Seychelles EEZ

To ensure efficient and effective management and sustainable development of fisheries in accordance with international norms, standards and best practices, and an ecosystem approach to fisheries.

Species of Concern: multiple

Restrictions

Seychelles has sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of these waters. Fishing restrictions, such as bag limits, seasons, and size restrictions apply.

In accordance with the Fisheries Act 2014, the following rules apply:
1. A foreign fishing vessel shall not be used for fishing or any fishing related activity in Seychelles waters or for sedentary species on the continental shelf, except under and in accordance with a licence granted by the Authority.
2. A joint venture fishing vessel, a local fishing vessel or a Seychelles fishing vessel shall not be used for fishing or any fishing related activity in Seychelles waters except under and in accordance with a licence granted by the Authority.
3. A vessel shall not be used for sport fishing in Seychelles waters except under and in accordance with a sport fishing permit granted by the Authority.
4. A person shall not organise or cause to be organised a competition sport fishing in Seychelles waters except under and in accordance with a permit granted by the Authority.
5. A person shall not - (a) use any poison or other noxious substance for the purpose of killing, stunning, disabling or catching fish or in any way rendering such fish more easily caught; or
(b) carry or have in possession or control on board a vessel, any explosive, poison, or other noxious substance in circumstances indicating an intention of using such explosive, poison, or other noxious substance for any of the purposes referred to previously.
6. A person shall not use any speargun for fishing or be in possession of a speargun in circumstances which raise a reasonable inference that the speargun has been used or is intended for fishing in Seychelles.
7. A person shall not use any unauthorised gear in Seychelles waters.
8. A person shall not attract sharks in Seychelles waters by placing in the water fish, part of fish, blood, or such matter upon which shark feed, lured to, for the purpose of making use of shark for any sport, game, or any activity, and this shall not restrict any approved scientific research or activity.
9. A person shall not kill, chase, take any marine mammal alive or dead in Seychelles waters.
10. A person shall not place or set any fish aggregating device without the written authorisation of the Authority in Seychelles waters.
11. A person shall not fish within the Exclusive Economic Zone specified under the Maritime Zone Act - (a) with a net except under and in accordance with a licence granted by the Authority;
(b) with a trap except under and in accordance with a permit granted by the Authority.

In accordance with the Fisheries Regulations 1987, the following rules apply:
1. No person shall fish in the territorial waters with the use of a net or combination of nets exceeding 50 metres in length except pursuant to a valid licence granted under the licensing law.
2. No person shall in any part of Seychelles collect any triton conch shell (charonia tritonis) known locally as lancive or disturb such a shell or its natural environment.
3. No person shall fish for, catch, kill, disturb or possess a female green turtle.
4. No person shall fish for, catch, kill, sell or expose for sale any male green turtle except pursuant to a valid permit granted by SFA.
5. No person shall fish for, catch, kill or disturb a female hawksbill turtle.
6. No person shall fish for, catch, kill or disturb a male hawksbill turtle except pursuant to a permit granted by SFA.
7. No person shall possess unworked hawksbill turtle shell except pursuant to a permit granted by SFA, provided that an artisan in the business of working such shell may possess unworked shells for the purpose of such business if accompanied by a valid certificate.
8. No person shall use any demersal trawl net for fishing in Seychelles waters.
9. No person shall place any net in any reef pass or channel in such a way as to obstruct the passage of fish.
10. No person shall fish with or possess any casier or basket trap unless the meshes of the sides or surroundings parts of the trap (not including the entrance (lagel)) are of such dimensions as to allow a sphere of of 40 millimeters in diameter to pass through such meshes without touching the sides thereof.
11. No person shall use any spear gun for fishing or be in possession of the spear gun in circumstances which raise a reasonable inference that the spear gun has been used or is intended to be used for fishing in Seychelles.
12. No person shall sell or offer for sale any spear gun.
13. A person shall not - (a) fish for, catch or kill homard in Seychelles waters, or (b) sell, purchase or be in possession of homard which has been fished from or caught in Seychelles Waters.
14. A person shall not - (a) fish for, catch, kill, sell, purchase or be in possession of a homard in the berried state, or (b) remove the eggs from any homard in the berried state. This prohibition shall not apply to a person who holds a licence to fish for homard issued under the licensing law.
15. The holder of a licence, not being a person living in the outer islands or on the islands of Denis or Bird in relation to the waters and around those islands, shall not fish for, catch or kill homard in Seychelles waters except during the open season.
16. No person shall fish for, catch or process sea cucumbers except under the authority of, and in accordance with the terms of, a licence issued under the licensing law.
17. No person shall fish for, catch, kill, purchase, sell or possess any female crustacean in the berried state, that is to say with eggs adherent and which belongs to the family scyllaridae, the genus macrobrachium or the genus scylla, known locally as crevice camaron and crab manglier respectively.
18. No person shall remove the eggs from any berried female crustacean.
19. No person shall fish for, catch, kill, purchase, sell or possess any crustacean which is of less than the minimum dimension prescribed for that kind of crustacean.
20. No person shall fish in an aquaculture concession marked with buoys or enter such concession except pursuant to the authorisation of the grantee of the concession.
21. No person shall land or tranship in Seychelles or Seychelles waters any fish that has been caught contrary to international management measures which Seychelles is bound by international agreement to respect.
22. No person shall fish or catch, for live trade any wild finfish of the classes Chrondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fishes) and Osteichthyes (Bony Fishes).
23. No person shall fish or catch for live trade other marine organisms except under and in accordance with the terms of a licence issued under the licensing law.

In accordance with the Shark Finning Regulations 2006, no person shall on board a fishing vessel remove fins from sharks except under and in accordance with an authorization issued in respect of that vessel by SFA. All fishing vessels authorised under the licensing law are prohibited from discarding at sea the remnant parts of sharks after the removal of fins except for those parts that result from gutting and beheading.

Allowed

Please consult local laws for information on allowed activities.