The Minister of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, Mr Sudheer Maudhoo, launched, yesterday at the Fisheries Training and Extension Centre in Pointe Aux Sables, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - ECOFISH Training of artisanal fishers in long-lining.
The Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to the Republic of Mauritius and the Republic of Seychelles, Mr Vincent Degert; the UNDP Resident Representative for the Republic of Mauritius and the Republic of Seychelles, Ms Amanda Serumaga; and other personalities were present on this occasion.
In his address, Minister Maudhoo highlighted that this training was being carried out under the 'Supporting the economic empowerment of the artisanal fishing community of the Republic of Mauritius' project. This project, he pointed out, is funded under the EU and co-financed by his Ministry, and aims to empower local artisanal fishers in getting out of poverty by improving their economic situation through the provision of advanced technology for the identification and exploration of new fishing grounds.
The Fisheries Minister emphasised that the training session is an important component of the project as it will enable fishers to safely and confidently move from lagoon to off-lagoon fishing, where catch rate is much higher compared to lagoon fishing. He observed that most of artisanal fishers targeted for the longline training course have been fishing from their small artisanal boats (seven to eight metres in length) and do not have enough experience in fishing from a bigger boat (12-24 metres long).
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Furthermore, he remarked that, prior to embarking for the hands-on practical training at sea, it is essential for the trainees to follow theoretical sessions on the longline fishery, the fishing equipment, processing of catch and possess basic seamanship skills in order to take full advantage of the training course at sea safely. The training course, he added, focuses on the training of trainers and a group of artisanal fishers, particularly the youngsters, with a view to developing a local longline fishing workforce and ultimately a domestic tuna longline fishery in the Republic of Mauritius.
Minister Maudhoo also dwelt on several activities which have been carried out so as to accompany fishers, amongst which: sensitisation sessions in Mahebourg, Trou D'Eau Douce, Grand Gaube and Tamarin in October/November 2021 and in Rodrigues in June 2022; the launching of the Single Buoy Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) in November 2022; and the development of the Mobile App to enable fishers to locate the FADs and to improve their fishing efficiency. He moreover reassured that his Ministry is leaving no stone unturned for the betterment of the fisherman community and we are working on a series of measures in that direction.
