13 fishermen from Anse Royale get new ice boxes |13 January 2015

Thirteen Anse Royale fishermen were allocated with new ice boxes last Saturday at their regular selling area by the beach.

This is a first batch of ice boxes to be distributed to fishermen across the country. The Minister for Natural Resources, Peter Sinon, mentioned during the ceremony that “after consultation with all parties concerned we decided to replace the entire old fridges used to store the catch of the day”.

The ice boxes have been jointly financed by the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) and the European Union (EU).  

“This is a project we want to do around Seychelles to help the fishermen and also to contribute to the beauty of our country,” said Minister Sinon.

The member of the National Assembly for Anse Royale, Derek Samson, seized the opportunity to thank the Ministry of Natural Resources, SFA and the EU.

“This donation will allow the fishermen to stock their fish properly thus boosting their sales. The place will definitely be enhanced with these new ice boxes,” added Mr Samson.

Pascal Lesperance, a fisherman of many years, stated that “this is a good start to improving the conditions of the fishermen here. Now we will stop selling our fish in the sun and we are all waiting for the market that was promised to us. We hope with all these developments, we will soon get it”.

The old deep freezers being used in the districts by fishermen are expected to be replaced by the new ice boxes.

The freezers will then be collected and properly disposed of by SFA staff.

The new ice boxes, which will remain the properties of the SFA, are more hygienic and presentable than the old deep freezers which are usually used not only to store fish, but also to cut and even display fish for sale on them.

Each ice box costs approximately R4,000.

Also present at the hand-over of the boxes on Saturday were the Minister for Home Affairs and Transport Joel Morgan, the chief executive of SFA Finley Racombo, the principal secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources Michel Nalletamby and the fishermen of Anse Royale.