Kooddoo operations resumes after fishermen end protest
According to the Fisheries Ministry, MVR 70 million will be released on Wednesday and Thursday.
By
Shahudha Mohamed
Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO)’s fisheries complex in Kooddoo has resumed operations last evening after MIFCO started settling dues to fishermen for fish purchases.
Fishermen have been protesting at the Kooddoo Fisheries Complex since Sunday. The fishermen said they would not stop the protest until they began receiving the money.
Kooddoo Fisheries Complex Media Officer Ahmed Nawaz Rasheed told Atoll Times on Wednesday that the fishermen ended their protest and left Kooddoo at around 7:30 pm.
The factory tried to resume operations but the weather conditions delayed the resumption of operations until around 9:30 pm, he said.
Describing the situation in Kooddoo at the moment, Nawaz said:
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No property of the fish factory was damaged during the protest. The power has not been cut off; the fishermen protested peacefully
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There are currently 38 boats in the Kooddoo bay with fish; that’s about 331 tons of fish
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The fish will be scaled and purchased in queue order
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With the resumption of operations in Kooddoo, some boats that did not approach Kooddoo during the protest are now heading back
"Work is resuming as usual. It is not under any special circumstances by having been shut down or restricted," Nawaz said. Therefore, he said that on an average, around 200 tonnes of fish would be weighed in in eight hours at the average speed.
Noting that MIFCO CEO Ahmed Shamah Rasheed worked very hard to find a solution for the fishermen, Nawaz said MIFCO is always trying to make its affairs as convenient as possible for the fishermen. He said:
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Currently, MIFCO's top priority is to clear the backlog
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Fisheries Minister Ahmed Shiyam has said that the price of fish will be paid every week
According to the Fisheries Minister, MVR 70 million will be released on Wednesday and Thursday. An additional MVR 30 million will be released by Monday, the minister said.
The minister told parliament on Tuesday that all the money owed to the fishermen would be paid before March 5.
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Arrangements have been made on Wednesday to pay MVR 100 million by next Monday
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The remaining MVR 180 million will be paid by March 5, he said
