THE Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) are at it again. Bureaucrats at SFA, led by Rondolph Payet, who is acquiring an acute reputation for knowing too much about fish and not understanding enough about fishermen and what they mean to Seychelles, is on the march to restrict our fishermen from fishing Bourzwa (Red Snapper) from Seychelles waters. It appears unless the Fishermen put their hooks, line and sinker into this matter, their livelihood will be under dire threat; our economy will be in deeper water than the depths where you can find Bourzwa! Mr. President can forget about ships visiting Seychelles Port, except perhaps for charity.
Briefly, the entire demersal fishing economy has been centered primarily around Bourzwa since fish processing companies like Oceana Fisheries and Sea Harvest export this prized catch to Europe, Mauritius, La Reunion in exchange for hard currency which is used in turn to buy oil, natural gas, rice and everything nice you can think of which the SPPF hail as our evidences of success compared to how our grandparents lived right after World War II. Fishermen rely on Bourzwa for real money and Government of Seychelles as well retains 55% of revenues from fishing exports. Exporters keep only 45% and in some cases only 25%. However, the importance of Bourzwa exports cannot be underestimated to our fishing economy and our existence as a viable national entity ( a Country that floats, as opposed to soaks... in failure).
At SFA, bureaucrats of par-excellence quality meet to decide how to harass the hardest-working, greatest-risking, sector of our society. Triple "A" grade bureaucrats at SFA raise prawns in little basins to see how many times the prawns go around the basin in a day and record the activity. They shell prawns from Coetivy then shell prawns from the Mozambique channel that come from Seychelles waters and conclude that the prawns in our waters are of high market value and prized all over the World. After SPPF has blown over $100 Million on the Coetivy Farm which today they cannot even give it away to Lehman Brothers, SFA now tells us we have prawns in our waters and we must exploit this resource. According to SFA, they placed these sea prawns in a household microwave, and they performed better than Coetivy prawns, turning red like Communist instead of the traditional prawn pink we find with Coetivy farmed prawns, when placed under microwave radiation.
Most recently, our scientist at SFA collect mackerels, measure them, look into their big eyes, than fillet them, and mix the flesh in a household blender and come up with "mackerel balls" and fry it in a 14 inch skillet on a single burner and declare they have discovered an alternative food source: "Mackerel Burgers". They likely call Oceana Fisheries and Sea Harvest and tell them to consider stop selling Bourzwa in Paris and offer Mackerel Burgers at the same price as Bourzwa for restaurant clients in the city of love and fine dining. They will likely call all Fishermen to a general meeting and tell them to stop fishing for Bourzwa and start fishing for mackerel and consider it as an export product to replace Bourzwa for the same price since it will have the Seychelles label on it.
Scientific arrogance in the hands of bureaucrats that are triple "A" quality has no limit. They will even cross the line of stupidity to make their point. Why? Because when yes men gather and have a meal on Government of Seychelles budget, to digest the food, they all have to say, "yes" to each other. If someone says no, it's too disruptive for them to make it through the day. The "no" means dissent. That spells problems. These weak men are charged with the fishermen's future and the most productive source of revenue in our Country today. Seychellois wake up! Today, they will tell you no Bourzwa, tomorrow, no Kaka Matlo! The list is endless just as the bureaucracy is. In all this, there is very little science worth calling science. Stupidity is running the day for our Fisheries. That is being polite.
Instead of telling fishermen to stop fishing Bourzwa, SFA should be hatching Bourzwa eggs and raising the species and releasing them into the Mahe Plateau for everyone to fish as much as they can. But that takes real scientific ability and SFA does not have that capacity. But it has "scientist": mackerel burger scientist!
Arrogant SFA has suggested to fishermen that they stop fishing Bourzwa and fish for Kalkal. Give us a break. Can SFA write in Bourzwa language, "Beware of Kalkal Hook under bait", as to ward off all potential Bourzwa catch? Since Bourwza and Kalkal are usually found at the same depths, how will fishermen ward off Bourzwa? By the time they make it into a boat, they are dead. How will fishermen save them? How will SFA police the fishing of Kalkal vs. Bourzwa? This may be a good time for one of those long liners to submit a floating restaurant application to SIB. Guests can eat their catch before coming back to shore and even avoid GST on the bill. Less revenue for the revenue agency of course. But at least the longliners will stop longlining and they can charge their guests in hard currency like all restuarants. Since they will not have much raw material to have to buy, they can just keep all the money and send SPPF leadership into a heat stroke over a few euros.
SFA also neglects to calculate in its immense scientific data-base of over-weight under-worked administrators that the Seychelles fish processors who primarily export fish have been promoting the Bourzwa product to fine dining restaurants in St. Denis, Paris, Frankfurt, London for over 30 years. Now that the market has developed a stable following, to replace it with Kalkal or worse, Crab Giraffe, will be a financial economic disaster bigger than the bellies that have grown from our fish for free, for the past 16 years at SFA. SFA also neglects to mention that one boat with crab giraffe stock is enough to flood our markets for that product for 6 months. Crab Giraffe is also very ugly when placed next to a gorgeous Bourzwa. Selling Crabe Giraffe will have its marketing challenges. In North America, they are called "bugs", because they look like an over grown cockroach! Record that you scientist at SFA.
SFA has accused hand line fishermen of targeting juvenile Bourzwa fish. This is a serious accusation in as much as we have a unspoken culture of letting smaller fish go if possible, hence, allowing them to survive and increase the stock. It is a tradition that places Seychellois fishermen second to none in the world of conservation.
However, with all the work in discovering "Mackerel Burger", scientists at SFA have not been able to come up with scientific proof of this grave accusation/allegation upon the fishermen's techniques.
They just allege it because maybe someone served them a little Bourzwa for lunch one day I suppose. Then they made a scientific conclusion that the source is being over fished. But that did not stop the SFA scientists from eating the little Bourwza! Give us a break you scientists that are at the opposite of Albert Einstein's' IQ spectrum.
The day SFA makes a total ban on Bourzwa fishermen in Seychelles must only consider moving their fleet to Diego Suarez. Then carry your passport with you on your fishing trip to Seychelles. Don't worry about SFA, they will never have enough fuel to catch you with your illegal Bourzwa caught in your ocean, in your Country EEZ. You will be able to tranship from Madagascar, deposit your hard currency in the bank there, live like a bunch of kings, much like "King Creole" is doing in spite of SPPF...to spite SPPF, today.
Instead of restricting our stock of fish SFA, why don't you call a general meeting of all fishermen, and have the Bishop bless these good hard-working men who must succeed in spite of your stupidity. I never seen a fishing authority that has more jeeps 4x4 than boats until I drove into the SFA car park last week. Sell some of those jeeps which you cannot fish in and consign the money to the fishermen in the form of much needed parts and supplies.
Place the money where it is most beneficial to our Country, in the hands of the fishermen, instead of the least beneficial: bureaucrats on the threshold of royalty. As the President suggested: Take The Bus SFA!
If SPPF cannot reel in SFA, then we will have to package and export Mackerel Burger to Paris instead of Bourzwa. Don't get caught in the blender SPPF!