Find Fisheries expertise in Mauritius

Agriculture, forestry and fisheries contribute 5% to Mauritius’s GDP (2007). With a shelf area of 3046 km², a coastline of 276 km, and an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 1.9 million km² the island nation of Mauritius and its outer islands have rich fishing grounds. There are estimated to be 5100 people involved in the primary sector (including aquaculture) and 6800 in the secondary sector.

The fishing sector can be separated into marine fisheries and aquaculture, with marine further composed of island based artisanal fisheries, the offshore demersal fishery, and the tuna fishery. The catch profile for the marine sector is largely lethrinids, scarids, sigannids and mullets.

Aquaculture is dominated by the production of giant freshwater prawn, red tilapia and marine red drum fish. Most catch from marine and aquaculture sub-sectors are consumed by the domestic market. Princes Tuna Mauritius (PTM) a canning factory that employs about 2000 people does however export over 50,000 tons of canned tuna per annum to the EU market.

The Fisheries and Marine Resources Act 1998 (FMRA) provides the necessary legal framework for fisheries and marine living resources management. The Mauritian government aims to manage fisheries within sustainable limits while ensuring the continuous supply to local markets. In addition, new fishermen are not allowed to fish overexploited stocks and existing fishermen are encouraged to fish other stocks, while fishing agreements are in place for the migratory and valuable tuna with the EU and Seychelles.

The Fisheries Protection Service and the National Coast Guard enforce the FMRA. Fisheries matters however lies with the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Fisheries. Its Fisheries Division is responsible for the management of fisheries and the development of fisheries and aquaculture. A Fisheries Training and Extension Centre (FiTEC) was constructed to provide training to fishers with financial support from the Japanese government.