Fishermen lament lack of ice availability in North
“Every time, governments make promises to large-yellowfin-tuna fishermen for votes,” he said.
By
Aishath Fareeha Abdulla
Fishermen have expressed concern over the difficulty in getting ice from Haa Alif atoll in the northernmost part of the Maldives.
There has been a shortage of ice from the Hoarafushi and Ihavandhoodhoo ice plants in Haa Alif, for a while now, according to fishermen.
The Hoarafushi ice plant has been out of commission for two months, the President of Bodu Kanneli Masveringe Union (BKMU) Hussain Nasheed told Atoll Times on Tuesday. Ice from the Ihavandhoodhoo ice plant has also become difficult to obtain, he said.
“Ice is almost only available from Ihavandhoodhoo now in this area. But due to this insane demand, it is also being issued in limited quantities,” he said.
"Large yellowfin tuna fishing in the north is very good. A lot of boats are active in this area”.
Ali Shameem, a crew on board the Asruma-3 told Atoll Times that he has not gotten ice from Hoarafushi for two months.
"It's available at Ihavandhoo also on some days only. They say they make ice in limited quantities. They say they may have to stop making ice because they’ve run out of a salt they use to make ice”.
Fenaka has been working to transfer the ice plants operating in the Atolls under MIFCO.
According to Shameem:
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Then the closest ice will be available in Sh.Keekimini. They make ice for pre-orders
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The other options are even further away. Ice is available at N. Lhohi, but that is a great distance to travel from Haa Alif atoll, and a huge expense to bear as well
Nasheed said the fishermen have shared their concerns with the Ministry of Fisheries.
“We ourselves asked the ministry to solve the problem of fishermen getting ice, as it was a mounting problem,” he said.
Nasheed expressed concern that no government paid much attention to large-yellowfin tuna fishermen.
“Every time, governments make promises to large-yellowfin-tuna fishermen for votes,” he said.
Nasheed added:
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There are relatively many boats engaged in yellow-fin tuna fishing in Maldives
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But governments don’t care about these fishermen
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Large-yellowfin-tuna are usually bought by private companies. He called on the government to support the industry even if it would not buy the variety
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Every time the fishermen are exploited for votes ahead of each election
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He called on the government to fulfil its promises to the fishermen
There was no official word from Fenaka on the busted two ice plants in the north. There is no word from the company or the fisheries ministry on the plans to shift operations to MIFCO.
