The government has launched the "National Fishermen's Registry" to officially recognize fishermen as state-acknowledged professionals.
While there are a large number of fishing vessels and fishermen in the Maldives, only a relatively small number have registered in this registry so far. The Ministry aims to expedite this process and complete the registry by the end of October. The assistance of vessel owners, captains, and fishermen is highly needed in this effort. Ultimately, the benefits of this will go to the fishermen and their families. Therefore, everyone should act quickly now, provide all possible cooperation to complete this registry, and vessel owners should take the lead in registering fishermen. What the vessel owner needs to do is ensure that their vessel and crew are registered in this registry.
Fishermen are registered through the 'Keyolhu' application, which is currently available on Android and iOS phones. The Keyolhu application is a system that collects, stores, and manages fisheries-related information. In this system, the registration of fishermen is divided into 3 stages.
Stages of Registration:
The second stage is appointing the captain who goes fishing on that vessel once the vessel is registered
The third stage is generating a special code for the captain through the application after the captain is registered
When the code sent to the captain from the application is forwarded to the crew, the crew can register in the registry using the code. After the crew downloads the Keyolhu application to their phones and logs in using eFaas, they will be prompted to enter the code. When the code provided by the captain is entered, the information of the crew applying to register is retrieved from the DNR.
How to register in the National Fishermen's Registry. pic.twitter.com/bjQcO7KMf7
— Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources (@MFORmv) August 9, 2024
Only the crew members approved by the captain from among those applying to become a crew member of the vessel using the code provided by the captain will be registered. To ensure the validity of the registry, the information of the vessel's crew will be visible to all crew members.
The Fishermen's Registry was inaugurated by Fisheries Minister Shiyam at a ceremony held in Sh. Komandoo on the night of February 16 this year. In his speech that night, the Minister highlighted the many benefits that fishermen will receive once the registry is completed.
In his speech that night, he noted that there are many things intertwined with the Fishermen's Registry, and stated that with the Fishermen's Registry, it will become easier for fishermen to access financial and social services. In this regard, he noted that when banks and other institutions in the Maldives introduce special schemes and soft loans for those working in other industries, fishermen are not allowed to participate in them, and stated that this will also be resolved with the registry.
The biggest problem currently facing fishermen is the delay in MIFCO paying bills for the fish weighed by fishermen. Due to delays in MIFCO paying bills, fishermen and their families are facing many hardships. These include electricity and water being cut off due to unpaid utility bills, and having to pay fines on bills. On the night the registry was inaugurated, the Minister stated that he hopes a solution to this will also be found through the registry.
"I hope that with the help of this registry, from the moment this registry is connected to the institutions I mentioned, it will be known that MIFCO owes this specific fisherman of this vessel this amount of money in this month. If that happens, that utility company, whether it's Fenaka or STELCO, arrangements can be made to keep the electricity or water of that house from being cut off. If good work is done together with this registry, those things can be resolved. Many things like this will be achieved with the Fishermen's Registry." The Minister stated on the night the registry was inaugurated.
While arrangements are in place to resolve many of the problems facing fishermen through the registry, it is important to register in it as soon as possible.
For more information, please Viber the Fisheries Ministry's compliance number 792,8271.
