Ministry to double subsidised fuel quota for fishing boats

The Ministry of Municipality has chalked out a plan to double the subsidised fuel quota for fishing boats, Ismail al-Sheikh, head of the Fishermen’s Affairs Department at the Fisheries Department told local Arabic daily Arrayah.He urged the fishermen to take advantage of the support provided, noting that the scheme reduces the cost for them while positively affecting the fish prices in the market. The scheme is implemented in coordination with Woqod that installs electronic chips on ships and boats and the ports where they are located.

Ismail al-Sheikh

The refuelling is limited to the stations located in the main fishing ports and the subsidised fuel is supplied only to the fuel tanks installed in the fishing vessels and boats and not in plastic jars. It’s also not allowed to use subsidised fuel for any vehicle other than fishing vessels. The Fisheries Department has the right to stop the subsidy in case of non-compliance with the relevant regulating conditions and rules.“Currently, ships are inspected before they go out to sea in order to ensure that they use the environment-friendly bags distributed to them in addition to boxes for preserving and transporting fish. The fuel subsidy required an annual allocation of more than QR4mn and that for ice more than QR1mn in 2021,” al-Sheikh said. The ministry earlier, signed a contract with Woqod, Al Wakra Port Ice Factory and the Doha Import and Export Centre with the aim of supporting fishermen and owners of ships and boats for three consecutive years - 2021, 2022, 2023 - by providing petrol for 350 fishing boats and diesel for 480 fishing vessels, in addition to ice blocks and crushed ice.This package provided by the ministry is one of many initiatives launched to support fishing inputs, encourage workers to continue and strengthen the strategy to improve productivity and contribute to the country's food security. The ministry also supports the fishing sector with soft loans in co-operation with Qatar Development Bank.