The giant trevally Caranx ignobilis is a large apex predator that schools in large numbers to spawn over deep reefs.
Why is a productive and healthy marine ecosystem so important for the Seychellois people? The Seychellois are completely dependent on the ocean. We have survived for the past 200 years or so only by relying on the marine environment. It’s a bit of an irony that sometimes you forget that you can negatively affect the same ocean you depend on. And today we, as a small country, are not the only source of impact on the ocean. You might say, ‘Look, there are only a hundred thousand of us. We eat only a limited amount of fish. We don’t have to export live fish. We don’t dynamite coral. We don’t trawl. We are doing things right.’ But with globalisation, things are no longer only about ‘us’ in the Seychelles. In 1998, the Seychelles had – for the first time in recorded history – a coral bleaching event; it was clearly linked to global warming. Our islands are not immune to the threats of climate change; reducing greenhouse gas emissions is critical for saving coral reefs, even in remote locations, and this must be done by all the people on our planet. We also have an increasing number of global companies wishing to exploit our seabed resources. We have new opportunities coming through for oil exploration. We have the shark-fin trade. There was no shark-fin fishing industry in the Seychelles until people discovered that there was good money to be made from shark fins. Demand for shark-fin soup continues to grow, despite all the conservation messages we keep sending out. We have to realise we are not only a hundred thousand people; we are part of a global community and that changes the whole dynamic of conservation management.
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Photo by Thomas P. Peschak
How are you aiming to address the conflict between growing material aspirations and long-term environmental sustainability in the Seychelles? I think the first place to start is in homes and schools, and also with our visitors – tourists. When we talk about energy and water conservation, people might not think they relate to the oceans, but we need to help them see the interconnectedness of our planet’s systems. By targeting actions in the home and in hotels, we can help people to understand their environmental footprint. We also need to integrate marine and environmental education into schools, homes and tourist accommodation. We need our young people to grow up with the knowledge that their activities will have an impact on the planet so that they become wise consumers and wise users.