The government has established a new Fishery Investigation Center, which will be tasked with researching the country’s ocean resources.
Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) Estanislau da Silva said this center would conduct research into fish stocks to determine which species were prevalent and what ones had died out.
He said it was important for communities in Timor-Leste to have access to data on ocean resources.
The MAF has established the General Directorate of Fisheries a few years ago, it was not yet operational.
Da Silva acknowledged that the government had not yet properly developed or allocated adequate funds to support the fishing sector.
“Now how we can invest and explore the ocean’s resources,” he said.
Meanwhile, national MP Jacinta Abu Cau Pereira said although the center was a positive initiative, the government needed to ensure that there were adequate human resources and facilities.
She said the government also needed to attract people with appropriate skills and expertise in the fisheries sector so that the initiative achieved good results.
She said that experience showed that many planned government programs to support the agriculture and fisheries sector had failed due to a lack of human resources.
