Cities Minister Assures Full Cooperation in Fisheries Matters

Minister of Cities, Local Government and Public Works, Adam Shareef Umar, has given his assurance of full cooperation in matters related to fisheries.

The Minister gave this assurance during a meeting held today with Fisheries Minister Ahmed Shiyam. Senior officials from both ministries participated in the meeting held at the Cities Ministry.

Speaking at the meeting, Minister Shiyam noted that the Public Works Department of the Cities Ministry has been doing an excellent job in casting the concrete blocks (weights) for the Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) currently being deployed, and thanked all parties involved in the work.

During the meeting, Minister Adam Shareef noted that Minister Shiyam is someone who closely monitors matters related to the citizens, and assured that the Cities Ministry will provide cooperation in matters requested by the Fisheries Ministry.

A presentation on the current work being carried out by the Fisheries Ministry was also presented at the meeting.

The meeting and discussions between the two ministers come at a time when some FADs specially deployed for pole-and-line fishing across various regions of the Maldives have been damaged, and fishermen are expressing concern over delays in repair work.

According to the Fisheries Ministry, the delay in repairing the FADs is due to a halt in casting the concrete blocks required for the repairs. The casting of blocks was halted because the site previously used for the work was allocated for an office building, which also brought the ministry's routine FAD repair trips to the atolls to a standstill.

The ministry stated that a shed is currently being constructed for casting the blocks, and once the shed is completed, FAD repair trips will commence using the newly cast blocks. The ministry also stated that the trips will first begin in the south, and priority will be given to replacing the FADs that have been lost.