Maldivian Fisherman Dump 375 M/T Of Skipjack ff

Fisheries Minister Abdullah Kamaluddeen (AK) submitted to the demands of angry fishermen on Monday who had impounded the Ministry’s reefer vessel in Addu in protest at the government’s persistent inability to purchase their catch.

Fishermen were incensed on Sunday, when state-run MIFCO (Maldives Industrial Fisheries Corporation) told them to ditch 375 tones of tuna because the collecting vessel - which bulk-buys the fish - was full.

Fishermen instead blockaded and took control of the boat and its crew, refusing to leave until they were compensated. “It’s our boat now,” they reportedly told the hapless Minister in Male’.

At noon on Monday, as six fishing dhonis maintained the blockade, the government ceded to their demands and paid the compensation, Addu MP Mohamed Aslam told Minivan News.

“The police acted as a mediator between MIFCO and the fishermen. Each dhoni was given Rf 19,000. The dhonis then dumped the fish and went fishing but today there was the same problem - MIFCO was unable to buy their fish as the reefer vessel is full. They were only able to buy twenty tones but there are over twenty-five dhonis in the port, each with ten tones of fish to sell,” Aslam said.

As fishermen were forced to dump hundreds of tones of tuna into the sea for the second day, tensions look set to escalate following reports MIFCO is planning to remove its reefer vessel from Addu as punishment to the fishing community.

Fishermen are unable to sell their catch to private companies and the removal of the government’s collecting trawler would force them to sail to MIFCO vessels in other atolls, adding hours of sailing each day.

“It looks like MIFCO will take the reefer vessel to another atoll as punishment,” said local politician Abdulla Sodig (Sobe’). “The captain of the reefer vessel flew to Male’ today so there is no captain on the MIFCO boat.”

With thousands of rotting fish washing up on Addu’s shoreline, causing a noxious stench and raising fears over disease, Aslam called on the government not to aggravate the problem.

“The solution is to bring in more collecting vessels. It’s the height of the fishing season. If fishermen can’t sell their catch it is a big loss for them and this is happening every year… it’s deeply frustrating. Other than fishing and working for the government, there are no jobs in Addu.”