Second Saya de Malha FAD recovery mission incorporates beach clean-up efforts |25 April 2025

The team who took part in the mission (Photo: Contributed)

Second Saya de Malha FAD recovery mission incorporates beach clean-up efforts

From March 10 to March 24, 2025, the Seychelles Coast Guard Vessel Saya de Malha took part in its second Fish Aggregating Device recovery mission, supervised by the Seychelles Fisheries Authority.

This mission included the authority’s technicians, scientists, students from the Seychelles Maritime Academy (SMA), a representative from the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF), and personnel and divers from the Coast Guard. As in previous missions, the main objectives were to collect any drifting Fish Aggregating Device (FAD) related materials that may have found their way onto any targeted islands. Additionally, this mission incorporated beach clean-up efforts to remove any plastics and other debris found along the shore.

The vessel visited nine islands, including Silhouette, Aride, Coëtivy, and several in the Amirantes group. Island assessments were conducted by landing search and clean-up groups, as well as the Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG) diving team, which collected drifting FADs (dFADs) stranded in deeper waters.  Over the course of the mission, the team collected more than 40 items of FADs and associated materials, as well as over 100 kilograms of plastic waste. The collected FAD materials and waste were returned to Mahé for proper disposal, storage, and recycling.  This mission marked the fourth FAD recovery operation carried out by the Seychelles Fisheries Authority (SFA) and SCG, and it was the second mission funded externally.

The tuna purse seine fishery operating in the Western Indian Ocean, which includes Seychelles waters, incorporates the use of drifting Fish Aggregating Devices (dFADs) as an essential component of its fishing strategy. These dFADs are free-floating structures tracked by satellite, primarily designed to attract schools of tuna.  The use of FADs on an advanced scale has been prevalent in the Western Indian Ocean since the early 2000s. Over the years, this has resulted in some dFADs being washed ashore during their passage through the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The concerns raised by local fishers and various environmental monitoring organisations – both local and international – have led to the evolution of this project. 

The FAD Watch initiative aims to help Seychelles establish a comprehensive monitoring and management programme for FADs deployed by the industrial fishery in our waters. During this latest mission, support was provided on various islands by the Island Conservation Society (ICS).

The project continues to be supported through the Seychelles FAD Watch programme, made up of local and international agencies, such as the Sustainable Indian Ocean Tuna Initiative (SIOTI) and the Spanish Association of Tuna Freezers (AGAC). Further missions of this type are planned for 2025, and continued engagement with local island environmental groups and NGOs will be reinforced.

Contributed