Aquaculture Division

The Aquaculture Division’s roles and activities stems from the implementation of the Aquaculture Sector Development Plan. The creation of the various sections within the department must align together within the department so as to ensure that its implementation contributes to the long-term sustainability of the Seychelles economy in line with its Fisheries and Blue Economy strategies. In addition to the implementation of Aquaculture Sector Development Plan, the division is also responsible for upholding the Seychelles Aquaculture Regulations which addresses activities set to take place within the Aquaculture Sector. These Regulations will supplement the current Fisheries Act.

The main objectives of the Aquaculture Section are:

• Promote investment and sustainable growth in the aquaculture sector
• Maximize the socio-economic benefits of the aquaculture sector for society
• Promote aquaculture at the large and SME scale
• Develop appropriate aquaculture technology through research and development
• Develop the necessary industry support services for the sector
• Build the necessary human capacity for development of the sector
• Enhance the perception of aquaculture in the country and its many benefits
• Promote aquaculture as an important component of integrated coastal management
• Develop an aquaculture industry compatible with responsible stewardship of the marine environment and its resources

Seychelles Aquaculture is a Government initiative for the development of marine aquaculture in the country and is currently in its implementation phase.

The Planning and Development Department

The Planning and Development Department focuses on stimulating and guiding the evolution of the sector by providing incentives and safeguards, attracting investment and providing means to facilitate aquaculture development. The activities of this department will contribute towards the implementation of the aquaculture sector development plan. All of which includes major aspects such as securing land for aquaculture licenses, building capacity within both the public and private sector, facilitating aquaculture development on the outer islands and others.

New Projects Department

The New Projects Department is responsible for overseeing all SFA projects related to the aquaculture sector. This mainly includes the building and installation of necessary infrastructure required for stimulating growth within the sector. Completed aquaculture projects include the Broodstock Acclimation and Quarantine Facility (BAQF) and the Sea Urchin Research Facility (SURF), both of which was completed with the aim of providing basic support infrastructure required for the early-stage development of the sector.

Local Marketing Department

The goal of the Local Marketing Department involves building trust and creating goodwill amongst locals. This department provides the tools to improve transparency, boost accountability in operations, and increase citizen involvement within the Aquaculture sector. The Aquaculture Division have held a number education and awareness sessions at various educational institutions over the past years all of which has formed part of its local marketing strategy.

Administration Department

The Administration Department is responsible for arranging, sorting out, organizing and controlling office exercises. This department will also be responsible for overseeing the database management system which will keep track of all the aquaculture licenses. The department makes the day to day activities of the operations department possible by ensuring resources for these activities are available on time.

Compliance Department

The Compliance Department is responsible for the following mandate:

• Enforcement of license compliance, including but not limited to environmental, biosecurity and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in licensed operations.
• Monitoring and ensuring compliance with Environmental Management Plan (EMP).
• Reviewing of EMPs for new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) applications.
• Keeping records and statistics with regards to compliance in aquaculture issued licenses

Licensing Department

The Licensing Department is responsible for the following mandate:

• Receiving, registering, evaluating and managing of applied aquaculture licenses.
• Managing of the license evaluation process.
• Managing ongoing license fees and production levies.

Aquaculture Research Department

The Aquaculture Research Department works in collaboration with a few national partners to jointly implement different research projects. Some of our collaborators includes the Seychelles Maritime Academy (SMA) and the University of Seychelles (UniSey).

The Aquaculture Research Department has implemented several different research programmes. The majority of these research is funded through the government of Seychelles, the fisheries sectorial development funds of the European Union (EU), the Third South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Governance and Shared Growth Project (SWIOFish3) and the 11th European Development Fund (EDF).

The department also ensures that all research work conducted is directly relevant to the aquaculture sector development planned for the industry and that all research results are applicable to future commercial aquaculture operations in the Seychelles.

Operations Department

The overall responsibility for the SFA Aquaculture Operations Department includes the following aspect:

• Managing human resources.
• Capacity building of operations staff.
• Managing all equipment’s and the different facilities.
• Monitoring, rearing and all aspect of fish health.
• Managing feed and all other operational inputs; including vehicles and boats.

The current portfolio of the Operations Department includes the Broodstock Acclimation Quarantine Facility (BAQF) Phase 1 and Phase 2, the Pilot Cage Projects at Providence and Bel Ombre and the Sea Urchin Research Facility (SURF) located at the Seychelles Maritime Academy. Our department works closely with the Aquaculture Research Department to achieve the industry objectives.