Blue Economy for Sustainable Tuna in Seychelles symposium |28 March 2018
Partners discuss ways to sustainably fish, manage tuna stock
Key stakeholders, partners working in and supporting the Blue economy sector, the tuna fishing industry as well as their beneficiaries met yesterday for high level discussions to explore sustainable ways to fish tuna while at the same time managing and preserving its stocks for future generations.
The day-long symposium under the theme ‘Blue Economy for Sustainable Tuna in Seychelles’ at Eden Bleu Hotel was organised by the Société Seychelloise D’Investissement which holds 40% shares in the Indian Ocean Tuna canning factory along with Thai Union Group, the world leader in seafood products with 60% shares.
Related issues on the agenda of discussions ranged from port infrastructure development, utilities and transport, support services, investment and financing to fisheries management.
President Danny Faure was the guest of honour at yesterday’s opening ceremony of the symposium alongside the Minister for Fisheries and Agriculture Pamela Charlette, the Minister for Environment, Energy and Climate Change Didier Dogley, the president and chief executive of Thai Union Group Thiraphong Chansiri, IOT general manager Nichol Elizabeth as well as other key stakeholders and partners of IOT and Thai Union ‒ both local and foreign.
Minister Dogley officially launched the discussions. He remarked that it has always been said that the fisheries industry has the potential to exceed the tourism industry in its contribution towards the Seychelles economy. Noting though that this is for the experts to determine, Minister Dogley however affirmed that no one can deny the fact that the tuna fishing industry has contributed enormously to the economy of Seychelles and that it continues to offer huge opportunities to our people.
“We must therefore do our utmost to ensure it does continue to sustain our development on the longer term,” he stressed.
Highlighting the theme of the symposium and stressing on the importance of the Blue economy for sustainable tuna fishing, Mr Chansiri explained the reason for such high level discussions at this juncture.
“Seychelles is a major seafood processing hub home to the second largest tuna canning factory in the world. The IOT is also the most important tuna hub in the western Indian Ocean. The fisheries sector plays a fundamental role in the economy of Seychelles employing a significant proportion of the working population. The Blue economy, the national income derived from the fishing industry has driven growth in this country for more than 30 years. We proudly contribute to make the Seychelles fisheries sector more sustainable today and we are committed to and fully embrace the objectives of the Blue economy for sustainable tuna. At Thai Union we place sustainability at the heart of our business,” Mr Chansiri stated.
“Thai Union in Seychelles employs over 2,200 employees helping to ensure high level employment for citizens. It is for these reasons along with the importance of the fisheries sector that we found it vital to discuss at length the Blue economy and sustainable tuna fishing,” he stressed.
In a video presentation, the audience was able to learn more about Thai Union, its development, expansion and growth, how it has diversified its business activities in over 40 years of existence to today with over 20 manufacturing facilities across the globe.
Dr Sven Massen, director of group strategy for the Thai Union Group, said following the video presentation that the company’s growth over the years is attributed to the good combination of acquisitions that have been successfully integrated.
He noted that the company is more than canned tuna but that it stands on three business pillars ‒ ambient seafood, frozen and chilled seafood and related business, PetCare, value-added and other businesses.
Last year the company made US $4 billion of sales and it aims to achieve US $8 billion in revenue by 2020.
Dr Massen went on to highlight the fact that the IOT in Seychelles is a strategic plant where Thai Union expects to grow more and more volume, thus the need to exploit tuna in a sustainable manner that protects stocks.
In her keynote address, Minister Charlette reminded everyone present of the fact that they all have one thing in common which is “the conviction that our seas and ocean, through a sustainable Blue economy, holds the key to our future”.
“This important initiative could not have come at a more opportune time as we stand on the verge of a major turning point in the global approach to fisheries. The world recognises the need for transparency, accountability and good governance in the fisheries sector and for public/private sector partnerships in all facets of development in order to adequately face all of the world’s growing challenges as well as opportunities,” Minister Charlette noted.
She said the symposium is an opportunity for us to display our shared vision of attaining a global level of quality enhancement in our fishing industry.
She went on to highlight the important role that IOT plays in our local and regional economy.
“As we celebrate the successes of IOT and the potential of this sector, we also recognise the challenges that it faces with market competitiveness specifically relating to cost of production,” Minister Charlette remarked.
“But even with these constraints, we are pleased to have IOT in Seychelles, the second largest tuna canning factory in the world and the biggest single employer in Seychelles,” she added.
