The fisher community in the south of Maldives have said that they would not stop protesting and demanding against the seizure of the millions in due for their catch, weighed at MIFCO’s factory in Hulhumeedhoo district of southernmost Addu City.
Fishermen in the southernmost city have been gathered near the MIFCO fish factory since Friday, protesting against the delay in settling their dues.
Fishermen in Addu City have been voicing concern against the failure to settle their dues by MIFCO even after several days of weighing their catch.
The fishermen have also been complaining that they cannot go for fishing anymore, as long as the debt is not settled.
The community of fishers has been demanding the government to pay up for the weighed catch.
They have also been demanding to meet Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Resources Ahmed Shiyam and ensure the other concerns of fishermen are resolved.
However, even after 24 hours since the protests began, fishermen noted that their concerns have not been addressed and that they have not heard anything from the government.
Taking to social media platform ‘X’ regarding the protest, Shiyam stated that the government has been closely monitoring the ongoing protest at Addu Fisheries Complex and that they are listening to the fishermen. He also stated they have been sharing details of the work being done by MIFCO and the government in connection with this issue.
However, fishermen have confirmed that they haven’t heard a single word from the government, regarding their demands.
The fishermen protesting at Hulhumeedhoo MIFCO fish factory said that the fishermen did not come there to confront the government and the police, rather to demand their rights.
Stressing that as part of the government's promises to come to power, the fishermen were promised that they would receive the money within 48 hours of catching according to President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, however, protesting fishermen in Addu city highlighted that so far, the fishermen have only received their dues by protesting from in several regions.
The protesting fishermen say that the government has millions to pay for each boat in terms of the amount of money they have to pay for the weighed fish.
However, they stressed that the government has only been paying the boats about MVR 100,000 each, and that once distributed among the crew, they had nothing left to spend it on after paying the required bills and covering other necessary expenses.
The incumbent administration came under fire after fishermen from several regions nationwide began protesting against the government’s failure to deliver on its promises made to the fishers’ community of Maldives, earlier this month.
The protests were held in the Kanneli Jetty Area of capital Malé City’s suburban extension Hulhumalé as well as Huvadhu Atoll, one of the largest fishing atolls in the island nation.
Bodu Kanneli Masveringe Union (BKMU), a trade union of yellowfin tuna fishermen, had voiced concerns regarding the prices of fishermen’s catch, as well as the government’s failure to deliver on the pledges made to them before coming into power.
