News
The Stop Illegal Fishing Interview with the Honourable Minister Dr. Arvin Boolell
Mauritius has recently undergone a transformation from an artisanal fishing centre to managing a sizeable offshore fishery, with Port Louis becoming a major fish processing centre. Minister Boolell explains to Gilles Hosch, of the Stop Illegal Fishing Programme, what the plans are for Mauritius’s future as a ‘Regional Seafood Hub’ and the priority that is being given to tackling illegal fishing.
Minister Boolell explains that "fishing is a very important sector of the Mauritian economy. It is an emerging sector that is becoming an economic colossus, and it is also a sector where there is a lot of investment flowing into the country. It employs directly and indirectly nearly 12 000 people."
The offshore fishery of Mauritius is based on tuna and the tuna-like species that are widely distributed in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Mauritius and the adjoining waters of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC). Beside being a considerable source of food for the islanders, the value of the fishery lies in two main areas, firstly, the licensing of foreign vessels to fish in the EEZ and secondly, in the use of Port Louis, as a centre for offshore vessels and the associated onshore processing and service industry.
In 2005, 215 foreign fishing vessels were issued licenses for longline, purse seine or hand line fishing methods within the Mauritian EEZ. This is managed through umbrella fishery agreements (92 vessels in 2005) such as those that Mauritius has with the EU, Japan and the Seychelles or through private agreements with fishing vessels and companies of other nationalities (123 in 2005).
The majority of licenses are issued for longline vessels, generally of Asian flag, while the second most prolific category is the purse seine vessels, usually of European flag. License fees in 2005 from EU vessels totalled nearly Euro1 million. At present Mauritian vessels catch very little tuna with only two Mauritian longliners licensed in the fishery in 2005, though Minister Boolell reveals that Mauritius would like to see the expansion of their domestic fleet.
Although the production of the locally owned and operated tuna fisheries in Mauritius is currently negligible, the entire sector produces a positive balance of trade, principally derived from the buying of raw product to process onshore into canned tuna for export. This trade balance represents about 1% of the contribution to the total GDP. However, a recent economic study of the benefits accruing to Mauritius from foreign fishing indicates that earnings from services and, to a lesser extent, licenses, amount to Euro200-250 million annually, i.e. over one-third of the earnings from sugarcane cultivation. This suggests that there is significant potential for the offshore fisheries to become a major contributor to the economy.
The seafood hub and market development
In late 2003, the Government of Mauritius gave its full commitment to transform Mauritius into a major seafood hub. The seafood hub can be defined as "an efficient and attractive environment for the supply of value added processes and services related to the sourcing and marketing of seafood products". The objective is to create a hub for trading, warehousing, processing, distribution and re-export of fresh, chilled, frozen or value added seafood products.
In 2005, foreign longliners trans-shipped 64 235 tonnes of tuna in Port Louis and a total of 707 calls to port were made by foreign fishing vessels for trans-shipment and/or bunkering purposes in the same year. These numbers are increasing as the port expands and processing capacity increases.
The seafood hub is being promoted by both the public and private sectors. Interest in investment in the tuna sector has been expressed by companies from the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Spain and the United States of America. There has already been considerable investment by the private sector in the development of tuna processing, through the creation of new products, storage and processing facilities.
Minister Boolell states that "there are many countries that are willing to take advantage of all the facilities that we offer because of our on-time delivery, our human resources, and the costs of production, which are certainly affordable. Those who come here to take advantage of our services feel that we are delivering, and we are delivering on target."
Part of the seafood hub concept is a dedicated government one-stop-shop service within the Mauritius Port Authority. The service aims to facilitate seamless import and export clearances for business operators of the seafood industry. In order to perform this service the one-stop-shop expects to run around the clock and comprises of government departments from the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Fisheries, Veterinary Services of the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life, Customs and Excise Department and the Passport and Immigration Office.
Illegal fishing
The recent expansion of fishery interest into the offshore fishery of the EEZ brings with it international, regional, ecological and social obligations. Illegal fishing has the potential to seriously reduce the potential economic and social benefit that a well managed fishery sector could accrue to the islands.
Minister Boolell is clear that Mauritius recognises the importance of looking after its fish stocks. "We need critical mass and for this critical mass to be available we have to make sure that licenses are properly issued, that there are responsible fishing activities in the region and that we interact very forcefully with countries in the region to ensure that we exchange information, that we analyse information, and that we are seen to be aggressive in the war on IUU."
Mauritius has an EEZ that is almost 2 million square kilometres. "On our own it would be difficult to patrol such a huge zone and I don’t see many other countries in the region or elsewhere which can either afford or have the capacity to do so. You have no choice but to pool your resources together and we have also had to enlist the support of our reliable partner, the EU, which is funding quite a few valuable projects in the region. At the same time we have to make sure that our fishing vessels are properly equipped and we have a proper monitoring, control and surveillance system that has been put in place."
Illegal trans-shipment has been a problem for Mauritius in the past. Minister Boolell tells us that "it’s an issue that we are addressing in a very forceful manner. In this respect several vessels have been denied trans-shipments in Mauritius. We are leaving no stone unturned. If ever there is a country in the region that is in the forefront to wage war on IUU, I must say, in all humility, then Mauritius has been in the vanguard. But it is not only words, these words are being translated into actions, and those actions speak louder than the words and the results are tangible."
International and regional cooperation
Mauritius participates in many international or bilateral fora and meetings that relate in one way or another to the offshore fishery. Some are specific such as the IOTC, and deal directly with tuna and tuna-like species of the Indian Ocean, while others are more general and may relate to wider aspects of fisheries, such as the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC).
Minister Boolell recognises that "the IOTC are playing their role in a very responsible manner. We have human capacity and capabilities, but we need resources to ensure that we are able to do our jobs effectively. The financial costs which MCS entails are huge, and therefore I trust that all the members of the IOTC, our European partners and member States which belong to the CCAMLR, they do realise that small vulnerable countries far away from remunerative markets are doing their level best at a time when they are facing a lot of undue hardship, factors that are beyond their control, and yet they are earmarking the resources to be allocated to that specific sector in spite of the undue hardship. So both the effort and political will is there, but we need financial resources up front so the plea that we have made to our traditional partners, to other member States that are members of those international conventions is that commitment pledges made become realities."
Speaking on international cooperation, Minister Boolell emphasises that "there should be sincerity of purpose in the war being waged on IUU fishing. This war is necessary if you do not want to see our stocks constantly being depleted, because it is to the detriment of the whole nation, and to people throughout the world. In fact, stopping IUU fishing is a war, and it is the concern of everybody."