The Islands Development Company (IDC), a state-owned company, is calling on local authorities to regulate recreational fishery urgently amid concerns being expressed by fishermen on stock depletion. The IDC, which manages the outer islands of Seychelles and also the inner island of Silhouette, has over the years put guidelines in place for recreational fishing in the outer islands.   According to Seychelles' Fisheries Act, recreational fishing refers to any fishing activity undertaken by a vessel under 10 metres in length for recreational rather than commercial purposes, like trading or selling. Sport fishing is defined as any fishing activity undertaken for sport or recreation, which involves the hiring, chartering, or leasing of a vessel, and its annexes not exceeding 40 metres in length overall but which does not result in trading, offering for sale, or selling of fish. The chief executive of the IDC, Glenny Savy, said the the company has established its standards on the islands. «For example, on Alphonse, we only allow 12 fishermen at a time, on Farquhar it's 10, on Cosmoledo it's 8 and on Astove it's only 4. We don't allow more than that number of people to go and fish on those islands. In addition to that, the lagoons are divided into sectors and not every sector is fished everyday, as we rotate these sectors,» he explained. He said IDC realised the danger of unsustainable fishery in the 1980s when the reef of Silhouette, the only granitic inner island managed by IDC, was being heavily exploited for sea turtles, lobster and rabbit fish among others. «We lobbied the government in the eighties to declare Silhouette a marine national park. This was done in 1987 and it is the largest marine park in Seychelles.  But although we managed to get the waters around Silhouette protected the authorities have never enforced it. At least our island manager and rangers of the Island Conservation Society (ICS) on Silhouette caution people that they cannot fish around the island because it is a marine park,» Savy added. IDC confirms that it is currently in discussion with a couple of associations on a possible code of conduct, but even if members of these associations abide by that code, the fact remains that many boat owners are not part of any association and will probably continue with business as usual. He emphasised that the longer the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) takes to put regulations in place, the more time people who are not practising sustainable fishing have to destroy the fish sock. Although there are no specific regulations governing recreational and sports fishing activities in Seychelles, certain restrictions have been put in place by the Fisheries (Mahe Plateau Trap and Line Fishery) Regulations 2021. These restrictions include a minimum size limit of 32cm for two key species, namely emperor red snapper and green job fish. Additionally, there is a bag limit of 20 fish per person per day for recreational fishers, and a ban on the sale of fish caught by recreational and sport fishers, unless authorised by the SFA.  There are no specific regulations governing recreational and sports fishing activities in Seychelles. (Seychelles Nation) Photo License: CC-BY SFA is currently working towards introducing a regulatory framework by the end of 2024 to further define these fisheries. SFA confirmed that currently there are no licensing schemes for recreational fishing but «the law prescribes that anything recreational and for sport shall have a permit system,» said Karyss Auguste, SFA's assistant manager for the License and Permit System. She said, «On the Mahe plateau, the law makes provision for fishermen to either have a commercial license or a recreational permit. Therefore, for someone to engage in any fishing activity, that person will have to be a registered fisherman with a commercial license or a holder of a recreational permit.» SFA acknowledges the difficulty in managing resources with open access such as the seas and they do not know who is fishing and the type or size of species that they fish, which makes it difficult to ensure sustainable fishing. Vincent Lucas, SFA's head of department fisheries management and technical coordination, said this is a concern and the authority worries about the sustainability of fishery if such practices continue. The idea of having regulation and a code of conduct is also supported by non-governmental organisations such as the Island Conservation Society (ICS). Gregory Berke, the director of conservation and science at ICS, said a code of conduct is necessary. «Some operators such as Blue Safari Seychelles already implement a code of conduct using guidelines from studies already undertaken in Seychelles and based on international best practices. It would be beneficial if there were a regulatory framework in place so that all recreational or sports fishing have a code of conduct in place,» he said. A Seychellois fisheries expert, Dr Ameer Ebrahim, told SNA that he feels there is not enough information to state what impact the recreational fishery is having on fish stock. «We haven't taken into consideration the social aspect of the fishery for example would you penalise a father and child who goes fishing on the rock on a weekend, or would they need a license? In other parts of the world, they would need a license to carry out any form of recreational fishing whether it is for a hobby or not,» said Ibrahim. He said this needs to be documented and discussed on a larger scale before deciding on a fee. Ebrahim also pointed out other aspects to consider such as foreign workers who work in Seychelles under a  the Gainful Occupation Permit (GOP) and their involvement in this type of fishery. « GOP workers are fishing during the weekend in various areas and they fish whatever they can catch. From my understanding under their GOP condition food is supposed to be supplied by their employee. If they are fishing for food external to their GOP condition this needs to be looked at because we have no control over the quantity of fish being removed and the way it being done, for me it seems quite significant. If they are fishing recreationally, as a hobby, there needs to be some sort of mechanism on how to regulate that,» he added.

Ukrainian drones bombed civilian vehicles in Belgorod Region, leaving several people dead and dozens of injured, authorities say Read Full Article at RT.com

The Russian foreign minister has said that French President Emmanuel Macron may be using Russophobia to gain a leading role in the EU Read Full Article at RT.com

[New Times] The government of Rwanda has dismissed reports from that the U.S. Department of State claiming that the country was behind the bombing of IDP (internally displaced people) camps around Goma, a city in DR Congo.

[allAfrica]

[allAfrica] South African actor Mpho Sebeng tragically passed away in a car accident on Sunday morning in Potchefstroom. The news was confirmed by his family in a statement later that evening.

Nicolas Cage's oldest child is wanted for questioning after an incident at his mother's house. The actor's son Weston, 33, has been named a suspect in a battery

Health Secretary Victoria Atkins has asked officials in her department to look at how the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) could be reformed.

US officials shared their views on the origin of the virus in a call with other members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance - the UK, Canada , Australia and New Zealand.

Dozens of pro-Palestinian campaigners have been elected as councillors as the war in Gaza hit town halls across Britain.

Mothin Ali, newly elected to Leeds City Council for the Green party, punched his fist in the air and, to the delight of his supporters, yelled: 'We will raise the voice of Gaza!'

It is not for Ukraine’s leader to determine whose side God is on, the Russian Orthodox Church has said Read Full Article at RT.com

[The Conversation Africa] The debt situation in many African countries has escalated again to a critical juncture. Twenty are in, or at risk of, debt distress.

[The Conversation Africa] Wages have become the top issue for Nigeria's organised labour movements in the past year. Reacting to recent increases in the cost of living, the labour movement has been calling for an upward review of the national minimum wage, currently N30,000 (US$24) a month. The Conversation's Adejuwon Soyinka asks economics professor Stephen Onyeiwu if Nigeria's minimum wage truly protects workers from poverty.

[UN News] Cocaine, cannabis and opioids are getting easier to buy as criminal networks and armed groups capitalise on the fragile Sahel region's «natural stopover point» to Europe on trafficking routes from South America, but authorities with help from the UN are taking down criminal networks and making a record number of seizures of illicit drugs.

The yuan rate remained unchanged, trading at 12.696 rubles

Another 11 servicemen were wounded

No injuries or damage were reported, the army’s press service said

He won the 2024 ATP Madrid Open on May 5

Civilians are being urged to move to an expanded humanitarian zone in the al-Mawasi and Khan Younis areas, the paper notes

C'est une belle histoire... Celle de Romain Giraud, 34 ans, luthier professionnel. Il s’est installé en Polynésie il y a deux ans et demi. Il est le créateur du ukulélé électrique utilisé par l’artiste Matthieu Chedid, lors de ses concerts au Fenua. L'artisan possède son propre atelier à Papeete. Rencontre.

Bilan mitigé pour les exposants de la 4e exposition artisanale de Rurutu. Les exposantes n’ont pas bien vendu, peu de locaux ont fait le déplacement. Leurs principaux clients étaient des touristes. La faute serait peut-être liée à un manque de publicité cette année...

Turkish officials in Somalia's capital Mogadishu ensure the delivery of aid to the families of injured soldiers from the Gorgor Unit, currently undergoing treatment at the Recep Tayyip Erdogan Training and Research Hospital

Kismayo (HOL) - Jubbaland State Police forces have arrested four suspected pirates, reportedly planning attacks on ships in Somali waters following a security operation near Kismayo town.

Nairobi (HOL) - Somali and Kenyan officials are attending the Kenya-Somalia Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) meeting in Kenya, which will continue from May 3 to 6, 2024.

IMD forecasts wet spell, thunderstorms, gusty winds in east, south peninsula till May 9. Cyclonic circulation in northeast Assam, Bihar. Southwesterly winds from Bay of Bengal. Rains in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal.

En 2023, il a couru plus de 5 500 km, 180 000 mètres de dénivelé positif et a terminé l’un des trails les plus difficiles au monde... Il s’appelle Delbi Villa Gongora, il a 36 ans et originaire du Pérou. Arrivé en Polynésie en 2010, le sportif débute en 2014, à l'âge de 26 ans, la course à pied. Dix ans plus tard, il fait partie de l’élite mondiale de l’ultratrail, de longue course en montagne d’environ 100 km de distance.

En escrime, en boxe et en taekwondo... C’est un problème dans plusieurs disciplines sportives polynésiennes : les fédérations concurrentes qui revendiquent les délégations de service public. Cela pose des problèmes pour envoyer les athlètes en compétition hors de Polynésie, mais surtout pour toucher des subventions. Illustration en taekwondo où une minime de 9 ans s’est vue refuser l’accès au tatami une fois à la Coupe de France, car elle n’avait pas la bonne affiliation.

Public Service Recognition Week honors federal workers amid increasing hostility from the right.

Regular listeners of the Radio 4 programme joked that they needed to be put under 'general anesthetic until tomorrow' while others said they were left 'wide awake' after the unnerving episode.

Israel has closed the key crossing into Gaza on Sunday Read Full Article at RT.com

The coriander powder, turmeric powder, and other spices in your kitchen may not be what you think they are. Delhi Police has seized a staggering 15 tonnes of spurious spices being manufactured at two factories in northeast Delhi's Karawal Nagar area and arrested three persons, including the owners of these processing units. Suspects Dilip Singh (46), Sarfaraj (32) - owners of the units - and Khurseed Malik (42) were supplying these adulterated spices to local markets and vendors in Delhi/NCR for the same price as the original products, a senior police officer said on Sunday.

From the banks of Ganga in Anupshahr to the bridge over Yamuna near Chhaprauli; the sugarcane fields of Baghpat and potato farms in Khandauli near Agra to the hing (asafoetida) shops of Hathras; the Dalit enclaves of Agra to the rural population of Gautam Budh Nagar, the rippling proModi wave that was pretty much visible in 2014 and 2019 is not that evident this time round in western Uttar Pradesh.

In sultry Goa, the battle lines are drawn for the state’s two Lok Sabha constituencies. On one side is the saffron front of BJP, while on the other is INDIA bloc led by Congress. There is a third player, too, in the dance of democracy: Revolutionary Goans (RG). The regional outfit, buoyed by its success in the 2022 assembly elections, has made a debut in the parliamentary elections.