Emergency motion over fishermen’s concerns rejected

An emergency motion submitted to the Parliament on Monday morning urging authorities to address the concerns of local fishermen over the fishing quota has been rejected.

The motion was submitted by Faresmaathoda MP Hussain Mohamed Latheef (Senbe), a politician from opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

Hussain, in his emergency motion, said that given the current good fishing spell in Maldives, the decision to control the quantity of fish purchased from fishermen was extremely damaging to fishermen.

He also said that some of the fishing boats were being forced to throw out their catch, and said that having to limit their catch to daily requirements wasn’t financially feasible.

The bill was rejected after only nine parliamentarians voted in favor of accepting the bill, while 41 voted to reject the bill.

A motion had been submitted to the Parliament last month by Madaveli MP Hussain Firushan, a politician from ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), accusing the government of failure to deliver its promises to fishermen.

Meanwhile, MDP leader, Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed also recently criticized the government for failure to deliver its pledges to fishermen, and urged the government to return to the path laid down on the party manifesto.