Mauritius is continuing its efforts to become a seafood hub. And the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) project to tag tuna throughout the region should be of great help. The commission intends to tag between 80,000 and 100,000 tuna fish during the programme, which will cost Rs 600 million and be fully funded by the European Union (EU). It should be launched in May and will last around 30 months. If everything goes as planned, this programme should strengthen the contribution of tuna fishing to the economic and social development of the IOC.

Thanks to the tagging system, IOC members will have reliable statistics to estimate the fish stocks and thus set up specific management policies. The data they will get through the tagging programme concern the growth, migration, longevity, mortality, age, concentration of fish as well as the interaction between different fishing methods? Hence, thanks to these precious elements, IOC countries will have more facilities to manage and exploit tuna resources in their excusive economic zones.

Tuna fishing and export are already profitable activities for Mauritius and countries of the region. In Mauritius, Princes Tuna exports 20,000 tons of canned tuna to the EU and Thon des Mascareignes will soon be exporting 25,000 tons of precooked tuna fillets every year. The country also provides licences to EU companies for fishing activities in the region.

With this new programme, the IOC is sure that this activity will become even more profitable for all IOC countries thanks to better resource management.