The government of Maldives is working to compile a national registry of fishermen to recognise fishing as an official occupation and make it easier for them to receive banking and state benefits.
Teams from Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources have started heading out to various islands within the country to compile a national registry of fishermen.
In a post published by the Ministry on X (formerly Twitter), the ministry said that the ministry has started working on implementing the policy set by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, to ensure that fishermen are recognised by the government.
As such, teams from the ministry will be traveling to different islands across the country over the weekend to expedite the compilation of a proper registry of fishermen, the post said.
The purpose of this registry is to declare fishing as a professional career and one that is a state recognised source of income. This would allow fishermen to be included in the country's banking system and make it easier for them to directly receive state benefits and subsidies, the government said.
Self registration for the list is also now open via the Keyolhu app, which is available on both App Store and Google Play Store.
Fisheries Minister Ahmed Shiyam previously said that the fishermen's registry will be completed very soon.
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