Management Policy on Asian Fishing Vessels Fishing Illegally in Seychelles

学校编码：10384 密级 学号：33320131154542

硕士学位论文

亚洲船只在塞舌尔海域

非法捕鱼的管理政策研究

Management Policy on Asian Fishing Vessels Fishing

Illegally in Seychelles

Meghan Annick Lablache

指导教师姓名：朱晓勤教授

专业名称：海洋事务

论文提交日期：2015 年 5 月

论文答辩时间：2015 年 5 月

2015年5月

亚洲船只在

塞舌尔

海域非法捕鱼

的

管理政策

方法研究

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e指导教师朱哓勤教授厦门大学

厦门大学博硕士论文摘要库

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Table of contents

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction ... 1

1.1 Background ... 1

1.2 Objectives of the Thesis ... 3

1.3 Methodology ... 4

Chapter 2 Seychelles Fisheries and IUU Fishing ... 6

2.1 Seychelles Fisheries Jurisdiction ... 6

2.1.1 Seychelles Fishing Industry ... 7

2.2 Seychelles Fishing Authority ... 8

2.2.1 Causes of IUU Fishing according to data obtained from SFA and from Interviews Conducted ... 9

2.2.2 Relevant Organizations Working Alongside SFA to Help with Combating IUU Fishing ... 11

2.2.3 IOTC... 12

2.2.4 IOC ... 13

2.2.5 FISH-I Africa... 13

2.2.6 FBOA ... 14

2.3 Different Tools within the SFA to Fight IUU Fishing ... 15

2.3.1 Monitoring Control and Surveillance ... 15

2.3.2 Fisheries Surveillance ... 17

Table of contents

2.3.3 Port State Control ... 17

2.3.4 Land Patrol ... 20

2.3.5 Regional Fisheries Surveillance ... 20

2.3.6 Regional MCS Effort ... 20

Chapter 3 Discussion of the Fisheries Act 2014 ... 22

3.1 Weak and Strong Points of How the Fisheries Act is Being Used by SFA ... 22

3.1.1 Weak Points ... 22

3.1.2 Strong Points ... 28

3.2 Effectiveness of the Use of the Fisheries Act ... 32

Chapter 4 Data Showing Vessels Registered to Fish in Seychelles Waters ... 36

4.1 Data Showing Foreign Fishing Vessel Registered to Fish in Seychelles ... 36

4.2 Data Showing Local Fishing Vessel Registered to Fish in Seychelles ... 39

Chapter 5 Results and Discussions ... 42

5.1 Results ... 42

5.2 Discussions ... 43

5.2.1 Improvement of Existing Laws ... 44

Chapter 6 Conclusion ... 47

References ... 50

Appendix A – Apprehended Vessels ... 53

Appendix B - Case studies on IUU fishing in Seychelles ... 62

Acknowledgements ... 66

摘要

I

摘要

本文针对的是塞舌尔当代渔业面临的一个问题，即大多数来自亚洲渔船的非 法, 无管制和无报告（Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported, IUU）的捕捞。这种 IUU 捕捞使得当地渔民因为担心渔获量的减少而沮丧不安。由于在塞舌尔持续不断的 IUU 捕捞，政府已经把一系列监管 IUU 捕捞的法律法规加入渔业监管体系作为 其首要任务。本文主要研究的内容是政府如何监管塞舌尔水域的 IUU 捕捞以及 政府是否尽其职责来杜绝该国的 IUU 捕捞。本文对塞舌尔渔业局 (Seychelles Fishing Authority, SFA）的监管工作、该国的法律法规以及渔业法进行了综述， 并且对 SFA 工作人员的监管工作做出评论，因为工作人员是杜绝 IUU 的重要执 行载体之一。 尽管有渔业法的颁布以及塞舌尔渔业局从持续的监管，本研究报告表明，完 全摆脱 IUU 捕捞仍旧是一项非常具有挑战性的任务，我们只有制定更严格的法 律法规，并加大执行力度，IUU 捕捞才有可能保持在最低限度。 总体而言，本文表明，塞舌尔政府已经尽量减少 IUU 捕捞违法行为的出现， 且近年来其法律执行已有所成效。然而对于该国，要杜绝 IUU 捕捞还有很多工 作要做。法律与体制框架需要由 SFA 工作人员特别是具有强制执法权力的人员 实施和强制执行，因为他们是渔业监管部门防止以致杜绝 IUU 捕捞的关键。在 海上的当地渔民是塞舌尔渔业局或海岸警卫队发现 IUU 违法行为的主要信息来 源，因此塞舌尔渔业局和海上渔民船只协会之间需要建立更良好的写作关系。塞 舌尔渔业局和海上渔民船只协会（Fisherman Boat Ocean Association, FBOA）之 间需要建立更良好的协作关系。该国现在仍在使用 1991 年的渔业法规，这显然 已经不能全面监管当前塞舌尔的渔业活动，因此修订和更新的法规急需颁布。

关键词：IUU 捕捞; 监控系统; 塞舌尔渔业局; 渔业法规; 渔业法

Abstract

II

Abstract

The thesis addresses one of the contemporary problems faced by the Seychelles fishing industry that is illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing mostly practiced by Asian Distant Water Fleet. As a result of IUU fishing this has led to the increase of frustrated local fisherman that fears the decreasing of their livestock. Due to continuous IUU fishing within the Seychelles, the government has made it a priority within its fisheries regulations and Fisheries Act, to adopt a number of laws and regulations to keep IUU fishing under control. The research of this paper examines how the government addresses IUU fishing within the Seychelles waters and if the government is actually doing a sustainable job to help eradicate IUU fishing within the country. The thesis commences by providing an overview of the Seychelles Fishing Authority’s work, the country’s laws and legislation, the country’s Fisheries Act showing its strong and weak points, and also commenting on the work of the Seychelles Fishing Authority’s staff, as the SFA staff is one of the primary tool to fighting IUU fishing.

Despite the enactment of the Fisheries Act and the continuous effort of the SFA this research paper will show that IUU fishing is a very challenging task to get rid of but upon stricter laws and regulations and also being able to enforce these laws, IUU fishing can be kept to a minimum.

Overall the thesis has demonstrated that the Seychelles government has managed to keep IUU fishing to a minimum and over the years its legislative framework have shown to work for the country. But there is still much to be done for the country to get rid of IUU fishing. The legal and institutional framework need to be implemented and enforced by the working staff of SFA (Seychelles Fishing Authority) especially the enforcement officers as they are the key to the whole Authority to control or prevent IUU fishing. Better cooperation between SFA and FBOA (Fisherman Boat Ocean Association) needs to be established as it is the local fisherman at sea that normally spots and reports an IUU offence to SFA or the coast guard. The regulations also need to

Abstract

III

be updated. This is because the country is still using the old 1991 fisheries regulations, which cannot meet the requirements of modern fishery in Seychelles, hence needs to be revised and updated.

Keywords: IUU fishing; monitoring system; Seychelles Fishing Authority; fisheries regulations; Fisheries Act.

Abbreviation

IV

Abbreviation

DWF- Distant Water Fleet EEZ- Exclusive Economic Zone EU- European Union

EDF-European Development Fund FAD-Fishing Aggregating Device

FAO-Food and Agriculture Organization FBOA-Fisheries Boaters Ocean Association FMC-Fisheries Monitoring Centre

FOC- Flags of convenience

IPOA-IUU-International Plan Of Action on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing IOTC-Indian Ocean Tuna Commission

IOC-Indian Ocean Commission

IUU-Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported fishing MCS-Monitoring Control and Surveillance MTC-Maritime Training Centre

NDEA-National Day Enforcement Agency NGO-Nongovernmental Organization PSM-Port State Measure

RFSP-Regional Fisheries Surveillance Project SCG-Seychelles Coast Guard

SFA-Seychelles Fishing Authority VMS-Vessel Monitoring System

Table of Figures

V

Table of Figures

Figure 2-1 Map showing Seychelles EZZ and the area for artisanal fishing, semi industrial fishing and industrial fishing [30]. (Map obtained from the MCS division at SFA) ... 6 Figure 2-2 VMS report in Seychelles (Map obtained from the MCS division at SFA) ... 16 Figure 2-3 Pie Chart showing inspections made in 2014. (Data obtained from SFA office) ... 18 Figure 2-4 Pie chart showing the percentage of inspection for 2015 (Data obtained from SFA office) ... 19 Figure 3-5 Graph showing No. Vessels Captured from 2001 – 2015 from SFA (Data obtained from SFA office) ... 32 Figure 3-6 Pie Chart showing the major regions of fishing vessels in the Seychelles practicing IUU ... 33 Figure 3-7 Pie Chart showing how many infractions were dealt with from 2001 to beginning 2015... 34 Figure 4-8 Regions of registered industrial vessel in Seychelles (Data obtained from SFA office) ... 36 Figure 4-9 Number of types of foreign fishing vessels (Data obtained from SFA office) ... 37 Figure 4-10 Pie Chart showing vessels fishing under a Seychelles flag (Data obtained from SFA office) ... 38 Figure 4-11 Chart showing the number of foreign vessels registered and has an active VMS 39 Figure 4-12 Pie chart showing local vessels with VMS onboard (Data obtained from SFA office) ... 40 Figure 4-13 Pie Chart showing percentage of vessels with known reason for not having VMS ... 41

厦门大学博硕士论文摘要库

List of Tables

VII

List of Tables

Table 2-1 Tuna catch Statistics from 2004 to 2013 [30] ... 7

Table 2-2 Tuna catch statistics by country of registration for 2012 to 2013 [30] ... 8

Table 2-3 Number of foreign fishing vessels inspected in Port Victoria in 2014 ... 18

Table 2-4 Number of foreign vessels inspected in port Victoria in 2015 ... 19

Table 4-5 showing local registered vessel with active VMS ... 39

Chapter 1 Introduction

1

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Background

Fisheries all around the world provide one of the most important sources of food supply globally. It does not only provide us with our daily protein intake but also provides employment and act as an important economic resource of income for many countries. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats, purpose of the activities or a combination of the foregoing features"[19]. Fisheries are harvested for their value (commercial, recreational or subsistence).

Fisheries are important source of food, income, jobs, and recreation for people around the world. This is particularly true in island nations, such as small developing island nations in the Southern Western Indian Ocean where seafood is eaten as a major source of protein. Worldwide harvest of fishery products has steadily increased to meet the growing global demand for seafood. Tuna fish and other pelagic fish are abundant within the Western Indian Ocean. This region has been experiencing an increase in Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported (IUU) fishing. The territorial waters of Seychelles even with a better monitoring system are still being targeted by foreign fishing vessels, which are mostly attracted to the productivity of the marine ecosystem. During the last decade different Asian Distant Water Fleets (DWF) from Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Iran, India and Pakistan are still trying to fish within these territorial waters. According to the data obtained from SFA (Seychelles Fishing Authority) and IOTC (Indian Ocean Tuna Commission) it can be seen that although upon agreements some of these vessels are allowed to fish legally within the Seychelles waters, there is evidence of on-going illegal fishing occurring still within the region.

Under the FAO IPOA-IUU there are three types of IUU fishing. These are illegal fishing, unregulated fishing and unreported fishing [9]. Illegal fishing occurs when a foreign vessel fishing under the jurisdiction of a state without permission of that state. Unreported fishing occurs when the actual catch is not reported or has been misreported to the national authority in

Chapter 1 Introduction

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contradiction that country’s laws, unregulated fishing occurs when the vessel without a nationality fishing within the regional fisheries management organization, or by vessel flying a flag state not party to the organization fish in a way that is not consistent or contravenes the conservation management measures of that organization [18]. IUU fishing is a worldwide concern that threatens the global ecosystem and sustainable fishing. It also leads to the decrease of value of licensed fisherman’s catch hence the economy of the country is also devalued. IUU products are the results of products that have not been supervised or undergone inspection. Fisherman that practices IUU fishing does not follow the protocols and the management measures, such as quotas and recording by catch, which have been established under international agreements [9]. Such fishing activities lead to the destruction of the marine ecosystem and also over fishing depleting fisheries resources and the daily protein intake of many coastal states. IUU is cause due to different reasons such as lack of financial means from the country to invest in proper management system, political instability which leads to corrupted government hence poor fishing management, irresponsible flag state, whereby countries that allow foreign vessel to fly under their flag do not monitor these vessels accordingly, ineffective fisheries monitoring, control and surveillance system [18], whereby the monitoring surveillance centre lacks skilled staff, there is poor management, lack of man power and also lack of economic incentive. IUU fishing can be very destructive to a country’s marine ecosystem. This occurs when the type of fishing gears being used to harvest fish are not aligned to the laws of that state, for instance, drag net is used a lot by purse seiners which removes everything on the seafloor as it is dragged along the seabed and also lead to the by-catch of many marine endangered species. IUU fishing also poses economic pressure on a country[9].These loses not only include the loss of GNP but also the loss of revenue from landing fees, license fees and taxes that legal fisherman need to pay in order to dock their catch at port.

Chapter 1 Introduction

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1.2 Objectives of the Thesis

The objective of this thesis is to analyze the fisheries law and the fisheries regulations of Seychelles and to assess their adequacy in effectively combating IUU fishing. The research will help show if the laws that have already been published have really been enforced.

Seychelles is found nearby other island state which is also suffering from IUU fishing. These island states include Mauritius, La Reunion, Madagascar, Comoros, Maldives and Sri Lanka.

The thesis will examine the scope of fisheries related legal instruments and tools used by the government of Seychelles to help fight against IUU fishing and how it is been implemented in Seychelles. Questions asked in the thesis are:

1. What is IUU fishing and how it occurs in Seychelles?

2. What are the international laws being implemented in Seychelles to combat IUU fishing?

3. What are the characteristic of IUU fishing in Seychelles?

4. How, and to what extent has the implementation of international instrument influence fisheries legislative in Seychelles helped combat IUU fishing?

5. How adequate is the fisheries legislative been to help combat IUU fishing in Seychelles？

This thesis will show the flaws and the strong points of Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA). A country can have all its laws and regulation written down accordingly, but if these laws and regulations are not implemented or enforced as it should be such laws and regulations are of no use to any country. The Seychelles Fishing Authority has been doing as much as it can to better implement its laws but as it will be shown throughout the paper there are certain gaps/flaws within the SFA. All five questions mentioned above will be discussed throughout the whole paper.

IUU fishing is still an ongoing problem in the Seychelles which has mainly been persisting due to the distant Asian fishing fleets. This undermines and questions the capability of the legislative framework of the government. IUU fishing in Seychelles involves vessels that have not been registered and are fishing illegally in the Seychelles waters and also involve

Chapter 1 Introduction

4

underreporting or misreporting of catch. If such actions continue to go unpunished then it provides opportunities for more offence and in some way invites more IUU fishing.

It is very hard for the government to catch every IUU fishing vessel as the perpetrators make it their goal to remain undetected. IUU vessels normally target small developing island states or coastal states because of their lack of ability to fully protect their EEZ. Upon this research all data asked from SFA was given and shared but there were some datas missing which means there are some weaknesses in the management of data collection within the Seychelles Fishing Authority.

1.3 Methodology

This thesis is the combination of research over the desktop and field work to collect relevant data and information. Desktop research provides relevant data from different sites provided not only by the SFA but also by the IOTC. Desktop research also helps on the identification of the current international legal framework for IUU fishing according to the IPOA-IUU hence help understand the limitations and strength of the legal framework of Seychelles. Research was done to show how adequate are the laws and regulations of the SFA and also how efficient are the different organizations working alongside SFA, upon agreements are helping to fight IUU fishing. Data was obtained from the SFA office and SFA website, and the IOTC office and IOTC website. Data comprised of the different vessels both foreign and local that have registered to fish in Seychelles waters, the amount of vessels both local and foreign that have an active VMS (Vessel Monitoring System) onboard their vessels, such information can help determine if the foreign vessels or local vessels are being properly monitored, data showing the amount of times that inspection was done on a foreign vessel, this is to show if the enforcement officers are doing enough inspection work, data showing which countries are allowed to fish within the Seychelles waters and which countries are commonly known to practice IUU fishing, which will help raise the question to see if Seychelles as a small island developing country is really putting effort to prevent IUU fishing or just continues to allow the same person to commit an offence.

Additional information was obtained from interviewing different key players from the SFA,

Chapter 1 Introduction

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IOTC, coast guard, attorney general and FBOA (Fisherman Boat Ocean Association) upon which all interviews were recorded for reference.

Data obtained was used to show the adequacy of the government’s work and how it may improve to better protect the country against IUU fishing.

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