(Seychelles News Agency) - Seychelles' efforts to implement the standards of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative  (FiTI) have been recognised by the FiTI International Board with a score of 'meaningful progress' in the first validation of the island nation.

In its final Compliance Statement published on Wednesday, the Board congratulated Seychelles for this achievement, which demonstrates that significant aspects of the validation requirements have been fulfilled.

The leader of FiTI in Seychelles, Philippe Michaud, told SNA on Friday that "for us, the score is a good step forward. It means that they do not take easy decisions and this one is a balanced decision. We would have of course preferred to be compliant but the way they assessed us showed that there are more things for us to do and I am sure we can do them."

The Compliance Statement validation underlines the progress Seychelles has made in terms of improving transparency around the management of its marine fisheries sector, the second top contributor to its economy.

Launched in September 2021, the validation notes that significant amounts of fisheries information have been published by national authorities on government websites over the timeframe, which covered the period from April 2020 to December 2021.

The information "includes a summary of fisheries tenure arrangements for each of the country's fisheries in a user-friendly FAQ format, an online registry of industrial vessels licenced to fish in national waters, and a summary of the status of fish stocks, among many other aspects," said the Compliance Statement.

The 'meaningful progress' score means that Seychelles, for now, remains a FiTI Candidate Country.

The FiTI International Board has issued four corrective actions for Seychelles to undertake that will see the island nation progress to the status of a FiTI Compliant Country.

Michaud said "the corrective actions made sense. The government does need the support of the National Stakeholder group and we have to keep all partners informed."

Seychelles' fisheries minister Jean-Francois Ferrari received the results in a meeting held on February 21.

The Board will review the implementation status of these corrective actions during the next validation of Seychelles which is scheduled to start in June 2024.

FiTI is a global multi-stakeholder partnership where governments, businesses, and civil society collaborate jointly. It seeks to increase transparency and participation for the benefit of more sustainable management of marine fisheries and the well-being of citizens and businesses that depend on the marine environment.

In 2020, Seychelles became the second country in the world to be granted the status of a FiTI candidate country, after Mauritania. The International Secretariat of the initiative is based in Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean.