Artisanal fishers in the Seychelles have received a boost to their trade with the opening of a SCR 23.5 million (USD 1.6 million, EUR 1.5 million) seafood facility, backed by financing from the European Union-Seychelles Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA).
The facility, located in Anse aux Pins, an administrative district on the Seychelles island of Mahé, contains a new fish market for traders, many of whom have been selling their seafood on the roadside; storage areas for fishers’ equipment and engines; and an ice plant to support small-scale fishers reduce post-harvest losses.
“With the growing fishing activities in this area, constrained by limited facilities, it became evident by the authorities that a proper fisheries facility is essential to facilitate the lives of the fishers, including the many customers from all over the island who come to Anse aux Pins to buy fish from the community’s artisanal fishers,” Seychelles Minister for Fisheries and the Blue Economy Jean-François Ferrari said.
Ferrari also said the launch of the new facility “encourages good hygiene, maintains the quality of the fish sold by the fishers, and ultimately enhances their quality of life by providing a secure place to keep their engines and fishing gears, as well as a conducive area for selling and purchasing their catch.”
Additionally, as one of six facilities backed by the SFPA since 2021, the new project hosts administrative offices, a seawall, a shipway, and a pontoon that enables fishers to land their catch from boats irrespective of the condition of the ocean tides.
Similar facilities have either been completed or are at various stages of completion in the districts of Baie Ste Anne Praslin, Glacis, Ile Perseverance, Cascade, and Grand Anse Praslin.
The SFPA guarantees a total of EUR 2.8 million (USD 3 million) each year for the promotion of sustainable management of fisheries in Seychelles, as well as the development of small-scale fisheries.
Seychelles has approximately 500 artisanal-fishing vessels in operation, providing jobs to about 1,500 people who, on average, catch 400 tons of demersal fish monthly, nearly 100 percent of it consumed domestically.
