Coast Guard Vessel Saya de Malha Completes Record FAD Recovery Mission
VICTORIA, Seychelles — The Seychelles Coast Guard vessel Saya de Malha returned to port on 16 December 2024 after a 21-day Fish Aggregation Device (FAD) recovery mission, having collected 108 instances of FAD-related material — the highest tally of any of the three recovery missions undertaken to date.
Onboard were Coast Guard officers, four students and a lecturer from the Seychelles Maritime Academy, a scientific observer and a senior fisheries scientist from the Seychelles Fisheries Authority (SFA). The mission intercepted and recovered FADs that had drifted into Seychelles’ waters and risked stranding in shallow marine habitats. The vessel visited 14 islands, including most of the Amirantes and Aldabra, with assistance from the Seychelles Islands Foundation, the Island Conservation Society and the Save our Seas Foundation.
Officials partly attributed the success to new FAD tracking software being trialled onboard. The collected material was returned to Mahe for storage and recycling. The trip had to be shortened because of cyclonic weather in the area.
This is the third FAD Recovery Mission undertaken since the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the SFA, the Sustainable Indian Ocean Tuna Initiative and the Spanish Association of Tuna Freezers in July 2023, and the first undertaken by the Saya de Malha. Further missions are planned for 2025.
