Harvest Strategy Policy and Management Standards for Seychelles’ Fisheries.

This Harvest Strategy Policy (Policy) underpins the objectives of the Seychelles Fisheries Sector Policy and Strategy, 2019 and aims to ensure that individual fishers are able to best manage the fishery according to their particular biological characteristics and the associated socio-economic objectives. It consists of three chapters: 1. Introduction; 2. Fisheries Harvest Strategy Policy; and Implementation Arrangements.
Chapter 1 provides the context, purpose and scope of the Policy. Chapter 2 contains the vision, goals, specific objectives and lays down the guiding principles of the Policy. The Policy Statements section lists down the ten policies: 1. Common fishery management standards used across all Seychelles fisheries; 2. Fishery management units identified and clearly defined; 3. Harvest Strategies developed for individual fishery management units; 4. Harvest control rules and other decision-making mechanisms in place; 5. Precautionary approach clearly applied where appropriate; 6. Overfished and depleted stocks rebuilt where necessary; 7. New and emerging fisheries developed sustainably; 8. Highly migratory species and regionally shared stocks are included in a national fishery management plan; 9. Equitable access, rights-based management and other considerations have been included in fishery management plans; and 10. The capacity for the preparation and implementation of robust fishery management plans is enabled. The Policy Statements are followed by the action plan and details to achieve the policy objectives.
The Policy further provides the Strategic Priorities for the application of harvest strategies and harvest control rules which includes size and value of the fishery; opportunity cost; status of the stocks; interest shown by fishers and stakeholders; international agreements / obligations; and reasonable likelihood of success with existing resources. Chapter 3 presents the implementation mechanism of the Policy including the legal framework, institutional arrangement and effective monitoring and evaluation.