FAO REEFFISH Project   Seychelles gets patrol vessel from Japanese government   By Sunny Esparon |19 April 2023

Seychelles Nation

Seychelles has received a new patrol vessel from the Japanese government, which will be used by the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) in its enforcement activities.

It was the chargé d’affaires from the Japanese embassy, Ambassador Kato Eiji, who handed over the keys of the patrol vessel to the Designated Minister, who is also responsible for Fisheries and Blue Economy, Jean François Ferrari, during a short ceremony at the Artisanal Fishing Port in Victoria yesterday morning.

The vessel, which will be used to carry out enforcement activities, has been funded under the Food and Agriculture REEFFISH Project, through component 3, where five patrol vessels are being donated to five African countries in the Indian Ocean, including Seychelles.

REEFFISH project involves the restoration of coral ecosystems to help the fisheries and aquaculture sectors and is managed under a collaboration between the FAO and the government of Japan, alongside Seychelles, Kenya, Comoros, Madagascar and Mauritius.

When accepting the vessel, Minister Ferrari thanked the Japanese government for financing the FAO coordinated project, stating “the reception of this patrol vessel is but one important complementary element of this valuable project”.

He said the vessel was essential in stopping acts of illegal fishing while monitoring the reefs of the “fragile ecosystem” during the natural restoration project.

The vessel will also improve the resilience of REEFFISH and help those dependent on coastal fishing. “Seychelles is benefitting greatly under this project, whereby out of US $4.4 million, $880,000 have been attributed to Seychelles,” he explained. “Like we did with the last vessel we were given, we will take good care of this one,” added Mr Ferrari.

For his part, the FAO National Correspondent, Keven Nancy, explained that the vessel has been donated to combat illegal unreported and unregulated fishing. It will also protect the coral reef resources. The vessel will enforce the areas of Anse Royale, Silhouette Island, and Curieuse.

He continued by explaining that the vessel will have lifejackets and safety equipment and buoys. There will also be research on Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs). The project started since 2019, however with Covid it was stalled but went back into full swing at the end of 2020.

Principal secretary for Fisheries, Roy Clarisse, explained that “with the surveillance, the vessel will also make sure that the corals get taken care of, which is why in this project, it does not include only the SFA or fishermen, but that we have the community and NGOs that will make sure that the corals and the fishes are taken care of”.

Yesterday’s handover included blessings by Deacon Louis Agathine.

Also present at the ceremony were SFA’s interim chief executive, Philippe Michaud,  SFA’s deputy chief executive, Ashik Hassan, the FAO REEFFISH project National Steering Committee members as well as SFA staff and those from the fisheries department .

Photos by Joena Meme