The Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources has opened the opportunity for islands to host the official activities planned to celebrate this year's Fishermen's Day.
Interested islands have been invited to submit their applications by 12:00 pm 19 June. Applications should be submitted to the Ministry through the Government E-Letter Management System (GEMS).
Fishermen’s Day is celebrated every year on 10 December to recognise the hard work of fishermen and to honour their efforts.
The Ministry will give precedence to fishing islands when selecting the island which will host this year’s official celebrations. The number of registered fishermen and the number of fishing vessels in an island will be considered when making the decision, it added.
In addition, the Ministry will also consider whether the island has not hosted the official celebrations of a national day this year. Precedence will also be given to islands which have not hosted Fishermen’s Day celebrations before or at least five years have lapsed since they last hosted an official celebration.
The Ministry will also weigh details of infrastructure development, the extent of the proposal to seek the participation of other islands in the Atolls along with the hospitality arrangements planned for visitors attending the celebrations.
This Administration since taking over, has initiated significant efforts to enhance and diversify the country’s fisheries industry.
One of the key achievements under these efforts is the arrangements made to settle payments to fishermen within 48 hours - a long standing concern of local fishermen.
The government has also facilitated financial access to fishermen through Bank of Maldives (BML) offering much needed social protection and State-recognition to the fishing industry.
The government has also been investing heavily to boost the capacity of the fisheries sector.