A freezing, packaging and canning factory and a fish farm capable of producing 1,000 tonnes of fish are among the plans for the next two years announced by the General Assembly of the Dubai Fishermen Cooperative Association.
The group aims to enhance cooperation between fishermen for their economic and social development, according to Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language sister newspaper of The National.
The association has 779 fishermen in its membership. A hundred and nine of them receive monthly remuneration, 77 receive financial support, 24 receive boat owner’s support, eight receive veterans’ support, and 43 requests for financial support have been submitted to the Department of Finance.
Each fisherman receives Dh5,000 to Dh25,000 a month, depending on the type of support for them.
The association reported a 14 per cent increase in revenue to Dh31 million last year, compared with Dh22m for 2012. Net profits last year rose to Dh9m from Dh7.3m in 2012.
The group also announced plans to set up a Takaful fund for fishermen in the emirate and a staff fund in addition to administrative and technical training courses.
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