Over the next six months, the Ministry of Fisheries is working to install ice plants in nine regions of the country.

Speaking on PSM's "Raajje Miadhu" program, Minister of State for Fisheries, Mohammed Muthalib said yesterday that the government and fishermen are doing a lot of work to ensure that the fish sold by the fishermen reaches the buyers. Currently, the installation of ice plants in nine regions of the country is going very fast and within the next 6 months, the ice plants are being completed.

At the same time, he said that good quality fish is a high priority of the government and the Ministry of Fisheries is looking at improving the systems used to keep the fish fresh by cooling the water.

The funds required to install the systems will be made available through banks, he said. Among the products introduced in the Hafuthaa 14 Road Map are small ice plants for fishermen and small soft loans for those who want to invest in the fishing industry, he said.

Maldivian fishermen will get the real price by improving the quality of the fish sold, he said. To improve that, he said, it is important to work together with fishermen, government, government agencies and fish buying companies.

"Just installing an RSW system will not give us quality fish. For example, a 30 tonne fishing boat will not have the quality of the fish if it brings 40 tonnes of fish that day," he added.

Therefore, it is important for fish buyers to pay attention to increase the awareness of fishermen, he said.

The ice plants will be built to ensure easy access to ice from all parts of the country through a network, he said.