Documentation Centre, Seychelles Fishing Authority, P O Box 449, Victoria - Mahe, Seychelles. Fax: 248 224508. Phone: 248 670300. Website: www.sfa.sc Contact: Denise Mathiot: dmathiot@sfa.sc

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  • Fisheries Statistical Report Year 2020

    Seychelles Fishing Authority (Seychelles Fishing Authority, 2022)
    The Seychelles Fisheries Statistical Report is a comprehensive source of information for the commercial fishing industry, fisheries managers, policymakers, and researchers. Since 2014 the report has presented annual updates of fisheries statistics on a bi-annual basis. The report contains data on the volume of production from Seychelles artisanal, semi-industrial, industrial longline and purse seine fishery by vessel type, species, and geographical locations. Profiles of each fishery, summary of data collection and processing procedures are also provided. Readers should note that in 2017 SFA implemented a new data management system for artisanal fishery which created delays in data capture and the delays in publication of this report. SFA wishes to apologise for any inconvenience caused by the delay of this publication. Information on recreational, sea cucumber, lobster and sport fishery is not included in this current edition but will be included progressively in future editions. As a result, the publication gives only a partial estimate of the total volume of local fishery production. Readers should note that some figures presented in this bulletin may be different to previously published because these figures may have been revised following thorough verifications carried out on the data following database upgrading, new data received that were previously missing, revised EEZ shape file used or data validation using VMS data. Also, some of the figures presented may be subject to revision (usually upwards) as more data become available. Since space is a limiting factor in some tables, flag country appearing in these tables is included based on their total catch. The remaining flags are classified under “OTHERS”. Flag countries with only one vessel are automatically placed under “OTHERS” to preserve the confidentiality of data pertaining to the vessel.
  • Fisheries Statistical Report Year 2020, Semester 1

    Seychelles Fishing Authority (Seychelles Fishing Authority, 2021)
    The Seychelles Fisheries Statistical Report is a comprehensive source of information for the commercial fishing industry, fisheries managers, policymakers, and researchers. Since 2014 the report has presented annual updates of fisheries statistics on a bi-annual basis. The report contains data on the volume of production from Seychelles artisanal, semi-industrial, industrial longline and purse seine fishery by vessel type, species, and geographical locations. Profiles of each fishery, summary of data collection and processing procedures are also provided. Readers should note that in 2017 SFA implemented a new data management system for artisanal fishery which created delays in data capture and the delays in publication of this report. SFA wishes to apologise for any inconvenience caused by the delay of this publication. Information on recreational, sea cucumber, lobster and sport fishery is not included in this current edition but will be included progressively in future editions. As a result, the publication gives only a partial estimate of the total volume of local fishery production. Readers should note that some figures presented in this bulletin may be different to previously published because these figures may have been revised following thorough verifications carried out on the data following database upgrading, new data received that were previously missing, revised EEZ shape file used or data validation using VMS data. Also, some of the figures presented may be subject to revision (usually upwards) as more data become available. Since space is a limiting factor in some tables, flag country appearing in these tables is included based on their total catch. The remaining flags are classified under “OTHERS”. Flag countries with only one vessel are automatically placed under “OTHERS” to preserve the confidentiality of data pertaining to the vessel.
  • Fisheries Statistical Report Year 2021

    Seychelles Fishing Authority (Seychelles Fishing Authority, 2022)
    This Seychelles Fisheries Statistical Report present annual updates of fisheries statistics for the industrial, semi-industrial, artisanal, sea cucumber and lobster fishery by vessel type, species, and geographical locations for the year 2021. Profiles of each fishery, summary of data collection and processing procedures are also provided. For the purse seine fishery, 46 purse seiners holding licences to fish inside the Seychelles EEZ reported a total catch of 412,922 MT in the in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO), for the year 2021. This represents a 17% increase over the estimated catch of 353,675 MT reported in the year 2020. The Spanish fleet accounted for 38% of the total catch in the WIO for year 2021, whilst the Seychelles and French fleet accounted for 30% and 19% respectively. A total catch of 43,001 MT was reported inside the Seychelles EEZ during the year 2021 representing a 55% decrease from the 95,668 MT reported for the year 2020. This corresponds to a decrease of 49% in fishing effort in 2021 when compared to the previous year. It is worth noting that the catches and effort reported in 2021, was the lowest recorded inside Seychelles EEZ since 2013 and the decrease may be due to the change in fishing ground, with higher availability of tuna outside Seychelles EEZ. In terms of species composition, Skipjack tuna dominated the total purse seine catches, accounting for 61% of the total catch followed by yellowfin and bigeye tuna representing 29%, and 9% of the total catch respectively. Skipjack, yellowfin, and bigeye tuna catches increased by 13%, 8% and 122% respectively in 2021 when compared to the year 2020. It is worth noting that in 2021, SFA encountered technical issues with its purse seine data processing software which did not allow for the species composition corrections. Hence the species composition provided here may change following species composition correction. The Seychelles flagged purse seiners reported a total catch of 122,855 MT in the WIO in 2021, achieved from a fishing effort of 3,027 fishing days thus giving a mean catch rate of 40.60 MT/fishing day. This represents an increase of 9% in catches and a slight decrease of 6% in fishing effort. In 2020 the Seychelles purse seine fleet reported a total catch of 112,231 MT obtained from a fishing effort of 3,221 fishing days with a mean catch rate of 34.84 MT/fishing day. Species composition of the Seychelles purse seine fleet in the year 2021 comprised of 24% yellowfin tuna (29,407MT), 66% of skipjack tuna (81,390MT) and 9% of bigeye tuna (11,230MT). This represents a decrease of 4% in yellowfin tuna catches and an increased of 8% and 91% in skipjack and bigeye tuna respectively. Like previous years, Port Victoria remained the principal port for tuna transhipment and landing by purse seiners in the WIO during the year 2021. A total of 387,992 MT of tuna was unloaded through port Victoria compared to 335,074 MT in 2020. This represents 93% of the total landing and transhipment for that year and a 16% increase from the previous year. For the industrial longline fishery, 188 vessels licensed to fish in the Seychelles EEZ during year 2021 reported an estimated catch of 25,340 MT, obtained from a fishing effort of approximately 66.6 million hooks. This resulted in a mean catch rate of 0.38 MT/1000 hooks, a much lower catch rate than 0.55 MT/1000 hooks estimated for the previous year. The total catch reported by 162 vessels in the year 2020 was 31,496 MT, obtained from a fishing effort of approximately 57.4 million hooks. Only 58% of the total reported catch or 14,575 MT of fish were reported to have been caught inside of the Seychelles EEZ during the year 2021 despite an increase of 49% in fishing effort inside the Seychelles EEZ. In terms of species composition, bigeye tuna catches accounted for 41% of the total catch whilst Yellowfin tuna, swordfish and the `others’ category represented 27%, 7% and 16% of the total catch comparable to the year 2020. During the year 2021, the 64 Seychelles flagged industrial longliners reported an estimated catch of 14,526 MT representing a decrease of 35% in catches despite just a slight decrease of 2% in fishing effort. During the previous year, the 62 Seychelles flagged vessels reported a total catch of 22,469 MT. Species composition of the Seychelles industrial longline fleet in the year 2021 comprised of 21% yellowfin tuna (3064.2MT), 40% of bigeye tuna (5825.8MT) and 24% of “other species” (3549.7MT). This represents a decrease of 61% and 21% in yellowfin and bigeye tuna catches respectively and an increase of 36% in catches of “Other species”. In the semi-industrial fishery, a total of 375 fishing trips targeting tuna and swordfish were conducted by 41 semi-industrial longliners in the year 2021. This represents an increase of 23% in number of trips targeting swordfish and tuna over the 306 fishing trips conducted in 2020 by 35 vessels. The total catches by the Semi industrial vessels increased by 18% to reached 1,759 MT compared to 1,485 Mt the previous year corresponding to an increase of 36% in fishing effort. In terms of species composition, yellowfin tuna accounted for 89% of the total catch followed by swordfish and bigeye tuna accounting for 6% and 3% of the total catch, respectively. During the previous year, the semi-industrial catches was dominated by yellowfin (86%) followed by swordfish (9%) and bigeye tuna (4%). The mean number of boats operating per month in the artisanal fishery, during the first semester of year 2021 has increased to 327 boats active per month when compared to a mean of 303 boats active per month during the first semester of the year 2020 (the covid19 pandemic period). The highest increased was observed in the mean number of schooner active, 56 in 2021 compared to 43 in the year 2020. The artisanal fleet was still dominated by outboard vessels accounting for 62% of the fleet with whalers and schooners accounting for 19% and 17% respectively. During the first semester of the year 2021, the total artisanal catches increased by 28% to reach 2346 MT compared to a total catch of 1833 MT estimated for the same period the previous year. Typical of previous years, the handline fishery dominated artisanal fisheries catches, accounting for 70% of total landings during the first six months of 2021.The most important species groups landed for the first semester of the year 2021 were carangues (24%), bourgeois (14%) and job (11%). During the first six months of the year 2021, the total fishing effort for handline, trap and net fishery increase by 43%, 58% and 41% respectively. The Catch rate for the handline and net fishery decreased during the first semester of the year 2021 when compared to same period the previous year. The catch rate for trap fishery has remained unchanged. For the sea cucumber fishery, the landings in numbers for the 2020/2021 fishing season were 243,169 Flower teatfish, 53,241 White teatfish, and 38,494 Prickly redfish. This represents a decrease of 10% and 22% for Flower teatfish and White teatfish respectively and an increase of 4% for Prickly redfish compare to the 2019/2020 season. Fishing efforts have increased over the years, with 155 trips completed in 2020-2021, two trips less than the 2019/2020 season. The lobster fishery catch fluctuates from season to seasons. The highest catch of 6.1 MT was recorded in the 2020/2021 season, whereas the lowest catch of 0.61 MT was recorded in the 2013/2014 season. A notable peak in catch was recorded in 2019/2020 following a two-year closure. In terms of catch composition for the targeted species, historically P. penicillatus dominated the catch for all seasons with an average of 2.9 MT per season, followed by P. longipes with an average of 0.9 MT per seasons. A total of 242 fishing trips were recorded during the 2020/2021 season compared to only 196 trips in 2019/2020 representing an increase of 23%.
  • Fisheries Statistical Report Year: 2017 Semester 1, Year 2018

    Seychelles Fishing Authority (Seychelles Fishing Authority, 2019)
    The Seychelles Fisheries Statistical Report is a comprehensive source of information for the commercial fishing industry, fisheries managers, policymakers and researchers. Since 2014 the report has presented annual updates of fisheries statistics for on a bi-annual basis. The report contains data on the volume of production from Seychelles artisanal, semi industrial, industrial longline and purse seine fishery by vessel type, species and geographical locations. Profiles of each fishery, summary of data collection and processing procedures are also provided. Information on recreational, sea cucumber, Lobster and sport fishery is not included in this current edition but will be included progressively in future editions. As a result, the publication gives only a partial estimate of the total volume of local fishery production. Readers should note that some figures presented in this bulletin may be different to previously published because these figures may have been revised following thorough verifications carried out on the data following database upgrading, new data received that were previously missing, revised EEZ shape file used or data validation using VMS data. Also some of the figures presented may be subject to revision (usually upwards) as more data become available. Since space is a limiting factor in some tables, flag country appearing in these tables is included based on their total catch. The remaining flags are classified under “OTHERS”. Flag countries with only one vessel are automatically placed under “OTHERS” to preserve the confidentiality of data pertaining to the vessel.
  • Fisheries Statistical Report - Year 2016

    Seychelles Fishing Authority (Seychelles Fishing Authority, 2017)
    This Statistical bulletin presents statistics for purse seine fishery, semi industrial longline fishery, and artisanal fishery for the year 2015 and 2016. Time series data for last 10 years is also presented for each fishery. It must be noted that fisheries economic information such as Vessel expenditures and export will not feature in this current report and future fisheries statistical report. For such information contact the SFA Economic section. Data used to generate the tables and figures for industrial and semi industrial fishery presented here are based on daily catch and effort forms (logbooks) and landing and transhipment forms returned from fishing vessels that are licensed to fish in the Seychelles EEZ as well as from data collected via the tuna sampling programme conducted during unloading in Port Victoria. Sometimes there are delays in these being received at SFA, especially for longliners that often spend up to a year at sea. For purse seiners the delays are usually during and just after the second quarter of the year when most vessels are fishing in the Mozambique Channel and are not necessarily using Port Victoria for transhipment. Readers should note that some figures presented in this bulletin may be different to previously published because these figures have been revised following thorough verifications carried out on the data following database upgrading, revised EEZ shape file used or data validation using VMS data. Also some of the figures presented may be subject to revision (usually upwards) as more data become available. Since space is a limiting factor in some tables, flag country appearing in these tables is included based on their total catch. The remaining flags are classified under “OTHERS”. Flag countries with only one vessel are automatically placed under “OTHERS” to preserve the confidentiality of data pertaining to the vessel.
  • SFA Fisheries Statistical Report 2016 Semester 1

    Seychelles Fishing Authority (Seychelles Fishing Authority, 2016)
    This Statistical bulletin presents statistics for purse seine fishery, semi industrial longline fishery, artisanal fishery, vessel port activities and expenditures, and fisheries import and export for the year 2015 and first semester of 2016. Data used to generate the tables and figures for industrial and semi industrial fishery presented here are based on daily catch and effort forms (logbooks) and landing and transhipment forms returned from fishing vessels that are licensed to fish in the Seychelles EEZ as well as from data collected via the tuna sampling programme conducted during unloading in Port Victoria. Sometimes there are delays in these being received at SFA, especially for longliners that often spend up to a year at sea. For purse seiners the delays are usually during and just after the second quarter of the year when most vessels are fishing in the Mozambique Channel and are not necessarily using Port Victoria for transhipment. Figures presented on vessel port calls and expenditures in port Victoria are based on data collected from Seychelles Port Authority and shipping Agents respectively whilst export and import figures are generated from data sourced from the National Bureau of Statistics, invoices from local processors and export permit from Ministry of Finance. Readers should note that some figures presented in this bulletin may be different to previously published because these figures have been revised following thorough verifications carried out on the data following database upgrading, revised EEZ shape file used or data validation using VMS data. Also some of the figures presented may be subject to revision (usually upwards) as more data become available. Since space is a limiting factor in some tables, flag country appearing in these tables is included based on their total catch. The remaining flags are classified under “OTHERS”. Flag countries with only one vessel are automatically placed under “OTHERS” to preserve the confidentiality of data pertaining to the vessel.
  • Fisheries Statistical Report, Year: 2015 Semester 1

    Seychelles Fishing Authority (Seychelles Fishing Authority, 2015)
  • Seychelles’ 1st Report to the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) Calendar year: 2019

    FiTI National Multi-stakeholder Group of Seychelles (MSG) (Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy, 2021-04)
    Seychelles, an island group in the western Indian Ocean, comprises of 115 islands spread over an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 1.37 million km2. Despite having a land mass of just 455 km2, Seychelles is a large oceanic state, and a major player in the global tuna industry, with Port Victoria one of the busiest industrial fishing ports in the Western Indian Ocean. Seychelles is heavily reliant on its two main pillars of the economy: tourism and fisheries. In view that marine fisheries is such a key contributor to the social, economic and cultural fabric of Seychelles, the fisheries sector plays a central role in the nation’s developmental agenda, from successive National Development Plans to strategies for socio-economic growth. Seychelles has also prioritised the nationalising of the international agenda for sustainable fisheries, such as the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). There is a widely shared understanding of the need to achieve sustainably managed marine fisheries. But coastal states, like Seychelles, face a complex challenge: ensuring that fishing and fish trade contribute to income, employment, food and nutrition security, while also conserving marine biodiversity for future generations. While there are many aspects to achieve sustainable fisheries, the public availability of information is essential. Transparency does not only contribute to improved decision-making by public authorities, it can also highlight underlying factors of unsustainable fisheries. National authorities, private fishing companies, local fishing communities, investors, retailers and partner countries engaged in fishing agreements stand to benefit from increased transparency. Promoting these positive features of fisheries lies at the heart of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI).
  • Economic Impact of the Seychelles Sea Cucumber Fishery and Industry

    SFA Fisheries Economics (Seychelles Fishing Authority, 2021-09)
    1. The Seychelles sea cucumber industry has a non-transferable licensing framework granting access to only 25 fishing and 4 processing licenses. A Total Allowable Catch (TAC) was introduced in 2018 with only three species allowable for fishing: flower teatfish, prickly redfish and white teatfish. The fishing fleet is comprised of 25 vessels embarking on average 6 trips per season and with a mean fishing trip duration of 17 days. Some form of pre-processing is conducted onboard involving eviscerating and salting the sea cucumber. At the processing-level, the 4 licensed processors utilize the entire supply of landings and processes the sea cucumbers to a dried state. Based on the processors’ estimates, the industry’s processing capacity can increase twofold. 2. On a seasonal basis for the 2019/2020 season [October to May], the sea cucumber fishing fleet landed 371,599 pieces of sea cucumbers representing a 34% increase from the 2017/2018 season and a 40% increase from the 2018/2019 season. Flower teatfish had the highest landings (72%) followed by white teatfish (18%) and prickly red (10%). The fleet utilised 99% of the TAC which is an improvement of 28 percentage points compared to the previous season. 3. On an annual basis in 2020, a total of 376,181 sea cucumbers were landed with an estimated landings revenue of SCR 51.9 million. This represents a 78% increase from 2018 and a 22% increase from 2019. Fishers tend to be paid a standard unit price for each specimen, with a SCR 10 commission earned only on the sale of flower teatfish and white teatfish to processors. Increases in ex-vessel prices were observed in 2019, with flower teatfish and white teatfish growing by 25% and 35% respectively. White teatfish garnered the highest ex-vessel price per piece with prices typically SCR 15-20 higher than flower teatfish and SCR 80-110 higher than prickly redfish. 4. Export consignments of dried sea cucumbers are mainly transported via air with Hong Kong as its only destination. Export trends indicate that export is on the rise despite a marginal fall in both the number of pieces and weight by 1% and 4% respectively during 2018-2019. In 2020, data is from January-July and shows that export value has attained an increase of 32% from 2018 and 3% from 2019. Similar to ex-vessel prices, white teatfish is the most valuable specimen exported and in 2020, all 3 species recorded individual highs with white teatfish at SCR 2,295 per kg, flower teatfish at SCR 2,040 per kg and prickly red at SCR 1,020 per kg. Average export prices for white teatfish, flower teatfish and prickly red stands at SCR 1,539, 1,401, 720 per kg respectively. 5. The sea cucumber industry directly supports about 185 jobs generating an income impact of approximately SCR 29.6 million. The fishing component generated the most jobs (150) and income earnings (SCR 23.9 million). Page | 4 There are 118 locals employed in the fishery, resulting to about 143 households directly dependent on the industry, ultimately leading to an estimated 486 individuals impacted to some degree by the industry. 6. The Government through the SFA charges various fees to operators including licensing fees, management fees, and an inspection fee. In 2020, SFA collected SCR 1.8 million in such fees translating to a 18% increase in 2018 and a 15% increase in 2019. 7. In 2019, it is estimated that the mean operational cost for a sea cucumber fishing vessel amounts to SCR 1.2 million, with the main operational cost items being labour remuneration (79%), food (9%), fuel (6%), and accommodation (5%). Vessel owners benefit from a fuel excise tax exemption equivalent to SCR 8.50 per litre. This subsidy reduced fleet-level costs by SCR 1.5 million and lowered the annual operational cost of a vessel by 4%. 8. The industry generated a value-added impact of SCR 43.5 million, with the fishing component and processing/exporting components contributing SCR 31.3 million and SCR 12.3 million respectively.
  • Fisheries Statistical Report Year: 2019

    Seychelles Fishing Authority (Seychelles Fishing Authority, 2020)
    The Seychelles Fisheries Statistical Report is a comprehensive source of information for the commercial fishing industry, fisheries managers, policymakers, and researchers. Since 2014 the report has presented annual updates of fisheries statistics for on a bi-annual basis. The report contains data on the volume of production from Seychelles artisanal, semi-industrial, industrial longline and purse seine fishery by vessel type, species, and geographical locations. Profiles of each fishery, summary of data collection and processing procedures are also provided. Readers should note that data in 2017 SFA implemented a new data management system for artisanal fishery which created delays in data capture and the delays in publication of this report. SFA wishes to apologise for any inconvenience caused by the delay of this publication. Information on recreational, sea cucumber, Lobster and sport fishery is not included in this current edition but will be included progressively in future editions. As a result, the publication gives only a partial estimate of the total volume of local fishery production. Readers should note that some figures presented in this bulletin may be different to previously published because these figures may have been revised following thorough verifications carried out on the data following database upgrading, new data received that were previously missing, revised EEZ shape file used or data validation using VMS data. Also, some of the figures presented may be subject to revision (usually upwards) as more data become available. Since space is a limiting factor in some tables, flag country appearing in these tables is included based on their total catch. The remaining flags are classified under “OTHERS”. Flag countries with only one vessel are automatically placed under “OTHERS” to preserve the confidentiality of data pertaining to the vessel.
  • Report on the Spiny Lobster Fishery: Summary of Fishing Activity for the 2021-2022 season

    SFA Fisheries Research Section - Seychelles Fishing Authority (Seychelles Fishing Authority, 2022-10)
    Spiny lobsters (Palinuridae) are amongst many marine species with great commercial importance for small-scale fisherman. In Seychelles, the spiny lobster has traditionally been managed as a seasonal closure and limited access (license-limited) fishery. The lobster fishing season usually opens for 3 months. This report presents analyses of the fisheries-dependent data collected from the spiny lobster fishery during the 2021/2022 fishing season and makes comparison between previous fishing seasons. To achieve this, data collected from fishers and sampled Catch and Effort logbooks were used. Statistical analyses to compare sizes between the previous seasons for Panulirus longipes (Long-legged spiny lobster) and Panulirus penicillatus (Pronghorn spiny lobster) were performed. Results for 2021/2022 season showed that snorkeling was the predominant fishing method used. A decrease in both the total catch (1.87 MT) and the number of fishing trips (103 trips) was observed compared to the two previous seasons. In terms of fishing sites, Mahé remains the most dominant area for both total catch (1.29 MT) and number of trips (72 trips) amongst the major fishing sites. A decrease in the number of trips (CPUE) was observed. For the 2021/2022 season, female, and male carapace length (CL) size were mostly constant compared to the two previous seasons. Overall, the data analysis for 2021/2022 season indicates that there was a decline in lobster’s relative abundance, most probably attributed to lobster fishing season being open for three consecutive fishing seasons. The CPUE has decreased by 27% compared to the previous season. The 2022 fisheries independent survey will be conducted during the last quarter of the year to establish the changes in the relative abundance of lobsters.
  • Seychelles Fishing Authority Annual Report 2021

    Seychelles Fishing Authority (Seychelles Fishing Authority, 2023)
  • Seychelles Fishing Authority Annual Report 2019-2020

    Seychelles Fishing Authority (Seychelles Fishing Authority, 2022)
  • Report on the Spiny Lobster Fishery: Lobster Survey Report 2021.

    SFA Fisheries Research Section (Seychelles Fishing Authority, 2021)
    The spiny lobster fishery has been conventionally managed by seasonal closures and limited access (license-limited) regulations implemented by the Seychelles Fishing Authority. These regulations have been in force to limit the level of fishing effort of fishers primarily targeting the coastal and shallow water stocks, which are easily accessible and susceptible to overfishing. In the past, assessments of fisheries dependent data have shown several significant declines in the coastal stocks when too many licenses are allocated or when the fishery remains open for 3 to 4 consecutive seasons. Consequently, the stock status is determined by assessing both fisheries dependent and independent (surveys) data. Results obtained are provided to managers with advice on whether the fishery should be opened or remain closed.
  • Report on the Spiny Lobster Fishery: Summary of Fishing Activity for the 2020-2021 Season.

    SFA Fisheries Research Section (Seychelles Fishing Authority, 2021)
    Spiny lobsters (Palinuridae) are amongst many marine species with great commercial importance for small-scale fisherman. In Seychelles, the spiny lobster fishery has traditionally been managed as a seasonal closure and limited access (license-limited) fishery. The lobster fishing season usually opens for 3 months, but because of low catch and effort as a result of unfavourable weather conditions, the 2020/2021 fishing season was extended by 1 month. This report presents analyses of the fisheries-dependent data collected from the spiny lobster fishery during the 2020/2021 fishing season and makes comparison between previous fishing seasons. To achieve this, data collected from fishers and sampled Catch and Effort logbooks were used. Statistical analyses to compare sizes between the previous seasons for Panulirus longipes (Long-legged spiny lobster) and Panulirus penicillatus (Pronghorn spiny lobster) were performed. Results for 2020/2021 season showed that snorkelling was the dominant fishing method. An increase in both the total catch (6.14 Metric Tonnes) and number of fishing trips (242 trips) was observed compared to the two previous seasons. In terms of fishing location, Mahé remains the most dominant area for both total catch and number of trips amongst the major fishing sites. Despite an increase in the number of trips, the CPUE showed a slight decrease. For the 2020/21 season, female carapace length (CL) sizes for both Panulirus penicillatus and Panulirus longipes were larger compared to the previous seasons. In contrast, a decrease in CL was observed in males. Overall, the data analysis for 2020/2021 season indicates that there was a slight decrease in lobster’s relative abundance, most probably attributed to lobster fishing season being open for two consecutive fishing seasons. Despite more fishing opportunities being made available through the fishery extension, the CPUE remained lower compared to the previous season, thus indicating possible signs of reduced lobster abundance. The 2021 fisheries independent survey will be conducted during the last quarter of the year to establish the changes in the relative abundance of lobsters.
  • Report on the Spiny Lobster Fishery: Summary of Fishing Activity for the 2016-2017 season.

    SFA Fisheries Research Section (Seychelles Fishing Authority, 2017)
    The Seychelles artisanal spiny lobster fishery targets shallow water lobster stocks around the main granitic islands. The main species of lobsters caught are Homard Grosse Tete (Panulirus penicillatus), Homard Rouge (P. longipes), Homard Vert (P. versicolor) and Porcellene (P. ornatus). The spiny lobster fishery in Seychelles is a licensed and seasonally- managed fishery with fishers applying for licences prior to the opening of the season, which typically last 3 months in duration.
  • Seychelles Fishing Authority Annual Report 2017 - 2018.

    Seychelles Fishing Authority (Seychelles Fishing Authority, 2021)
  • Report on the Spiny Lobster Fishery: Lobster Survey Report 2020.

    Seychelles Fishing Authority; Seychelles Fishing Authority (Seychelles Fishing Authority, 2020-12)
    The spiny lobster fishery has been conventionally managed by seasonal closures and limited access (license-limited) regulations implemented by the Seychelles Fishing Authority. These regulations have been in force to limit fishers primarily targeting coastal and shallow water stocks, where abundance is limited and easily accessible. In the past, assessments of fisheries dependent data have shown several significant declines in the coastal stocks when too many licenses are allocated or when the fishery remains open for 3 to 4 consecutive seasons. Consequently, the stock status is determined by assessing both fisheries dependent and independent (surveys) data. Results obtained are provided to managers with advice on whether the fishery should be opened or remain closed. The 2019-2020 lobster fishing season was opened after remaining closed for two consecutive seasons (2017-2018, 2018-2019, Figure 1). In October 2020, as part of the Participatory Lobster Monitoring Programme (PLMP) a fisheries independent survey was carried out to assess stock status at 20 sites around Mahé. The aim of this paper is to present the results of the PLMP survey and to present information on several stock indicators based on the combined data collected from the survey and the 2019-2020 fishing season. Moreover, it provides several recommendations and advice to managers on both fishery and survey to decision making on whether the 2020-2021 fishing season should be opened or remain closed.
  • Mahé Plateau trap and line fishery co-management plan. [Fisheries Act, 2014 (Act 20 of 2014) Pursuant to section 5(7) of the Fisheries Act, the Minister responsible for fisheries hereby publish...]

    Government of Seychelles; Seychelles Fishing Authority (Seychelles Fishing Authority, 2020)
    The Mahé Plateau supports a demersal artisanal fishery that is critically important in providing local food security and economic development in Seychelles. The main species targeted by the hand line fishery are snappers, groupers and emperors whereas the trap fishery targets rabbitfish, parrotfish and emperors. However, over recent years fishers have raised concerns over decreasing catch rates and sizes of target species, and this has been supported by risk and stock assessments. These assessment results demonstrated multiple lines of evidence that overfishing on some of the major plateau fishery species is likely to be occurring and that management intervention is an urgent need. Sustainable resource management is also consistent with the vision of the Seychelles Government. Consistent with world's best practice the development of this plan followed principles of the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM), also a requirement of the Seychelles Government's Fisheries Act 2014. The development of the plan also heavily involved stakeholder consultation and input. This plan document presents the elements of the management plan for the Mahé plateau artisanal trap and line fishery. These elements are: 1. Objectives of the management plan, 2. Issues facing the fishery, 3. How the plan will be implemented, 4. Management strategies and regulations, 5. The Performance Measurement System, 6. Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (details included in a separate plan document), and 7. a plan review process. Central to the plan are management strategies and regulations that were developed to address fishery issues identified and prioritized by stakeholders, and evolved based on stakeholder feedback during the consultation process. The plan describes the intent of each management strategy/regulation and their rationale, and highlights aspects relevant to their successful implementation. Itwill be implemented in two phases over 24 months to ensure key measures can be introduced immediately, while other measures can be given the requisite time for their comprehensive development prior to implementation. The development of this fisheries management plan was initiated in 2007 and significantly developed in 2015 under the framework of a project between the Government of Seychelles (GOS) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and funded by a Global Environment Facility (GEF) grant.It was approved by Cabinetin 2017 for implementation of its two phases. Cabinet also approved the establishment of a Co-management Plan Implementation Committee that would address the concerns raised by stakeholders and fully involve them in the implementation of the plan. The Co-management Plan Implementation Committee was set up in January 2019 and the concerns of stakeholders addressed and resolved at its second meeting in March 2019. It is now gazetted for implementation.
  • Seychelles Fishing Authority Annual Report 2015-2016

    Seychelles Fishing Authority (Seychelles Fishing Authority, 2019)

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