Is SeyCCAT empowering the fisheries sector?

Our strategic objective is to empower the fisheries sector with robust science and knowhow to improve governance, sustainability, value and market options and supporting sustainable use zones. 

Until recently, the artisanal fishery in the Seychelles remained largely unmanaged. In 2019, the Cabinet of Government of Seychelles adopted the Mahe Plateau Demersal Fishery Management Plan. With the commitment for improved governance, financing opportunities were unlocked. In 2018, the Government of Seychelles issued the world’s first sovereign blue bond (BB) worth US$ 15 million to invest in sustainable fisheries, in particular, the management of the Mahe Plateau. This is complementary to the 2015, US$ 21.6 million debt-for-nature swap. SeyCCAT manages the proceeds from the debt-swap and US$ 3 million of the proceeds of the blue bond. SeyCCAT’s seeks to provide grants financing to grantees to empower the fisheries sector with robust science and knowhow to improve governance, sustainability, value and market options and supporting sustainable use zones.

SeyCCAT acknowledges that you cannot manage what you cannot measure and has ensured that its early investments were to produce the necessary data to derive baseline data and results to lead to improved management. In the past two years, we have invested SCR  6, 412, 990 (approximately, US$ 475,036) in 10 grantees with ecological, social and economic benefits for the local community.

SeyCCAT’s grantees are working to secure the sustainability of fisheries and livelihoods of small-scale fishers for the long-term, whilst strategically, rehabilitating the degraded and threatened ecosystems. Learn more of the work that our grantees are undertaking:

Fishermen and Boatowners Association pilots the integration of tracking, logbook and market traceability tools for co-management.

To complement the FBOA’s project, Andre’s project focuses on a baseline survey on cost-benefit analysis along the fish value chain in addition to capacity building for sustainable fisheries management.

Green Islands Foundation gathers data on IUCN-categorized threatened shark species and 13 species of local concern. 

Global Vision International gathers data on spatial behaviour and habitat use of the vulnerable (IUCN category) sicklefin lemon shark (Negaprion acutidens; Ruppell 1835) in the Curieuse National Marine Park.

Nevill provides an assessment and valuation of the parrotfish fishery, a keystone species, to support an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries

Praslin Fishers’ Association pilots the first-ever voluntary trap fishery closure zone in the bay of Baie Ste Anne for a period of 6 months to monitor the improvement in fish stocks.

Following the two-year project, Marine Conservation Society Seychelles recommends a peurulus settlement index to contribute to the sustainable management of the lobster fisheries.

Seychelles’ fishing Authority (SFA) seeks to observe how climate change is having an effect on marine ecosystems, and in turn, influence the management plan for sustainable fisheries.

Green Island Foundation seeks to undertake a marine biodiversity baseline assessment around Fregate Island to support the application for marine protected area status around the island

Finally, Alphonse Foundation seeks to improve the management of the Alphonse and St Francois Atolls that are famous for its fly-fishing activities by understanding the spatial ecology and response to catch and release of the Giant Trevally.

With such projects, our grantees have supported cross-sectoral partnerships with the private sector working with civil society organisations and government working with civil society organisations, with the result of building on each other’s strengths. Additionally, jobs have been created through these projects such as retired fishermen now acting as spotters and data collectors on species of local concern, and finally, many of the projects such as the projects of MCSS, GVI, among others, have provided training and education to the local community, including students from primary school to University.

In our race towards achieving the 2030 agenda, the attainment of some of the targets of SDG 14 such as “By 2020, conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information” becomes more realistic. With greater investment in marine scientific research, Seychelles should have the required data to put in place improved conservation and management measures.