Fishermen in Addu city are continuing a protest in front of the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) harbor in Hulhumeedhoo over payments owed for catch bought from fishers.
The fishermen began protesting in the area on Friday evening. In a message sent to the media today, police said around 80 fishermen were taking part as the protest continued on Saturday morning.
The protesters are calling on the government to pay the overdue amounts immediately and to pay for the catch every 15 days in the future. They are also demanding a senior official to visit the protest site for negotiations.
"Some fishermen have said that if there is no adequate response to this protest, all the staff will forced out of the factory and kitchen operations will also be halted," police said in the message sent to the media.
"We have come to fight for our rights. We have not come to fight the police and the government. We have not received any money for three months. Our families are miserable. We are in debt now. We can't even pay our electricity bills," a fisherman said.
Earlier this year, fishermen protested in Kooddoo and stopped the operations of the facility in the island while similar protests were held in Male' and Gaaf Dhaal Madaveli this month.
Following the protests in Male' and Madaveli, the government released MVR 46 million out of MVR 80 million owed to the fishermen before Eid.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu made a pledge to pay fishermen for their catch within 48 hours.
At the last press conference held by the Fisheries Ministry, Minister Ahmed Shiyam said the government was working to find ways to pay the money owed to the fishermen and the Finance Minister was also working to find ways to "breathe financially."
