Baie Ste Anne gets new fisheries facilities |03 July 2023

Seychelles Nation

By Nadia Bedier

Artisanal fishery on Praslin has received a big boost with the opening of new and modern fishing port and related facilities in the heart of Baie Ste Anne.

“Baie Ste Anne currently harbours 23 licensed artisanal fishing vessels and accommodates 84 registered fishers. With an increase in artisanal fisheries activities in the community, constrained by limited resources, it became evident that proper fisheries facilities were needed to facilitate the lives of fishers and customers from all over the island,” the Minister for Fisheries and the Blue Economy, Jean-François Ferrari, expressed at the official opening of the facilities on Saturday.

The ceremony was graced by the presence of President Wavel Ramkalawan; European Union ambassador Vincent Degert; members of the cabinet of ministers; deputy CEO of the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA), chairman of the SFA board; members of the National Assembly for Praslin, fishers and other stakeholders.

The modern facilities, located in the heart of Baie Ste Anne, comprises a fish and vegetable market, a meat processing area for locally produced products, 12 gear stores, an ice plant, a fish landing shed, fish shop, gear shop, offices, electrical rooms and a conference room.

“This development has been done through a participatory approach with input from the fishers of Baie Ste Anne and their association, the district administration and other stakeholders. It is through this collaborative effort within the district that today we have a facility that meets your requirements and we expect you to take ownership of it, to ensure it is properly used and maintained,” Minister Ferrari continued.

He also thanked the European Union (EU) for its continuous support toward the development of the fisheries sector, expressing that this project is a demonstration of one of the many direct benefits of the fishing agreement with the EU to the community.

Grand Anse Praslin also welcomed its own ice plant facility last year and will soon be receiving nine gear stores while two other projects are expected to start on Mahé next year.

It was an emotional moment for the EU ambassador, who will be leaving office this month after a four-year mandate, to inaugurate his last project.

AmbassadorDegert thanked Minister Ferrari and his team for their professionalism and good cooperation throughout the years which was based on trust, faith and mutual engagement.

“Together, we have demonstrated the capacity to tailor our assistance to the needs and priorities of the government and people of Seychelles. This infrastructure in Baie Ste Anne offers many facilities to the Praslinois community and the new challenge is now to ensure its long-term management and proper maintenance. For the future, a shift in the fisheries sector is expected, with focus on capacity building, research, fish stock management, enforcement and control at sea and also the design of a new seafood processing plant on Ile du Port,” Ambassador Degert shared.

It was President Ramkalawan and Ambassador Degert who unveiled the commemorative plaque and this was followed by a blessing and guided tour of the facilities.

The chairman of the Praslin Fishermen’s Association, Darrel Green, thanked both the European Union and the government for the facilities which he believes will greatly assist both the fishing and consumer communities of Praslin and called on all users to make good use of it.

On behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment, chief agricultural officer, Linetta Joubert, called on all farmers to make use of the new market which can cater for 10 farmers. With higher hygiene standards to guarantee fresh, high quality products, farmers are being called to refrain from current practice of trading by the roadside and instead make use of this facility which is more convenient to consumers with good parking space and abundance of other products.

Work on the R15.1 million project, funded by the European Union under the 2020-2026 Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement, Sectoral Support Programme, started in November 2021 and was carried out by All Weather Builders building contractor. With the initial conceptualisation of the project in late 2017, many difficulties were faced by the Praslin Fisheries Development Committee, led by SFA, to acquire the land for the facilities. Finally it has come to fruition and the next phase, which is expected to start in 2024, includes the construction of a seawall and installation of pontoons to enable fishers to moor their boats safely and easily land their catches.

The accompanying photos show highlights of the ceremony.

Nadia Bedier

Photos by Romano Laurence