Dili, July 21, 2026 (Media Demmocracia) – The Government of Timor-Leste, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Livestock and Forestry (MAPPF), has officially launched a semi-industrial fishing boat to increase fishing capacity within the country. This program is part of the government’s strategy to increase fishery production.
According to the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Forestry (MAPPF), Marcos da Cruz, the government will pay attention to the development of the fisheries sector to ensure food security and boost the community’s economy.
“We need to increase food, particularly in the fisheries area. So far we have been working to develop the agriculture, livestock, fisheries and forestry sectors, but especially when we talk about fisheries, how can we work together to develop this fisheries area. In this government we will focus more on how to raise fish. That’s why we already have fish hatcheries in some places, especially for producing fish fry in those locations, but we haven’t yet focused much on the fisheries area.” said the MAPPF Minister to journalists on Monday (20/07/2026).
He added that the launch of the semi-industrial fishing boats was carried out through collaboration between the companies Rayana and Community East Chances, together with the relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defense.
“The two companies, Rayana and Community East Chances, together with the relevant ministers such as the Minister of Interior and the Minister of Defense, carried out this important activity, which is the launch of semi-industrial fishing boats. There are 4 boats in total. 3 of the boats belong to Rayana Company, with a capacity of 5 Broston and 17 Broston. From Community East Chances, there is 1 boat with a capacity of 10 tons, 5 Broston.” he said.
He emphasized that the function of these boats will be managed by the General Directorate of Fisheries within Human Resources. They were previously trained on how to operate the boats and manage them. The function of these boats is also to monitor boats that have been given licenses, and to monitor the small boats that have already been given to fishermen. Because the directorate doesn’t yet have the capacity to monitor, there is still no accurate data on how many tons of fish have been caught.
In addition, Company Representative Ricardo Nheu said that the fisheries sector in Timor-Leste has very great potential to sustain national economic growth. According to the government’s plan, the blue economy is one of the strategic priorities because the country has rich maritime resources that haven’t yet been maximized.
“In the fisheries area the potential is very big. We know that the government has a plan for Timor to grow the economy. In this area we can learn, we can get a connection with the sea. The sea has a lot, aquaculture, biotechnology, and connections to medicine.” he added.
He stressed that he has a challenge to convey to the relevant authorities across Timor-Leste, let’s encourage each other to continue to increase this potential going forward, and to do more work than talk.
Report By: Trainee Joanita
Photo: Trainee Joanita