Seychelles President Danny Faure has appointed Nichol John Elizabeth the new chief executive officer of the Seychelles Fishing Authority after receiving recommendations from the authority’s board of directors.
The new CEO, an executive with Indian Ocean Tuna Ltd. – which is majority owned by MW Brands Seychelles – succeeds Ronny Renaud, who in 2019 became the second chief executive to resign from the position, after his predecessor Bernard Arnephy quit in unclear circumstances in 2017.
A statement from the president’s office said SFA now needs to “be under sound management at a time when the fisheries sector was becoming increasingly vital to the national economy.”
Elizabeth, who holds degrees in food science and industrial food processing, assumes the reins at the SFA as Seychelles is implementing an ambitious seafood industry expansion program. The country is also pushing ahead with a launch of an aquaculture sector plan and is seeking to introduce aquaculture regulations with the goal of attracting both international and local investors.
Other planned activities by SFA include commencing the second phase of a broodstock acclimatization quarantine facility at the Providence Fishing Port, and drawing up plans for a fish hatchery and associated office space for the project, expected to cost EUR 700,000 (USD 830,000).
Construction of dedicated industrial longline fishing port and associated on-shore support facilities is also part of SFA’s approved development in the near-term.
Elizabeth is expected to play a leading role in the implementation of the six-year Sustainable Fishing Partnership Agreement with the European Union, signed in late 2019.
The E.U. has agreed to provide Seychelles with EUR 5.3 million (USD 6.27 million) annually in exchange for access to 50,000 tons of fish. At least EUR 2.8 million (USD 3.3 million) of the annual fee is to be set aside for “promoting sustainable management of fisheries in Seychelles and support development of small-scale fisheries.”
Photo courtesy of the Seychelles Statehouse
