Once the regulations for the National Fishermen's Registry are published in the government gazette and gain legal status, fishermen will have access to the same opportunities currently available to those in other professions from Bank of Maldives (BML), Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB), and State Trading Organization (STO), President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has announced.
Speaking at a meeting with the residents of K. Gaafaru this morning, the President stated that establishing a national fishermen's registry was one of his presidential pledges and that it is being compiled for a very important purpose.
"A major concern for fishermen is that they do not receive the opportunities from banks that are available to people in other jobs. There is no opportunity to declare that income as a job and reap its benefits. Therefore, I pledged to establish a registry, make it a legally binding registry, and give registered fishermen the opportunity to obtain loans and facilities from banks. So, we started this work early in the term, early in the year, and up to today, many fishermen have joined. And it will continue. It remains open," the President said.
The President mentioned that under the efforts to bring legal status to the registry, a regulation regarding the registry has been drafted, and the work to recognize the registry is being carried out by the Fisheries Ministry in collaboration with the banks. He also stated that the regulation will be registered and implemented before the end of this week.
"Therefore, starting this Thursday, God willing, once the fishermen's registry regulation is registered, the opportunities available to people in other jobs from Bank of Maldives, MIB, and STO will be available to fishermen," the President said.
With the aim of making fishermen a recognized group by the state, a phone application named [Keyolhu] was launched on February 16, 2024, to compile a national fishermen's registry, and the Fisheries Ministry has done a lot of work to complete the registry. In this regard, in addition to contacting the responsible parties of fishing vessels, ministry staff have traveled to fishing islands and fish purchasing harbors to provide information to vessel owners and fishermen on how to register in the registry.
The Ministry stated that the information collected through the 'National Fishermen's Registry' is crucial for designing fisheries development projects in the most desirable manner and for implementing the policies set by the government to adequately provide the services needed by fishermen.
