People of Labasa and surrounding areas can now expect to buy fresh and well-preserved fish after the opening of an ice machine yesterday.

Six hundred Labasa fishermen will now gain from the machine after it was opened yesterday by the Minister for Fisheries and Forests, Osea Naiqamu at the Fisheries Northern Division headquarters at Labasa Town.

This will help improve their business by preserving and and keeping their catch fresh for customers.

The machine signifies partnership between Government and Japan through the Overseas Fishery Co-operation Foundation of Japan (OFCF).

Mr Naiqamu said the machine could produce 1500 kilogrammes of crushed ice in 24 hours and has an ice storage capacity of three tonnes.

“The FijiFirst Government is pleased to have fulfilled the request in providing the new ice machine to a request from the members  of Labasa Fishermen Association when we met them early January,” Mr Naiqamu said.

“The ice supply support services would not only encourage value-adding to fish production for optimum economic returns, but would also open new fish marketing arrangements for the fishers to diversify, such as fishing for deepwater snapper in deeper waters thus relieving fishing pressures in the reefs and lagoons,” he said.

He thanked Japan for her continued support.

OFCF Fiji’s Shimba Fukuda said under the memorandum of understanding (MOU), the Labasa ice making machine was installed with technical guidance from his office’s fisheries experts.

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