Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company Limited (MIFCO) has decided to place a temporary control on the purchase of fish to five tonnes per vessel per day.
MIFCO stated a temporary control is being placed as fishing vessels are currently catching a large number of fish every day and the company's facilities do not have enough freezing capacity to cater to all fish caught by vessels. MIFCO had previously noted the Maldives is currently experiencing a high fishing season, with vessels from all parts of the country recording high fishing numbers.
MIFCO further stated it is now purchasing fish on Fridays as well, to cater to the large queues formed on Thursdays. MIFCO does not normally purchase fish from vessels on Fridays. However, the state-owned company said purchasing was carried out on the last four Fridays.
MIFCO said the control of five tonnes per vessel per day will be in effect starting from December 25. However, the company said all vessels that have currently been issued a queue number will be able to sell their catch without any control.
MIFCO had bought 49,329 tonnes of fish during 2020. However, the figure has increased to 56,198 tonnes in 2021, by December 25. The figure includes 8,796 tonnes purchased during this month.