Fishery and Aquaculture Country Profile for Seychelles
- aquatic species caught by country or area, by species items, by
FAO major fishing areas, and year, for all commercial, industrial,
recreational and subsistence purposes. The harvest from mariculture,
aquaculture and other kinds of fish farming is also included.
The Seychelles Fishing
Authority - is a parastatal organization which functions as
the executive arm of Government for fisheries and related matters.
The Authority was created in August 1984 by the Seychelles Fishing
Authority (Establishment) Act, at a time of intense development in
the sector. The SFA's operations are guided by a Board of Directors,
appointed by the President of the Republic of Seychelles . Our
Vision is to develop the fishing industry to its fullest potential
and to safeguard the resource base for sustainable development .
Main Fishing
Sectors in Seychelles:
Artisanal Fisheries
Small Boat Trap Fishery
Net Fishery
Lobster Fishery
Sea Cucumber Fishery
Semi-Industrial Fisheries
Artisinal
Fisheries
The main artisanal (inshore) fisheries that are managed include
the small boat trap fishery, net fishery, sea cucumber fishery,
lobster fishery, semi-pelagic handline fishery and, demersal
handline / dropline fishery. The artisanal sector also includes the
crab giraffe fishery and the octopus fishery, which are not
presently being managed while efforts have been made to collect
fisheries data from the sport fishery through a logbook system. It
is important to note that all full-time commercial fishermen require
a local fishing vessel licence at the cost of SR 125 to engage in
commercial fishing. Apart from licensing, which is a common
regulatory measure to all fisheries within the artisanal sub-sector,
some fisheries such as the small boat trap fishery, net, lobster and
sea cucumber fisheries have other regulatory management measures in
place.
Small Boat Trap
Fishery
Vessel licensing (SR 125) and a minimum mesh size restriction
(40 mm) are the main regulatory measures in the small boat trap
fishery. Fisheries data for the fishery is collected through the
Catch Assessment Survey and regular patrols of the coastal waters
are conducted to monitor compliance with mesh size restrictions.
Trap makers are also sensitized, through educational programmes, on
the importance of the measure
Net Fishery
The net fishery management is based on a number of technical and
administrative measures such as licensing of the activity, gear
(mesh size) specification, species specification, fishing time
restrictions (for mackerel only), gear marking and restriction on
fishing areas. Nets are required to be mounted with lead ropes so as
to minimize damage to coral. Entry to the fishery requires a local
fishing vessel license (SR125) and a fishing net license (SR100).
SFA is in the process of drafting a management plan for the fishery,
through stakeholder consultations.
Lobster Fishery
The lobster resources are the basis of a small-scale local
fishery, which is mainly managed by seasonal closures. The
management of the fishery consists of several regulatory measures
including licence fee of SR500, limited entry, minimum size
restrictions (75 mm carapace length) and a ban on harvesting berried
females. In order to improve and maintain proper management of this
resource around the Mahe Plateau, a monitoring programme, which was
set up in 1992, is continued during open seasons to collect
fisheries, biological and compliance data on the spiny lobster stock
Sea Cucumber
Fishery
The management of the sea cucumber fishery has been strongly
influenced by external market forces, mainly increased demand from
Asian markets. Some management measures (licensing of the activity,
limited entry and control on the number of divers) are already in
place, so there is a minimum of control on the fishery. A licence
fee of SR300 and a local fishing vessel licence are required to
engage in the fishery. The number of certified divers per licence is
limited to four and a quota of 25 fishing licences has been set, as
a precautionary measure to ensure the sustainability of the
resource. Catch data for the fishery is collected through catch and
effort logbooks and processors record.
An important and innovative outcome of the sea cucumber resource
assessment project which ended in September 2005, was the creation
of a Sea Cucumber Advisory Management Committee, comprising
Government representatives as well as stakeholders (fishers,
processors and exporters) to oversee the implementation of the
management plan for the sea cucumber fishery.
Semi-Industrial
Fisheries
The semi-industrial longline vessels require a local fishing
vessel license (SR125) to engage in commercial fishing. Data on the
fishery is collected through the monitoring of catch landings at
Port Victoria and catch and effort log sheets. Most of the vessels
in that sub-sector have VMS installed. An authorization is required
to fish outside the Seychelles EEZ
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About Commercial Fishing in Seychelles
The sustainable management of marine
resources in Seychelles is the responsibility of the Seychelles
Fishing Authority (SFA) as stipulated in the Fisheries Act 1986. The
SFA is therefore responsible for the preparation, implementation and
review of management plans for the long-term sustainability and
optimal utilization of marine resources. Management decisions are
based on the economic viability, sustainability or conservations of
stocks. The Fisheries Act makes provision for the management,
conservation and protection of fisheries and marine resources.
Fisheries Management is guided by the ‘Inshore Fisheries Management
Strategy' prepared in 1998 (Mees et al . 1998). Licensing of vessels
is by far the most used regulatory measure, for almost all
fisheries, in Seychelles . Precautionary approach is frequently
adopted to ensure the sustainability of resources since the baseline
data on the status of certain stocks is lacking. SFA is also
gradually adopting the co-management approach to fisheries
management.
Ministry of the
Environment - Seychelles - Vision: At the Dawn of the 21st
century it is the vision of the people of Seychelles that this
second generation Environment Management plan, EMPS 2000-2010, will
serve as a flexible, yet robust, vehicle for continued improvement
of proactive environmental management excellence, so that the year
2010 the Seychelles will be firmly established globally as a
committed leader in sustainable development
The
Ocean
Data and Information Network for Africa (ODINAFRICA) brings
together marine institutions from twenty-five Member States of the
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO from Africa
(Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Comoros, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire,
Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritania,
Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal,
Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Togo, and
Tunisia). The goal of the current phase of ODINAFRICA is to improve
the management of coastal and marine resources and the environment
in participating countries by: enhancing data flows into the
national oceanographic data and information centres in the
participating countries, strengthening the capacity of these centres
to analyse and interpret the data so as to develop products required
for integrated management of the coastal areas of Africa, and
increase the delivery of services to end users.
AQUASTAT is FAO's global information
system on water and agriculture developed by the Land and Water
Division. It collects, analyses and disseminates data and
information by country and by region. Its aim is to provide users
interested in global, regional and national analyses with
comprehensive information related to water resources and
agricultural water management across the world, with emphasis on
countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Information for Seychelles
Ocean Health Index Seychelles - The Ocean Health Index is a valuable tool for the
ongoing assessment of ocean health. By providing a means to advance
comprehensive ocean policy and compare future progress, the Index
can inform decisions about how to use or protect marine ecosystems.
The Index is a collaborative effort, made possible through
contributions from more than 65 scientists/ocean experts and
partnerships between organizations including the National Center for
Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Sea Around Us, Conservation
International, National Geographic, and the New England Aquarium.
Information for Seychelles
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