Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has today submitted an emergency motion to parliament raising concerns of over 120 tonnes of yellowfin tuna left unweighed. The motion was submitted by MDP’s Vaikaradhoo MP Hussain Ziyad (Fittey).
Submitting the motion, Ziyad said that it is a campaign pledge of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu to have MIFCO weigh yellowfin tuna, allow fishermen to hold shares in MIFCO and to maintain the price of yellowfin tuna between MVR 80 to 100. However, the pledge still remains to be fulfilled, he said.
Ziyad said that yellowfin tuna fishermen are facing many obstacles, such as failure of the State to weigh their catch and to issue payments.
Ziyad claimed that even at the time of speaking, there are over 120 tonnes of yellowfin tuna on fishing vessels awaiting weighing. He cited fishermen’s concerns of the fish rotting before they could be sold on.
Ziyad said that every time fishing improves, fishermen face obstacles to having their fish weighed and sold. He added that even while global economy improves and demand for fish increases, fishermen in Maldives are unable to weigh their fish and sell it at reasonable prices.
The motion was accepted by parliament with 40 votes in favour from amongst the 42 MPs present for the vote.
In the subsequent debate, ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) MP for South Feydhoo Ibrahim Didi (IB) said that this issue was not resolved even during the previous administration led by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. He expressed surprise that such a motion has been submitted when the government is paying fishermen for their catch within 24 hours. He dismissed the motion as being untrue.
Kendhoo MP Mauroof Zakir said it’s no trivial matter that 40–50 vessels are unable to weigh their catch. He noted that delays lead private companies to lower prices, with the price being only MVR 40 during peak fishing.