Seychelles supports fisheries transparency initiative (FiTI) |09 February 2016

Seychelles is one of the first countries to support the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI),  a process aimed at enhancing responsible and sustainable fisheries through transparency.

In line with this Seychelles attended the first international conference to officially launch the initiative.

The conference, held in Nouakchott, Mauritania on February 3, 2016, was attended by the President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz; the President of the Republic of Senegal, Macky Sall; the Minister for International Development Cooperation of the Republic of Sweden, Isabella Lovin; other high level country representatives, international agencies, including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and non-governmental organisations.
The conference culminated in the adoption of the Nouakchott Declaration on Fisheries and Transparency.

While noting that the FiTI supports Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14) to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”, the declaration urges states, businesses, civil societies, international agencies and donors to take active steps in promoting the initiative and supporting its long-term sustainability.
At the closure of the conference, the head of the Seychelles delegation, Philippe Michaud, special adviser in the Blue Economy department of the Ministry of Finance, Trade and the Blue Economy, explained that “we [Seychelles] have been observing FiTI since the beginning. Together with Mauritania, Senegal and Indonesia, we are now delighted to officially join the process”.
The Seychelles delegation also included Peter Purvis from the same department and Jean-Claude Hoareau from the Seychelles Fishermen and Boat Owners Association (FBOA).

The FiTI is a global initiative which seeks to establish a universal standard among fisheries countries and to promote transparency in the fishery sector by producing reliable, publicly accessible and generally accepted information in the form of regular country reports which are prepared through a consultative process between stakeholders. The implementation of the FiTI is voluntary; however, once a country has committed to be involved, mandatory requirements must be followed.
FiTI is currently at a conceptual stage with the detailed framework (the FiTI Standard) still being developed by the FiTI secretariat. The standard, which is being developed in consultation with the International FiTI Advisory Group, will define what information should be made public, how transparency can be achieved and how the initiative will be governed. Seychelles is represented on the Advisory Group by Mr Michaud.