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The hook and line fishermen of the Seychelles Fishing Boat Owners’ Association (SFBOA) have set up a labelling programme in partnership with the French Sea Bass Association to promote their responsible approach to fishing and the quality of Seychelles line-caught fish. The French fishermen provided expertise and technical assistance to the SFBOA to develop the programme. The structure of the programme is based on three types of tagging scheme. The Emperor Red Snapper campaign aims to label eight line­-caught bottom-dwelling tropical fish species. The Tuna campaign aims to label three line-caught highly migratory fish species. The Trevally campaign aims to label two line-caught pelagic fish species. The commitment of the fish­ermen operating under the programme is defined in a code of conduct, which includes standards criteria. These standards are the foundation of the programme and convey the commitment of fishermen operating under the scheme. The certification process covers eight standards criteria and 20 requirements for Seychelles fishermen to show their commitment to the labelling programme. Line fish are caught live, gutted and washed as soon as they are landed on board. They are then labelled and placed in ice immediately after cleaning. The quality criteria of the tagging scheme are achieved by setting high standards on handling, processing and storage and tagging practices on board the fishing vessels. The tag on each fish enables traceability to the origin of the fish and makes the fish easily identifiable on the market. On entering the reference code on the tag on the web page (http//:www.seychelles-hook­-andline-fishermen.org), the customer will know where, by whom, and how the fish was caught and will be able to retrieve information about the fishermen, crew, boat, fishing ground and fishing methods used. The certification process is performed by the independent Seychelles Bureau of Standards (SBS) with a decision-making process insulated from vested interests of the Seychelles Fishing Boat Owners’ Association. SBS offers guarantees of competency, independence and impartiality. The SFBOA is working in partnership with the two main fish processors operating in Seychelles, Oceana Fisheries and Sea Harvest. They both comply with EU sanitary and hygiene legislation and also have the capacity and agreement to export worldwide.

 

 

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