Minister of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture Zaha Waheed has revealed illegally fishing, without any limits, causes unrecoverable loss to fishermen. The fisheries minister made the statement at the inauguration ceremony of the Validation Workshop for the Formulation of the National Plan of Action on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (NPOA-IUU) fishing.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Zaha stated according to statistics of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), illegal and unreported fishing causes billions of dollars in loss for fishermen who fish in line with the regulations. The minister said illegal fishing is the biggest challenge faced for fishermen across the world, adding it also obstructs the efforts of the individuals who maintain the fish stock sustainably.
Furthermore, Minister Zaha expressed while there are over 30 countries that fish from the Indian Ocean Region, the situation of the Indian Ocean Region is not in the best condition. In this regard, she noted the stock of yellow fin tuna is also low in the region, which most countries are dependent on.
Moreover, Minister Zaha highlighted Maldivian fishermen gives importance to implementing environment friendly and sustainable methods. She added several efforts need to be exerted to maintain the qualities implemented by Maldivian fishermen.