Seychelles and Mauritius agree on new terms for sustainable fishing

Seychelles and Mauritius have extended an existing bilateral fisheries agreement for 60 days that will see the increase in license fees and a new environmental and research fee, the Seychelles News Agency reported.

The newspaper said the extension of the agreement is one of the outcomes of a five-day meeting between Seychelles and Mauritius. The meeting was headed by the two countries’ fisheries ministers, Jean-Francois Ferrari from Seychelles and Mauritius’ Sudheer Maudhoo.

The extension of the existing agreement was needed to ensure fishing activities being carried out by either Seychelles or Mauritius in the other party’s waters are not interrupted. 

The current agreement which was signed in 2005 will expire on February 19.

The bilateral sustainable fishing agreement was the first between the two island nations allowing them to fish in each other’s territorial waters.

Under the interim agreement, there will be a 30% increase in existing license fees for purse seiners, longliners and supply vessels of either country when operating in the other party’s waters.

For the first time, an environmental and research fee of 2.25 euro per gross tonnage is to be paid by purse seiners each year. The two countries also agreed to the embarking of national seamen on their vessels.

Original article by Seychelles News Agency