Minister of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture Zaha Waheed has departed to Belgium to attend discussions on approaches to stop illegal fisheries in Maldives.
Minister Zaha would discuss the efforts of Maldives in mitigating illegal fisheries across Maldives in addition to meeting with European Union (EU) to discuss attempts of Maldives to meet EU Standards in fish export. She would further brief the EU on measures and policies Maldives have formulated to stop illegal fisheries in Maldives.
Further discussions will involve further actions Maldives can take to strengthen fisheries in the country. Moreover, Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), a scheme that removes import duties from products exported to EU market from developing countries, would also be a subject of the discussion.
European Commission ensures that all fish products exported to EU countries are caught legally. EU delegations have travelled to Maldives on three occasions since 2017 to inspect the fishing industry and to evaluate the fisheries in Maldives. The Union have also recommended actions Maldives could take to mitigate illegal and unsustainable fisheries in Maldives. EU requires Maldives to follow the recommendation should Maldives continue to export fish to EU countries.