Tuna vessels’ end-of-year port call to prevent overfishing |28 December 2019

Some of the tuna vessels in port yesterday (Photo: Louis Toussaint)

The large number of tuna fishing vessels presently seen outside Port Victoria is nothing new and is normal for this season, the Minister for Fisheries and Agriculture, Charles Bastienne, stated yesterday in a press conference.

He clarified that these fishing vessels, of which most are Seychelles-flagged purse seiners, usually come into port at the end of the year because, by then, they have almost used up their yellowfin tuna quota.

Out of the 13Seychelles-flagged purse seiners, only two are presently out and still fishing since they have yet to meet their allocated quota for the year.

Minister Bastienne made this clarification yesterday after several people expressed their curiosity over the many ships that are seen docked in the port as well as across the coast of Victoria up to North East Point.

“During this period of the year, the vessels stop their fishing activities and come back to port when they are about to reach their quota for yellowfin. This is so as not to exceed their yearly quota because Seychelles is under obligation to respect the conditions set by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC),” Minister Bastienne explained.

In 2016, the IOTC members resolved to reduce fishing allowances of yellowfin tuna by 15 percent and only catch yellowfin tuna as per their quota.

As per its quota, Seychelles can only fish 33, 211 tonnes of yellowfins and this quota is subsequently divided between the 13 Seychelles-flagged purse seiners.

IOTC enforced this regulation as a precautionary measure to reduce fishing pressure on the Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna stock and allow it to recover from its overexploited status.

According to Minister Bastienne, Seychelles exceeded its quota by 5% in 2018 which is why the country is doubling its efforts to ensure its purse seiners fish sustainably so that this does not repeat itself in 2019.

“We cannot afford to let this happen again because a recent resolution made by the IOTC, Resolution 19/01, will start penalising members that overfish by removing the percentages it overfished from its quota as of 2021.”

Minister Bastienne however said that current figures for 2019 are encouraging and indicates that Seychelles “is on the right course” to not exceed its quota.

Elsie Pointe