Essential Knowledge for Sustainable Fisheries in the Seychelles

February 4, 2020

With support from the Crawford Fund’s Tasmanian Committee, two workshops where successfully provided at the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) last year.

Workshop 1: Fisheries Harvest Strategy – FishPath workshop

Dr Natalie Dowling (CSIRO, Hobart, Australia) and Dr Jason Cope (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], Seattle USA) guided participants through a 5-day workshop that was targeted towards the application of the FishPath harvest strategy decision support software tool to specific Seychelles fisheries.

Facilitators Drs. Natalie Dowling and Jason Cope reported that FishPath provided a clear process for various stakeholders in the Seychelles to identify viable options for data collection, stock assessment and management measures.  

“Participants were well primed to take best advantage of FishPath and five days allowed participants enough time to develop and undertake assessments and flesh out the details of potential harvest strategy options,” they noted in their report on the training.

“FishPath was acknowledged as a valuable tool, not only to identify possibly harvest strategy options, but also key issues in the fisheries and a vehicle for focusing discussion on the correct issues. There was a sense of comfort in the presentation of information and options as a platform, and in having a “larger universe” or “map” of options that is conveniently accessible,” their report noted.

Workshop 2: Fish Reproductive Biology training

The workshop was delivered by Dr Jessica Farley (CSIRO, Australia). Dr Farley said, “the aim of this workshop was to provide participants with an understanding of fish reproductive biology, with particular emphasis on classifying fish into reproductive phases that can be applied to all fish species. A key feature of the training was practical training in the laboratory using microscopes.”

“Engagement and feedback received from the participants during the workshop was very positive and all participants were able to successfully classify fish into reproductive phases by the end of the training,” Dr Farley reported.

The organisers noted that these workshops have significantly strengthened ties between Australia and the Seychelles.