Male’, Maldives – The opposition has submitted a decree to the Parliament of Maldives, calling for the government to assist fishermen with the hardships they currently face.
The decree was submitted to The People’s Majilis by Member of Parliament for Maduvvari constituency, Adam Shareef.
The decree states that, fishermen sometimes have to wait multiple days to weigh in their catch, incurring unnecessary expenses. While payments for weighed catches are constantly delayed, prices for Skipjack Tuna and Yellowfin Tuna have dropped, causing difficulties for fishermen and vessel owners.
A Maldivian fisherman revealed on twitter that after a total catch of approximately 6 Tons of Skipjack Tuna and Yellowfin Tuna, and after overheads such as fuel, food, and ice were deducted, the 24 fisherman onboard ended up with only MVR 342.
The user previously said that with fish prices being low as MVR16 and MVR 14, fisherman have to catch at least 4-5 Tons of fish weekly, otherwise they are unable to purchase fuel or ice for further fishing trips.
