New minister visits fisheries related facilities |31 July 2017

The newly appointed Minister for Fisheries and Agriculture Pamela Charlette undertook a series of familiarisation visits to several ports and facilities which fall under her portfolio.

Her first visit was at the Ile du Port Handling Service Ltd (IPHS) quay where she was shown around the place and interacted with some staff.

The IPHS deals with purse seiner vessels that unload tuna at this area and it offers services such as equipment and other provisions to these vessels.

Accompanying minister Charlette were the principal secretary for fisheries Michael Nalletamby; special advisor to the minister Roy Clarisse; the chief executive of the Seychelles Fishing Authority Ronny Renaud and his deputy Calvin Garry.

Zone 14, an area where vessels come in to replace their broken nets with new ones, was the second place where the minister visited. While there she was guided on a tour on a Spanish ship called Izurdia which was berthed at the quay.

Other facilities visited included the fish processing factories at Providence and the Providence fishing port where Minister Charlette had the opportunity to talk to a couple of fishermen.

“The purpose of my visit today was to get a brief introduction to the facilities dedicated to fishermen and also discuss the plans SFA has for the fishing sector. I wanted to be made aware of how things work and the directions we are going towards,” Mrs Charlette stated.

At the end of her visits the minister noted that there is a collective effort on every side to create a thriving fishing sector. However issues such as less than favourable infrastructure and facilities need to be addressed.

The accompanying photos show Minister Charlette and her delegation on their visits.