Ra Villagers Await Ice Plant

Fiji Times - Tuesday, February 16, 2010

STORING their catch from the sea will no longer be a problem for the people from the costal villages of Nakorotubu in Ra.

This was after they were promised an ice plant and a fisheries officer in their district last week.

The coastal villages, which included Verevere and Namarai, expressed their concerns that they did not have any place to store their catch.

Ministry of Fisheries officials who were at Namarai last week as part of the government officials' tour said the ice plant was supposed to be built in 2007 but it was put on hold.

Since they rely mainly on the sea for their livelihood, the villagers requested for an ice plant that will ease their storage problem.

The ice plant will be similar to that in Wainikoro in Macuata and Malaka in Vanuabalavu.

Tikina (district) Nakorotubu representative Mosese Dranibaka said that an ice plant was supposed to be built there years ago but that changed.

Mr Dranibaka said if constructed, the ice plant would ease the burden of having to pay for transportation costs to deliver their fish to their markets.

With that in place, the fishermen would be able to concentrate more on fishing, rather than worrying about the storage, he said.

Mr Dranibaka said that was one district in the Ra Province that relied heavily on the sea so they needed something in place that could help them maintain their livelihood.