THE SEYCHELLES FISHING INDUSTRY

Presentation Content

1.Fishery Sector Overview2.Challenges

The Fisheries Sectors

1.Industrial2.Semi

Industrial 3.Artisanal

3. Industrial Sector• Dominated by foreign purse seiners and

longliners licensed to fish in Seychelles waters.

• Fishing agreements with EU, Japan, China, Taiwanese Fishing Association.

• Licenses to about 27 EU purse seiners, 4 Japanese longliners, 94 Taiwanese, 13 Chineses 6 Philipines longliners.

• Also 28 industrial longliners and 7 Purse seiners flying Seychelles flag.

Industrial Sector (cont..)• Total catch in the WIO over 500,000

tones per year.• Approximately 250 472 tones in the

Seychelles EEZ.• The local canning factory process

about 90,000 tonnes/yearNote: Yellowfin and bigeye tuna stocks are considered to be fully

exploited

Industrial Fishing VesselsLongliner

Purse seiner

2. Semi-industrial Sector• Developed in mid 1990, following similar

development in La Reunion.• About 10 vessels equipped with longlining gears,

but currently only 4 to dedicated vessels.• Targets large pelagic, Swordfish and Tuna,

(beyond the Mahe Plateau and distant banks).• Total catch: 250 to 575 tones/year.• Fish stored fresh on ice and 60 % of the catch

exported to Europe (mainly France, Spain, UK, Germany). A developing fishery and there are room for further expansion.The semi-industrial activity is facing the

problem of mercury level

A semi-industrial fishing vessel•Setting 600 – 1200 hooks

• 50 km long lines

• Exclusively Seychellois • About 400 vessel / 1500 fulltime fishermen, fishing

mainly for demersal and small pelagic…as well as octopus, sea cucumber, lobsters, shark e.t.c.

• Total Catch 2500 - 3000 MT per year• Only 16% exported ‐ fresh or frozen• Fairly good infrastructures ‐ fishing quays, repairs and

maintenance facilities and good post harvest practicesStocks are near their maximum exploitable level in coastal areas

1. Artisanal Sector

Main Artisanal Fisheries• Bottom Long Line Fishery (around

74% of the artisanal catch).• Trap Fishery (around 15%).• Sea cucumber fishery (around 100

tonnes).• Others : Octopus fishery (around

20 tonnes), nets...

Artisanal fishing vessels

Some targeted species

Grouper

Snappers

Groupers

Job fish

Major Fishing Grounds (Artisanal)

Main Problems for artisanal sector Access limited to basic services & material (ice, water electricity, bait, dry dock ...). Low level of organization, representation and listening. Manage stocks and stem their decline. Low recognition level of the role of fishermen in food security. No promotion, valorisation.Conflits of use on certain fisheries.No use of the fishemen knowledge (researche) and no participative approach.

Challenges Perspectives?More basic infrastructure and access to basic services. Working for a better organization of the market (auction house, markets ...).  Promote and organize the artisanal sector, capacity building, representation.  Mitigate and reduce the pressure on pelagic and demersal stocks at risk - particularly in coastal areas (population growth / tourism development).

Challenges Pour le secteur artisanalEnsure food security and social development. Promote the sector to future generations (the workforce is aging and erroneous image). Strengthen the promotion of fish, sustainable fisheries, local processing, transformation (development, Labelling, branding, management ...). Promote a diverse range of species to avoid hyper selectivity.

Challenges, Perspectives? Asserting the professional knowledge, further research and development, promoting participating approaches and implementation of management tools (eg co-management Praslin, Label program, collaboration on research, representation at important meetings).   Monitor the development of fishing effort: avoid over efficient vessels, discard, bycatch, unsustainable methods.   Promote low impact fisheries exist face the powerful industrial fishing.

The end

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