Seychelles boosts capacity to better fight illegal fishing |17 October 2013

As part of its efforts in the fight against illegal fishing activities, the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) has held a training for its fisheries enforcement control and surveillance staff.
 
Facilitated by the IOTC (Indian Ocean Tuna Commission) and the EU’s (European Union) SmartFish Project, the training was aimed at reinforcing the participants’ ability to enforce the IOTC resolution based on the FAO agreement on port state measures to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Seychelles was the first country from the African region to adopt this FAO agreement, which aims to empower port states like Seychelles to conduct inspections and prevent the unloading of fish caught in contravention with existing regulations. This is to ensure that illegally harvested fish do not enter the commercial trade.

The IOTC resolution binds its members to their responsibilities as port states, flag states and fishing industry to ensure compliance with provisions of the agreement to combat illegal fishing in the region.

Seychelles is the major tuna fishing port in the region with 85% of the tuna caught in the South West Indian Ocean landing or being transshipped in Port Victoria. As such and as a sovereign authority, Seychelles is determined to ensure that sustainable fisheries as a pillar of our ‘Blue Economy’ are maintained and protected against the scourge of illegal fishing.

The training has contributed towards reinforcing Seychelles capacity to effectively implement the crucial IOTC resolution.

These actions again highlight Seychelles’ leadership role in fisheries management and its commitment to ensuring that all forms of illegal fishing are tackled and that the trading of illegally caught fish does not occur on its territory. In so doing Seychelles is contributing towards the regional sustainability of the tuna resources.