Seychelles is set to partake in more regional cooperation in its fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing with the signing of the Charter for the SADC Fisheries Monitoring Control and Surveillance Coordination Centre (MCSCC).

The SADC Council of Ministers approved the Charter in August 2017 in Pretoria, South Africa, and entered into force on April 8, 2023. The Charter aims to provide a legal framework for establishing and operationalising an institution that will coordinate measures relating to fisheries monitoring control and surveillance (MCS) in the SADC region.

The Charter was signed by Seychelles' minister for fisheries, Jean Francois Ferrari, in a ceremony on Friday. Seychelles became the 12^th SADC member state to sign the Charter.

The deputy chair of the regional technical team for SADC, Julie Bibi, told the press that joining the Charter will help Seychelles to increase its regional coorperation.

"We will have a regional vessel registry, where if a vessel is licensed in a country, we will be able to know through communication with other member countries. We plan to have a regional VMS (Vessel Monitoring System) through which we will be able to share data. There will be a lot of capacity building that will also help member countries to increase capacity in MCS," said Julie.

Through the years, Seychelles has made progress in monitoring, control and surveillance matters by improving the implementation of trade-related measures to prevent IUU fishing and reorganising the setup of the MCS department to allow the performance of crucial international obligations.

"Fisheries plays a critical role plays in the livelihoods of the Seychellois people, our economy and more so in the SADC region. The signing of the MCSCC Charter emphasises this importance and you will understand why we place that much importance on giving life and authority to this Charter," said Ferrari.

"Fisheries has played and continues to play a vital role in the socio-economic development of Seychelles. It accounts for a large part of exports and is a source of foreign exchange earnings, contributes to food security and balanced nutrition," he continued.

Seychelles has one of the highest levels of fish consumption per capita, ranging between 48 to 65 kilogrammes, and more or less entirely produced by the artisanal demersal fishery. The sector also has a substantial multiplier effect, supporting employment throughout the processing and marketing chain and other ancillary fishing activities.