Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) will not export fish that is likely to be rejected, and has introduced measures to address the problem of rejected fish exports, Minister of Fisheries, Agriculture and Ocean Resources Ahmed Shiyam has said.
Speaking at PSM’s ‘Ahaa’ forum, the minister said the issue of fish exports being rejected has persisted for years. He said that during his time as a member of Parliament, around 10 to 12 percent of shipments were being rejected. He said fish exports involve large networks, and if the Maldives is to improve in this area, they must be true to themselves.
Highlighting that the Maldives no longer exports fish likely to be rejected, the minister said policy changes are now in place. He said the company purchasing the fish will inspect it when it is being loaded at the Maldivian ports, which means rejected fish will be identified before it is recorded as an MIFCO export.
The minister further said both MIFCO and private companies need opportunities to operate in the fisheries sector, and criticised the previous government’s policy of disregarding market prices. He noted that this resulted in significant losses to private companies. However, the current administration’s efforts to reform the fisheries sector have yielded positive results, he added.
Much of the fish is exported from Maldives as raw fish. As insufficient cold-storage capacity limits the ability to store catches, the catch must be exported at the earliest. The government is working to increase storage capacity to address this issue.