Fishing in the Maldives has experienced a significant decline, leading to a shortage of fish and fish products in retail stores. The Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company Ltd (MIFCO) has acknowledged receiving numerous complaints regarding the scarcity of fish products.
MIFCO attributed the low stocks to a considerable reduction in fishing activity and the amount of fish being supplied to them. “The fish stocks in MIFCO’s fish stores are currently scarce or empty due to the decline in fishing in the country and the decrease in the number of fish weighed to the company,” MIFCO stated.
A fisherman from a southern island explained that the decline in fishing is due to the drastic reduction in fish caught and the government’s reduction in the rate at which they purchase fish. “With the low number of fish caught, fishermen are not going out as they cannot make ends meet with the money they earn from weighing the small amount of fish,” he said. Many fishermen are refraining from fishing due to the price reduction, despite President Muizzu’s campaign promise to maintain the fish purchasing price at no less than MVR 20 per kilogram and ensure prompt payment within 48 hours. Recently, the government reduced the fish purchasing price to MVR 15 per kilogram.It has been reported that some fishermen have not gone fishing for over a month.
Currently, the price of fish in the international market ranges between MVR 18-20 per kilogram. Experts have called for aligning the price of fish to market levels. However, due to this action not being implemented, there are often delays in payments for fish purchased from fishermen. Since the beginning of the current administration, fishermen have staged several protests over the issue of delayed payments.
