© CMFRI
An eight-member Seychelles delegation led by Wallace Cosgrow, principal minister and minister for fisheries, agriculture and the blue economy, visited the ICAR–Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) in Kochi, India, on 27 August to discuss cooperation in marine fisheries research, sustainable fisheries management and mariculture.
The delegation, which included senior fisheries officials, expressed interest in CMFRI’s work on fisheries stock assessment, climate change impact assessment, seaweed processing and value addition, ornamental fish breeding, mariculture, tuna fisheries and marine bioprospecting.
The visit was part of the Seychelles delegation’s wider engagement with India on agriculture and the blue economy, following high-level meetings held in New Delhi and Hyderabad.
Building a shared research agenda
During the interaction, the delegation was keen to understand India’s experience in fisheries management and explored CMFRI’s long-term fisheries datasets and scientific expertise as valuable areas for cooperation. Minister Wallace Cosgrow said that Seychelles signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of India and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for bilateral collaboration in agriculture and fisheries.
CMFRI director Dr Grinson George outlined the institute’s research in fisheries resource assessment, biodiversity and ecosystem health, climate change, sustainable mariculture, marine biotechnology, fish health and nutrition and socioeconomic studies of fishing communities.
Discussions also covered knowledge exchange, capacity building and collaborative research between India and Seychelles in support of sustainable utilisation of marine resources and the development of the blue economy.
The Seychelles delegation sought details of fisheries data and digital technologies. CMFRI demonstrated its National Marine Fisheries Data Management Centre, where field-level fisheries information is collected using mobile technologies and processed using modern analytical tools.
The delegation also asked how India balances fisheries conservation with the livelihoods of small-scale fishers. CMFRI said its approach to seasonal fishing regulations combines scientific and socioeconomic considerations, with the aim of ensuring that conservation measures are both scientifically robust and socially acceptable.
CMFRI’s scientists and heads of research divisions also attended the discussions.
