Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Resources Ahmed Shiyam has stated that the biggest challenge for countries like the Maldives in the fisheries industry is the high duties levied by developed countries on the exported fish commodities. He made the remarks during the 18th INFOFISH World Tuna Trade Conference and Exhibition.
The globally renowned conference was attended by ministers representing countries actively involved in the fishing industry and senior officials representing the sector and relevant organizations. During the conference, discussions were held pertaining to various obstacles faced in ensuring the sustainability of the fisheries' industry while identifying potential solutions to address the issues.
Speaking at the Ministerial and Industry High-Level Dialogue on Sustainable Tuna Fisheries, Minister Shiyam stressed that the foremost impediments to developing nations such as the Maldives, which is actively engaged in utilising eco-friendly sustainable methods of fishing, is the high duties imposed by developed countries in the fish products exported. Highlighting that this results in an increasing competition within the international markets, the minister stated that small nations thriving in the industry will eventually be driven out.
Additionally, Minister Shiyam underscored another obstruction faced in tuna fisheries is the illegal fishing from unsupervised fishing vessels. The minister emphasised the importance of collaborative efforts at international levels in order to resolve this issue.
The 18th INFOFISH World Tuna Trade Conference and Exhibition was held from May 20-22 in Bankok, Thailand.