Roche Caiman fishers and Eden Island reach agreement   |03 October 2022

Eden Island has started pulling down the corrugated iron sheets that had been installed to close up the place, at the entrance of the Eden Island bridge

• No relocation, current land in perpetuity

The Roche Caiman fishers will now be able to remain in their current location, at the entrance of Eden Island, for life.

It follows an agreement between the Roche Caiman Fishermen Association and Eden Island at a meeting last Friday afternoon, which was chaired by the Designated Minister, who is also responsible for fisheries, Jean-François Ferrari, at his office, in Maison Collet.

The association’s four-member delegation led by its chairperson, Neddy Labrosse, met with the Eden Island’s executive chairman, Craig Heeger, to address the main issue of contention, which was the relocation to the other side of the road, near the Roche Caiman bridge.

The announcement back in July had led to a boycott by the fishermen, who said they will not budge from the spot, as this was going to be the third time they were being asked to move. They were relocated to the current location in 2014, further down from the first market, and their new spot was on the property of Eden Island, which donated the facilities, including the market and ice plant.

Following several negotiations and a public meeting in early August, the two sides came to an agreement on Friday. In the absence of the chairperson, Neddy Labrosse, who left for an overseas mission over the weekend, Seychelles NATION spoke to the association’s treasurer, Terence Labrosse, who expressed their satisfaction at the way the matter has ended.

According to him, Eden Island has agreed to allow them to stay in the current location for life, and the plot of land will be transferred to the government.

“We are extremely happy that we have come to this agreement and whoever comes in the future do not have to worry about moving. Of course, we have to follow law and order as well and we have agreed to respect the other people in the area, not to be loud and disturb others, to ensure the place is ideal for everybody,” said Mr Labrosse.

He added that Eden Island has agreed to fix the broken pontoon and will still assist them with the R20,000 monthly allowance for the upkeep of the place.

“This will still be disbursed monthly to pay for our utilities, a cleaner, as well as security personnel for the place and we are glad that Eden Island has decided to keep providing us with the money, meaning we do not have to depend on the Seychelles Fishing Authority,” explained Mr Labrosse.

The two sides also agreed that the ice plant, which is located next to the small market, will be removed. Mr Labrosse said they did not object to this as they can easily buy ice at other nearby locations in Providence or town area.

On behalf of the association, he thanked Mr Heeger for understanding their pleas and to meet their demands, and to allow them to stay in the location for life.

Mr Labrosse also said they were grateful to Designated Minister Ferrari who stood alongside them and took their interest at heart.

“He truly understood the fishermen and it is with his intervention that we have been able to have a happy ending. We are forever grateful for his input and for standing by us and fighting for us,” he added.

Seychelles NATION also spoke to Mr Ferrari who expressed his satisfaction that the discussion did not have to prolong and it ended amicably.

At last month’s meeting, he had said his ministry will explore all the options as they wanted a permanent solution for the fishermen.

“I am satisfied we have been able to reach an agreement between all the parties. The Roche Caiman fishers' demands have been met as they will remain in their spot and the place will be improved. The fact that the land will be returned to government, through SFA, means all their dealings with regard to the market place, will now be with the SFA,” said Mr Ferrari.

For its part, Eden Island said it was an excellent outcome. Their lawyer, Bernard Georges said he was very happy that “at the end of the day an agreement that is acceptable to everybody was reached and we would like to thank the efforts put in by the Minister and Eden Island to achieve that result”.

The Roche Caiman Fishermen Association and Eden Island plan to sign the agreement in the coming days.

It should be noted that over the weekend, Eden Island started pulling down the corrugated iron sheets that had been installed to close up the place, at the entrance of the Eden Island bridge.

The company said it plans to have a development in the vicinity but has not divulged the whole project. Friday’s talk did not focus on the bigger market place by the roadside, heading towards Providence.

Patsy Canaya

Photos by Joena Meme