Maldivians Must Have the Power to Determine Fish Prices in the Global Market: Minister

Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Resources Ahmed Shiyam has stated that the Maldives must have full authority to sell and determine the price of pole-and-line caught fish in the global market.

Speaking at the official Fishermen's Day ceremony, the Minister said that in 2023, the Maldives accounted for approximately 40 percent of the global pole-and-line catch.

The Minister noted that Japan does not export any of its pole-and-line catch. Therefore, the Maldives' share of pole-and-line caught fish in the export market is over 50 percent. However, the Maldives lacks the power to determine prices. The main reason for this, the Minister explained, is the inability to retain raw material in the Maldives. Currently, the total capacity of land-based facilities in the Maldives is 9,500 tonnes, while the country catches 120,000 tonnes annually. MIFCO buys 70 percent of this, but currently only has a storage capacity of 4,200 tonnes, the Minister said.

The Minister stated that by the end of these five years, the capacity to store 25,000 tonnes of fish at once will be established in the Maldives, with many projects planned for this purpose. With new technology, a revolutionary change will come to the fishing industry, the Minister said. Furthermore, the revenue from fisheries will increase from the current $92 million to $190 million, the Minister added.