Students clean up Seychelles seas
President welcomes students back after clean up expedition
SEYCHELLES: Six students on board the Saya de Malha with the Coast Guard were welcomed back after a three-week fish aggregating device clean-up expedition.
The students boarded the coast guard boat Saya de Malha in March and during their three-week voyage they have physically collected and removed debris washed up in the reef, lagoons, and on the shores of outer islands. They had the opportunity to visit and look for FADs around Aldabra, Assumption, Cosmoledo, Astove, Farquhar, Cerf, and Providence.
Greeting them at the Fishing Port Berth #4, Victoria, President Ramkalawan who is also the Patron of the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF), congratulated them for embarking on this journey and that the expedition has been successful. He personally thanked them for serving their country and helping the Government in its effort to protect, keep the oceans clean and promote sustainable fishing.
The initial report indicates that 114 FADs were collected in this expedition, where more than half were found on Aldabra. The Minister for Fisheries and the Blue Economy, Mr. Ferrari has described the activity as a complete success given that they were able to retrieve such a significant amount of FADs. He also took the opportunity to thank the Seychelles Coast Guard, Seychelles Maritime Academy, and all stakeholders who participated in the exercise.
The FADs have been removed from the vessel and stored in an SFA storage facility, where businesses that deal with recycling can see how they can be Reused and Recycled as much as possible.
The first expedition to tackle Fish Aggregating Devices (FAD) was undertaken in October 2022.
483