The economy is running out of steam in a difficult context where most of our revenue ? which we may wrongly have thought was established for ever ? is jeopardised by a more and more global world. Barriers are falling and competition is becoming fiercer, especially in sectors like textile and sugar. In such circumstances, we seem to have two life-belts: boost tourism for more revenue in the short-term and develop the seafood hub in the longer term.

The seafood hub conference organised by the Joint Economic Council and the Board of Investment last week was aimed at reflecting on ways of making this industry more important on a national level. And it revealed that the seafood hub could be one of Mauritius? greatest hopes in the near future.

Mauritius has more or less always relied on three sectors; today two of them are coming to an end. Hence finding other ways of having a prosperous economy must be a matter of time only. The country can?t afford to rely only on a few sources of revenue, as it has to avoid remaining in the present situation. Therefore the main objective is to diversify the economy, which justifies the aim to develop at the same time the Information and Communication Technologies, the knowledge hub, leisure activities, medical and pharmaceutical activities, the land-based oceanic industry and of course the seafood hub.

The latter, however. appears as one of the sectors that can take off rapidly. Infrastructures are present and there is a demand for more seafood worldwide. The country must not miss this opportunity and the government seems aware of this. When he opened the conference, the deputy prime minister and Finance minister, Rama Sithanen, made it clear that the government was willing to develop a ?blue industry? next to the ?green industry? (based on sugar cane).

The seafood hub is not only expected to bring investment but it should also create many jobs. Last year, the sector made Rs 5 billion, which represent half of the sugar industry revenue.

This blue industry is not only expected to bring local and foreign investment but it should also create many jobs. Last year, the seafood hub, which includes about sixty companies, made Rs 5 billion in exports, which represent half of the sugar industry revenue. The sector directly employs around 5,000 people.

With about 200 participants, the conference on the seafood hub confirmed what the sector and the government had thought: the seafood hub has a bright future. The chief executive officer (CEO) of Bumble Bee, the biggest US group producing seafood, made it clear that Mauritius has made a lot of progress in port infrastructure, which should guarantee a profitable situation. ?I had not been to Mauritius for several years and I am impressed by what I have seen since I have been here,? revealed Chris Lischewski.

For him, Mauritius has ?real possibilities? of developing the sector but ?I believe your future growth will depend on other products than tuna.? Chris Lischewski is in a good position to comment upon the progress made by Mauritius as he is in partnership with Ireland Blyth Ltd (IBL) which has just built a tuna processing factory, Thon des Mascareignes. ?Before IBL built its factory we used to buy albacore here but we sent it abroad to be processed. Now we can process the fish here and send the cuts to our factories in the United States to be canned,? he explains.

The seafood hub consists of several activities including port equipment, cold stores, processing factories and aquaculture. Companies established in Mauritius exploit tuna, smoked fish and fresh and frozen fish fillets but the country could exploit more varieties of fish in the future. More and more people consume seafood worldwide and this increasing demand has to be satisfied.

The problem, as exposed by Chris Lischewski, is that ?scientific studies show that most of the main reserves of fish are overexploited and that fishing is presently done at a maximal level.? As a result, regions like the Indian Ocean that are not so heavily exploited, could have an important role to play in supplying fish to the world. And the industrial and commercial exploitation of the resources found in the exclusive economic zone of Mauritius even more?