In his message on the occasion of this year’s Fishermen’s Day, President Dr Mohamed Waheed has urged to promote environmentally friendly fishing and production methods in the fisheries industry.
Highlighting the government’s policy to stop the use of environmentally hazardous gases, President stated that a high priority should be given, by fisheries companies, to replace such harmful gases with eco-friendly gases in fish processing and preservation.
He noted that efforts had been made in the past years to develop the fisheries industry in the Maldives and added that positive outcomes of those efforts could now be seen.
In his statement, President Waheed also said it was a great honour for the Maldives to receive certification according to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for the Maldives pole and line skipjack fishery. He stated that the MSC certification is expected to promote the Maldives fish products in the world market at a higher rate. He also said the government was committed to ensure the fishery continue to function sustainably. He urged all stakeholders to give their full cooperation in this endeavour.
In his Fishermen’s Day, President Waheed expressed greetings and warm wishes to Maldivian fishermen and everyone working in the fisheries industry. He also sent greetings to the Minster of Fisheries and Agriculture Mr Ahmed Shafeeu and all staff of the Ministry.