Anse Etoile gets new fish market

The new Anse Etoile fish market was officially opened on Saturday 20^th July 2024. It was the Designated Minister and Minister for Fisheries and the Blue Economy Mr Jean François Ferrari, the French Ambassador to Seychelles H.E. Mrs Olivia Berkeley Chrismann, Member of the National Assembly for Anse Etoile district Mr Georges Romain and the Parish Priest father Lonnie Adrienne who did the honours of cutting the ribbon and unveiling the commemorative plaque to officially open the market.

Named after the patron saint of the district, the Bazar St Antoine is another significant development funded by the European Union (EU) under the 2020-2026 Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement to help the fishing community. The 526 thousand rupees project consists of the newly built structure, stainless steel tables, fish cleaning area and new fencing.

The new facility replaces the previous one that was in use for the last 20 years. The previous fish market, which was built in 2004, suffered significant damage over the years and the wear and tear of the facility became increasingly visible and was affecting the working conditions of the fishermen.

Initially, the plan was to renovate the existing fish market to bring it to a higher level, improving its appearance. However, due to the high level of deterioration in the building structure, such as the broken drainage slab, cracks in the columns and concrete table, and damaged fencing, the decision was made to demolish the old market and construct a new one to provide a more conducive and hygienic place for the vendors to sell their product. Construction started in April this year and took only 2 months to complete.

To note, while the construction was ongoing, the fishermen were relocated to a temporary market funded and built under a private donation to the community.

In his opening remarks, Designated Minister and the Minister for Fisheries and the Blue Economy Mr Jean-François Ferrari thanked the private donor for the kind gesture “The project would not have been possible without the support of the community, particularly a private donation made for the construction of a temporary market, so that the fishers could have somewhere to sell their fish for the duration of the project. On behalf of the Ministry and the fishermen, I would like to express my gratitude to the sponsor for this generosity. It is always encouraging to see such support from the community.” said Minister Ferrari.

Minister Ferrari also appealed to the Anse Etoile fisheries community to organize themselves into an association to be better represented and reap more benefits for the sector.

Mr. Jimmy Barbier, a local fisherman thanked the Ministry of Fisheries and the Blue Economy for the facility. He expressed his gratitude for the initiative which he said means the place is now up to standard.