The opening ceremony of the newly renovated Maison des Pêcheurs in Tamarin was held, yesterday, in the presence of the Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Mr Alan Ganoo; the Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, Ms Naveena Ramyad; Parliamentary Private Secretaries; and other personalities.
The primary objective of the upgrading of the Maison des Pêcheurs at Tamarin is to provide the fishermen cooperatives with the facilities to transform their fish catch into value-added fish products. It is expected that this initiative would revitalise the local fishing industry by enabling value-added fish processing activities under the stewardship of the Mauritius Fishermen Cooperative Federation Ltd.
In his address for the occasion, Minister Ganoo called on the fisher community to use judiciously this facility that would enable them to store, sell, and process their catch. He urges on fishermen to make the most of the various schemes and grants set up in the fisheries sector by the Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping and the Ministry of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives for them to thrive.
According to Ms Naveena Ramyad, fishers should be aware of their vital role as key economic actors, and therefore advocate for their interests as well as work collaboratively to enhance their professional activities. She pointed out the numerous advantages for fishers to form or join cooperatives in terms of collective bargaining power; cost savings; and access to financial, technical and other support and assistance, thereby leading to more resilient fishing livelihoods.
The Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives thus detailed the various initiatives put in place to enhance both the economic aspects of fishing. These include the boost to local production scheme to purchase the necessary equipment required for food processing such as cold storage, cutting tables and tools, and packaging materials; the digitalisation grant to implement digital solutions for tracking of income and expenses, and inventory management; and the waste recycling scheme for cooperative societies to acquire new recycling equipment and transportation vehicle.
She also appealed to the fisher community to avail of the six Cooperative Business Centres across the country to obtain information and access resources and support. She moreover encouraged them to ask the National Cooperatives College to develop comprehensive training programmes designed for fisheries cooperatives to improve the skills and knowledge of their members in a plethora of areas such as sustainable fisheries practices, business skills, technology and digital tools.
