MIFCO to issue pending payments to fishermen following protest in Kooddoo

Following a protest by fishermen from Kooddoo island over delay in payment, Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) has said that pending payments will be issued on Sunday.

While a number of fishermen are to have taken part in the strike, MIFCO’s chief executive officer Ismail Fauzy admitted to the delay in providing payments.

However, Fauzy said that the only pending payments are to boats from which they had fish from, between 3-20 August.

Noting that this is about MVR 41 million, he added that they will begin issuing these payments on Sunday.

Noting that they had attempted to discuss the issue with the protestors, Fauzy said that they were told that the protest will only be stopped after they receive all pending payments.

The CEO also expressed concern over major cashflow constraints with having to export fish at below the purchase price due to the significant drop in demand for fish in the global market following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking to RaajjeMV, Fisheries Minister Zaha Waheed expressed disappointment over the protest, noting that participants had violated the Health Protection Agency (HPA)’s safety guidelines.

Also accepting the delay in making payments, the minister said that they are “doing everything possible to resolve the issue.”