| The fisheries policy of the Government of Seychelles was first drafted in 1986. At that time, both the industrial and artisanal fisheries in Seychelles were in a developmental stage and the policy reflected the needs to promote both the development and conservation of our marine resources as well as maximizing benefits. In 1985 the number of licenses issued for the industrial tuna fishery was 49 for the purse seiners and 165 for longliners with an annual purse seine catch of 130,000 tonnes. The total catch for the industrial purse seine fishery has continued to rise and peaked at around 407, 000 tonnes in the year 2003. The artisanal fishing fleet has declined from 410 vessels in 1985 to 330 in the year 2003, however, the nature of the fleet has changed... |
