries projects, regulation on the procedure to be followed in permitting fisheries-related activities, regulation on controlling the price of fish and the aquaculture regulation. She said the last regulation which needs to be enacted under the Act, which is the research permit regulation, has also been completed and submitted to the President’s Office.
The minister further noted the management plans which are required to be formulated under the Fisheries Act have also been completed. She said the management plans will also be published in the gazette very soon. She added all the regulations and plans have been formulated with input from stakeholders of the industry.
The fisheries minister has come under criticism by several parliamentarians for the delays in enacting the regulations under the Fisheries Act. As such, a motion was filed at the relevant parliament committee regarding the minister’s failure to fulfill her responsibilities.