Whilst base-line socio-economic data is limited on the island of La Digue, the small-scale fishermen acknowledge that their catch is mostly a question of livelihood and for their daily subsistence. However, previous studies from trial projects within the Eastern Africa region have indicated that implementation of FADs represent a potential tool for diversifying fishing opportunities or even complimenting the daily catch for the artisanal fishers in the region. In Seychelles the Seychelles Fishing Authority had previously deployed five sets of FADS around the island of Mahe and including one on La Digue. The La Digue fishermen found that to be a very good and worthy initiative and requested that another trial is done on the island now that the fishermen are grouped in an organised structure that would be responsible for the natural resource that they so depend upon. Of the five deployed FADs only the one on La Digue remains although in need of major maintenance or replacement. Loss of these FADs may be attributed to lack of information to the public as to what they are, why they have been placed in the locations and how to make good use of these.
Now for the first time on La Digue, the SFA will work directly with the resource users, the La Digue Fishermen Association through the financial support of the GEF SGP to pilot the deployment, monitoring and management of the FADs around the island of La Digue. Issues have been identified, and now proposing research and management actions for the project which SFAis pleased to take on board as there is continuous need for more active, science-based fisheries management which forms the basis of therefore contributing to the implementation of the fisheries management section in the Seychelles Sustainable Development Strategy (SSDS 2020).