MFF Artisanal Shark Fishery Project Enters Final Stages

The third week of December 2010 saw representatives of the Mangroves For the Future initiative (MFF) visit Seychelles to assess progress of the national projects under their purview. On the 17th of December GIF made a presentation on the Artisanal Shark Fishery Project to the MFF representatives and then later that day met with them to go over the project budget and disbursement to date. After that the MFF reps had the opportunity to meet with some of the Artisanal Shark Fishermen (ASF) based at Anse Etoile on Mahe. The MFF personnel expressed their satisfaction with the project implementation to date.

The 3rd of February saw another major landmark in the project namely the first Annual General Meeting of the Artisanal Shark Fishers’ Association (ASFA) - the development and registration of which was enabled by this project. GIF facilitated the meeting and representatives of the Seychelles Fishing Authority, MFF and the National Media were also in attendance. The AGM went well and succeeded in making the Association operational through its: endorsement of the Articles of Association, election of a Board of Directors, elaboration of a priority action plan and establishment of a Management Committee to oversee day-to-day activities.

The meeting also provided the opportunity for the handover of equipment purchased under the project. The equipment in question (three digital cameras and water-proof housings, measuring tapes and waterproof notebooks) is to enable the fishers to gather data on their catch. The format for data gathering has also been developed under this project. Lack of data on coastal shark populations in Seychelles is one of the key obstacles to informed management of the fishery and ASFA has identified the collection of data as one of its priority activities.

So the operationalisation of ASFA - one of the key objectives of the GIF project – has been attained and should enable the Fishers to fulfil their role under the Seychelles National Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks.
A couple of other activities remain to be completed namely the production of educational posters on coastal sharks and the artisanal shark fishery in Seychelles respectively and the formulation and submission of the terminal report to MFF. Check back for further updates in the coming weeks (Contributed by John Nevill).

GIF assists in establishment of Artisanal Shark Fishers Association

GIF’s founding mandate is to mainstream sustainable development, in particular by forming partnerships with the private sector. In Seychelles the primary economic sectors with environmental impact are tourism, fisheries and production landscapes and so these have formed the focus of much of GIF’s work to date.

Previous posts on this blog (see posts of 21 & 29 June and July 18 & 31 2009) have described the GIF/MFF project with Seychelles artisanal shark fisherman to build their capacity to better manage their fishery and fulfil their roles under the National Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks (NPOA). This project is now coming to an end and one of the key outcomes was attained at the beginning of December namely the establishment and legal registration of a new Association under the Registrar of Associations Act.

The “Artisanal Shark Fishers’ Association” (ASFA) or “Lasosyasyon Peser Reken” received its certificate of registration and hence became a legal entity on the 1st December 2010. The Articles of Association include, amongst other things, the Mission Statement and Objectives of the association and these are reproduced below:

Mission Statement:
“To secure a sustainable artisanal shark fishery and the livelihoods of its practitioners”.

Objectives:
• To promote and protect the artisanal shark fishery and the rights of the fishers therein.
• To promote sound development practices which foster a sustainable artisanal shark fishery and an improved standard of living for fishers.
• Represent shark fishers’ concerns and interests, and protect their rights in appropriate committees and fora.
• Seek to develop new markets and outlets for artisanal shark fishery produce.
• Add value to artisanal shark fishery produce and activities through innovation and capacity building.
• Promote optimal usage of sharks caught.
• To generate, raise or access funds and develop strategic partnerships to advance the objectives above.

The Association will be holding its first AGM early in the New Year where the full articles will be endorsed (and if necessary amended) by members and the Board of Directors for the first two year cycle elected. GIF will continue to supply some basic secretarial support to ASFA in its formative stages until such time as the association has sufficient capacity to operate independently.

The formation of ASFA is a fundamental step in empowering artisanal shark fishers to: protect their rights and livelihoods in a changing legislative and management environment and better manage the fishery for a sustainable future. We wish them all the best in their future endeavours (Contributed by John Nevill).