The Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company Limited (MIFCO) has announced plans to bring in three additional fish processing vessels in August.
MIFCO acquired four vessels to increase its fish processing capacity, and one of the vessels was brought to the Maldives in April. The vessel, called Jazeera 103, has a brine freezing capacity of 120MT and a storage capacity of 420MT and is equipped with two cranes on both sides to process fish simultaneously. The vessel began operations in May.
Speaking to PSM News, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ismail Fauzee said that the company’s small collector vessels have refrigerated saltwater (RSW) systems, which affects the quality of the fish. As such, he said that three new fish processing vessels being brought into the Maldives will solve this issue as they have a 60MT brine freezing capacity, which will maintain the quality of the stored fish and negate the need for land-based freezing. He assured that the company is focused on bringing in the vessels as soon as possible.
MIFCO has stated that the fisheries sector has improved and the number of fish processed has also increased. As a result, the company is making efforts to increase its capacity by acquiring more fish processing vessels and establishing more fish processing facilities in different parts of the country.