In one of those epiphanic moments, or what my pop psychologist friend Bert used to call an "Aha Insight", I realised that every keynote address at this Symposium contained reference to Seychelles. This could be serendipity at work....On the other hand, it may be that scientists find entry points for research easily available in the country. But I think the reason why many researchers come to Seychelles is that there are serious issues fomenting under the water.
First, out there in our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the future of the tuna fishery is murky with overfishing a major problem. Yes, climate change is an issue but well known tuna expert Francis Marsac said it is only a contributing factor compared to overfishing which is the elephant in the room. Yellowfin and big eye tuna stocks are in serious trouble. There are still some opportunities left for skipjack and albacore fisheries, but no one knows for how long.
In the near shore areas, we have known for some time that the local artisanal fishery is fully exploited. Many stocks in peril according to the presentation by leading researcher Dr. Josh Ciner who laid out the picture for the entire region In addition, the Seychelles coral reefs which were severely bleached in 1998 don’t have much of a future. Based on the information presented by Dr. Tim Maclanahan, the ocean around Seychelles is a “hot zone”, where sea surface temperatures are predicted to increase in the future. There is very little room for maneuver to save our reefs.
The bad news is tempered by good social capital fundamentals inherent in the country.. Pioneering research, also alluded to in the keynote presentations, show that Seychelles, of all the countries in the region, may have a high socio-economic capacity to adapt to this crisis. Compared to say Kenya and Tanzania where overfishing, coral bleaching, pollution and so forth are pushing more people further down the poverty trap, the high human development index in Seychelles means that people could find solutions to the crisis.
The research results clearly demonstrate that in Seychelles we have the potential to surmount present and future environmental dangers, more so than the people in neighboring countries. But this is only a potential. It needs to be realized. Thus, the national challenge facing us in Seychelles is how to mobilize and leverage the innovation and creativity latent in our society.
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