Stakeholders give inputs on first draft of plan to co-manage demersal fishing |18 March 2015

The first draft of a plan on how to co-manage demersal fishing and fishing resources on the Mahé plateau and how to monitor and carry out surveillance and control the resources, has been presented to stakeholders on Mahé.

This was during a day-long workshop held last Thursday at the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) training room.

Fishermen, members of the boat owners association, businesses, partners and other individuals involved in demersal fishing took part in the session.

The plan reflects inputs and contributions gathered from consultations held last year and the meeting last Thursday was an opportunity for all the different stakeholders to review the proposed draft of the document before it is finalised.
 
The development of the co-management plan for the Mahé Plateau demersal fish resources is being led by the SFA with financial support from the UNDP GEF Programme in Seychelles and the European Union.

Stakeholders on Praslin and La Digue were expected to give their inputs and views on the draft document during consultation sessions at the weekend.

During the review session on Mahé, Dr Jude Bijoux, a fisheries biologist at SFA, made a short but detailed presentation on the draft document under the theme ‘Fishing for tomorrow’ and that ‘fishing remains sustainable’.

Fishermen were able to ask questions and share their views. Many of them also made proposals about demersal fishing on the Mahé Plateau. But in general the fishermen agreed that the same fishing measures and regulations should apply for all fishermen.  

“We are all fishing in the same waters,” said one fisherman.
The SFA’s vision is to develop the fishing industry to its fullest potential and to safeguard the resource base for sustainable development. It wants all fishermen to be safe at sea and to maximise revenue from fisheries.

The project is expected to be finalised by the end of this month.