Challenges Facing Seychelles Fisheries Sector

Seychelles, a prominent nation with a strategic location in the Indian Ocean, faces various challenges in its fisheries sector. The Seychelles Fishing Authority plays a crucial role in overseeing fisheries-related matters and ensuring sustainable fishing practices. With a workforce of 140 and distinct divisions, Seychelles' fisheries sector comprises artisanal, semi-industrial, and industrial fisheries, each having its unique characteristics and contributions to the nation's economy. The artisanal fishery, exclusively operated by Seychellois fishermen, focuses on various fish species and marine resources, with a significant portion of the catch being exported annually.

• Seychelles
• Fisheries
• Challenges
• Sustainability

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1. Challenges of Large Ocean Challenges of Large Ocean Nations Nations (LONS) (LONS) FishCRIME 2018 FishCRIME 2018 15 October 2018 15 October 2018 UN City In Copenhagen, Denmark UN City In Copenhagen, Denmark by R.Allisop by R.Allisop S

2. Presentation Overview S General Information S Administration S MCS Tools S Fisheries sector S Coastal State Control S Port State Control S Flag state Control

3. General information S Total population: 95,038 people S Total territory: 1,374,000 km2 S Land/Ocean territory: 459 km2/ S Estimate GDP in 2016: 1.427 billion USD S Per capita GNI: USD 15,075 (2016) S Annual GDP growth: 4.5% (2016)

4. Seychelles strategic location S South West Indian ocean S Latitude between 3 7 South S Longitude between (45 56 East S 115 scattered Island S Two groups of Island S 43 granitic and 73 coralline

5. Fisheries Administration S SFA was establish in August 1984 (Seychelles Fishing Authority Establishment Act.) S SFA is a Parastatal Oganisation which falls under the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture and Govern by a Board of Directors S SFA is the executive arms of the Ministry in regards to all fisheries related matters

6. SFAs Moto S SFA was created mainly to guide the developement of the fishing industry to its fullest potential and to safeguard the resources base for sustainability. S Responsible Fishing for Sustainability

7. Workforce of 140 staff 5 main Divisions

8. Overview of the Fisheries sectors Artisanal 1. Semi-industrial 2. Industrial 3.

9. 1. Artisanal Fishery S Exclusively Seychellois S About 400 fishing vessels (5m to 16m) S 1500 fulltime fishermen, fishing mainly for demersal and small pelagic, as well as octopus, sea cucumber, lobsters, shark etc. S Total Catch 4000 - 5000 MT per year S Approximately 10% exported fresh or frozen S Fairly good infrastructures fishing quays, repairs and maintenance facilities and good post harvest practices

10. 2. Semi-industrial Fishery S Developed in mid 1990, following similar development in La Reunion. S About 30 vessels equipped with monofilament longlining gears, S Targets large pelagic, Swordfish and Tuna, (beyond the Mahe Plateau and distant banks) S Total catch: a modest 250 300 tonnes/ year S Fish stored fresh on ice and 60 % of the catch exported to Europe (mainly France, Spain, UK, Germany)

11. 3. Industrial Sub-sector S Dominated by foreign fishing vessels Purse seiners and longliners licensed to fish in Seychelles waters S Targeting tuna and tuna like species S 2017 ; 44 Purse seiner, 21 Supply vessels and 153 longliners licensed S Seychelles has a fleet of 13 purse seiners, 7 Supply vessels and 38 Longliners

12. Seychelles is at the center of a major tuna fishery S Tuna fisheries a major economic driver for the sector S Port Victoria is the prime hub for tuna fisheries in the IO, especially purse-seine fisheries

13. MCS TOOLS S Logbooks: All reporting are being done by mail as per agreed fishing condition. S New ERS system are being develop and on trial. The ERS system will be integrated with the VMS.

14. MCS TOOLS VMS Transceivers: S Artisanal vessel without autonomous power supply - Still in trial phase

15. MCS TOOLS S Artisanal vessel with autonomous power supply, Purse seiners and longliners - 95 % VMS Coverage. S Semi Industrial and longliners - 100% VMS coverage.

16. MCS TOOLS Limited assets for patrol with high operational cost S Patrol vessels: National- Coastal-

17. MCS TOOLS S Patrol Plane:

18. MCS TOOLS S Scientific Observer Programme : - Initiated in 2013 to address the objective of the IOTC Regional Observer Scheme (Res. 11/04) - Freelance observer. Refer below for full report: http://www.iotc.org/documents/seychelles-purse-seine-fishery-observer-program- overview-challenges-and-perspectives -

19. Coastal State Control (Licencing State) Access to tuna stock: S Licensing is the key tool in the management framework for any targeted species. S 2014 licence fees Type of vessel Duration Amount Currency Longliner 1 Year 24,000 USD Sey/Taiwan 6 Month 17,500 USD Purse Seiner 1 Year 90,000 USD Sey. Flagged French/Spanish ( EU Agreement) 1 Year 38,500 EURO 1 Year 120,000 USD Private Agreement 1 Year 5,000 USD Supply Vessel

20. Coastal State Control (Licencing State) SEY EEZ Restricted Zones to industrial vessels

21. Coastal State Control (Licencing State) Responsible Section Coastal State Progress & lesson _Licence application is address to the CEO. _Vessels IUU background check are done by the FMC Vessel compliance inspection are done prior to issuing of licence. Challenges Slow response from some Flag states in regard to vessels background check for industrial vessels. _Vessel and gear Marking. _Vessels does not have the minimum required documents on board (e.g. COA, freezer logbook etc...) _Boat frame survey. _Fleet management plan Licence application Secretariat & FMC Pre-licencing inspection Enforcement The vessel is issued with a licence upon receiving clearance from Enforcement and FMC. _A licence administration fee of 500usd are collected from foreign industrial vessels. Vessels must submit their Innocent passage and Entry & exit to the FMC at all times. Issuing of licence Licencing Current legislation requires only licence vessels to submit the innocent passage report. Procedure for amendment in the legislation are in place. Cannot fully implement the artisanal fishery VMS program for vessel without a autonomous power supply due to human resources. Entry & Exit of vessels from EEZ FMC VMS monitoring 100% for industrial vessels and semi- industrial vessels. Industrial vessels must submit a weekly catch report. VMS & data FMC

22. Flag State Flag State Responsible Section Progress & lesson _All vessels registering for a Seychelles Flag must be cleared by the FMC before they get a registration certificate by the Seychelles Maritime & Safety administration. Challenges Vessel background check are being done by mail thus theirs some delays in response from flag state due to time zone difference. Flagging of vessels FMC All Sey Flag industrial vessels has a certificate of authorisation except for some of the Semi- industrial vessels. _100% VMS coverage for all Sey Industrial and Semi-industrial vessels. _ Industrial vessels submit copies of all licenses held for fishing in third party EEZs before entry. _submission of regular and complete data on all catches, transshipments and landings. _All landing data are being collected by the Statistic Section. Authorisation to fish on the High seas Fisheries Management _ _Upon VMS malfunction FMC have to depends on the secondary VMS (Argos) until vessel reaches port. Monitoring FMC _Miss communication sometimes between MCS and statistics. Fisheries management, Statistic & MCS Collection and submission of catch of statistic

23. Port State Port State Responsible Section Progress & lesson _IOTC EPSM. _ Seychelles has only 1 port Challenges Most countries has open a new section for EPSM but as for Seychelles we are still using the same amount of human resource. Designation of ports FMC _IOTC EPSM. _ 48hr for non-licence foreign vessels & 24hr for licence foreign vessels. Most countries has open a new section for EPSM but as for Seychelles we are still using the same amount of human resource. Port Entry FMC _ Denial to port access for IUU vessels except in the case of a force majeure or upon flag state request for a joint inspection. _All inspection forms are uploaded to the IOTC EPSM. Most countries has open a new section for EPSM but as for Seychelles we are still using the same amount of human resource. Denial of port services FMC & Enforcement Most countries has open a new section for EPSM but as for Seychelles we are still using the same amount of human resource. Inspection and results Enforcement

24. SThank you SMerci