Seychelles Government has chosen technology developed by Spanish company Satlink to digitally monitor the catches of its fishing fleet, with the aim of strengthening and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the sector.
The move is part of a joint effort with the tuna fleet operating in the Indian Ocean to demonstrate transparency and good practices.
Madrid-headquartered Satlink will provide Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) with an advanced analysis software solution and equip the fishing fleet’s purse seiners with its onboard electronic monitoring tool, Satlink SeaTube.
The Satlink View Manager (SVM) software will be used to analyse data obtained onboard the vessels and generate reports that may include information such as the composition of the catches, the destination of by-catch or the fishing zones.
The project’s objective is to ensure sustainable activity and better management of its fishing fleet – both from the government and the industry – in a country where fishing is the main contributor to the gross domestic product (between 20% and 30%).
For the development of the project, SFA will have the local support of Satlink, which has offices in the port of Mahé, located in Victoria, the capital of the African country. Satlink has also trained SFA personnel, who will be responsible for covering the information’s chain of custody – from extraction onboard the vessels to its subsequent review and analysis.
Satlink is now providing fishery management solutions for around 30 governments, with recent contracts awarded by the governments of Sweden, Malta and Cyprus.
