Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust |30 May 2018

SeyCCAT announces first Blue Grants Fund project partners

The Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT) has announced the first Blue Grants Fund (BGF) project partnerships.

Following a competitive process seeking project partnerships to “empower the fisheries sector with robust science and knowhow to improve governance, sustainability, value and market options”, the following projects have been selected:

-       Piloting voluntary fisheries zone closure on Praslin Island for the benefit of the marine environment and fisher folks - Praslin Fishers Association and Partners: Environmental NGO ‘Anba Lao’, Seychelles Fishing Authority (pending project compliance check).

-       Improving the socio-economic knowledge of the Seychelles Artisanal Fishery – Karine Rassool (PhD student) and Partner: University of York, Seychelles Fishing Authority.

-       Science based restoration of commercially important spiny lobster habitats to help develop a sustainable fishery - Marine Conservation Society Seychelles and Partners: University of Seychelles, Blue Economy Research Institute, Anse Forbans Community Conservation Group, Seychelles Fishing Authority.

-       Development and Operationalisation of National Fish Identification Website and Database - John Nevill and Partners: Victoria Computer Services (Pty) Limited, Seychelles Fishing Authority.

-       Assessment and Mitigation of Impact of the Artisanal Fishery on Species of Local Concern - Green Islands Foundation and Partners: Bel Ombre Fishers Association, Fishing Boat Owners Association, Artisanal Shark Fishers Association, Seychelles Fishing Authority

Full project and partnership details can be found on the SeyCCAT website: https://seyccat.org/projects/#on-going

SeyCCAT’s chief executive, Martin Callow, said: “This is a significant milestone for SeyCCAT.  Over the past six months we have been developing our systems, and receiving and reviewing proposals from a wide variety of organisations.  After a two-stage, competitive application process, we have identified what we believe to be a solid selection of fisheries projects that will help deliver improvements in the sector.  We are very excited to be supporting these project partnerships and we look forward to sharing their successes and challenges so that the sector can learn from their experiences.”

Karine Rassool, a Seychellois PhD student at the University of York and employee of the Seychelles Fishing Authority said, “it is increasingly being acknowledged that understanding how fishing communities think and work is key to successful fisheries management. My PhD research is aimed at getting a better understanding of the socio-economic aspects of the small scale fisheries in Seychelles. This grant will provide financial assistance for my fieldwork. As well as this, it will also enable the development of a methodological guide which will facilitate future socio-economic studies. Once completed, I hope that this project can fill the current gap in information and allow fisheries managers to make more informed policy decisions.”

Darell Green, the chairperson of the Praslin Fishers Association, said, “Nou'n antre dan en nouvo letap dan lapes, kot peser in vin konsyan ki i bezwen protez son resours (lapes) pour lavenir”. (“We have entered a new era in fishing, in which fishermen have realised the need for them to protect resources (fisheries) for the future”.)

Dr David Rowat of the Marine Conservation Society of Seychelles said, “We and our partners the Seychelles Fishing Authority, Anse Forbans Community Conservation Programme and the University of Seychelles Blue Economy Research Institute are pleased that SeyCCAT have chosen our collaborative project for this round of funding. We hope that this will not only help to make the lobster fishery sustainable into the future but also spur on other collaborative approaches to safeguard Seychelles demersal fisheries.”

Wilna Accouche of Green Islands Foundation said, “We are pleased that through SeyCCAT funding, Green Islands Foundation will be able to continue monitoring of IUCN threatened species and also collect data on species of local concern in the artisanal fishery. This signifies that we will have a deeper understanding on the extent that these species are caught and more importantly we will through discussions with local fishermen bring forward measures that they are voluntarily willing to take to improve the sustainability of the artisanal fishery. We recognise that the work we are doing contributes to sustainable management of fishing resources in Seychelles and we appreciate that SeyCCAT also recognises this and has given us the support to continue this work.”

John Nevill, working in partnership with VCS, said, “We are very happy to work with the support of SeyCCAT on the development of a fish identification website and database to support the technical base necessary for sound fishery management. SeyCCAT is an innovative initiative that empowers stakeholders to better contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of our marine resources.”

The CEO goes on to state that, “We are also gearing-up for our next call for proposals, which will be broader and larger in scope with up to SCR9.5 million  available to be dispersed.  We believe that using these funds to support local partnerships will help to co-create more innovative projects, deliver improved conservation management outcomes, improved capacities to develop and share creative solutions, as well as as support the development of responsible business models”.

SeyCCAT plans to announce the second Blue Grants Fund in June – at the same time, SeyCCAT will announce a series of public Blue Grants Fund Question and Answer sessions to help potential applicants understand how to engage with the Trust. 

Full details about the first SeyCCAT project partnerships can be found online at www.seyccat.org.

SeyCCAT is an independent trust fund, with a mandate to provide a sustainable flow of funds to support marine protected areas, sustainable fisheries, and other activities that contribute substantially to the conservation, protection and maintenance of biodiversity and the adaptation to climate change.