Project Description

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Mauritius and Seychelles Country Office (CO) has applied and benefitted the above-mentioned project from the European Union under the ECOFISH Programme.

The project aims at empowering the artisanal fishers of the Republic of Mauritius in getting out of poverty by improving their economic situation through the provision of advanced technology for the identification and exploration of new fishing grounds. The action will assist the artisanal fishers in moving out of the over-exploited lagoon to more sustainable fishing grounds. One of the Sea food products on which the artisanal fishers can tap on is the Tuna fishery.

Tunas are highly migratory pelagic species that inhabit all the world’s oceans and are found in tropical, subtropical, and temperate waters. The main tuna species caught in the Indian Ocean are yellowfin (Thunnus albacares), bigeye (Thunnus obesus), albacore (Thunnus alalunga) and skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis). Although their migration routes have not been well studied in the Indian Ocean it is known that they transit the waters of Mauritius during their seasonal migrations. A recent study on the reproductive biology of albacore tuna in the Western Indian Ocean concluded that albacore tuna spawn between latitudes 10° to 30° S mainly to the east of Madagascar, hence, in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Mauritius from October to January (Dhurmeea et al, 2016). This study explains the presence and the abundance of albacore tuna in the EEZ of Mauritius and around Fish Aggregating Devices during the austral summer. The active fishing for albacore tuna by foreign longline fishing vessels in the EEZ of Mauritius confirms the abundance of albacore tuna during the summer spawning period.

Mauritius has not extensively developed its tuna fishery industry despite the presence of tuna, especially the albacore, in its EEZ. A licensing system was introduced since the 1990’s to allow foreign fishing vessels to catch pelagic resources in the EEZ of Mauritius against payment of a licence fee.

Presently, some 100 large-scale foreign longline fishing vessels targeting albacore tuna regularly fish in the waters of Mauritius under a fishing licence on an annual basis. The catch from these vessels in the EEZ of Mauritius amounting to around 4,000 –tonnes1 annually are transhipped through Port Louis and sold on foreign markets. Commercial longline fishing started in 1999 when a small number of surfaces longliner started fishing for swordfish in the Mauritian waters. Since then, the number of vessels has been increasing as the fishery was being developed. In 2017, there were 12 semi-industrial licensed longliners, less than 24 Metres in length, in operation inside the EEZ as well as outside the EEZ. The semi-industrial longliners who are licensed to operate within the EEZ targeting swordfish landed a total catch of 378.3 tonnes, out of which 30% was swordfish,32% yellowfin, 13% bigeye, 9% albacore tuna, 1.5% sharks, 6% billfish and about 8% miscellaneous species. (IOTC 2018). However, most of the foreign semi-industrial longliners have stopped fishing and moved to other countries. As at today there is no local surface longline fishing boat targeting tuna

A fishery associated with anchored Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) targeting pelagic fish mainly tuna was introduced in 1985 and was successfully implemented in Mauritius and thereafter in Rodrigues in 1987. There are some 350 small-scale artisanal fishers operating around the 28 FADs set around Mauritius and landings amount to about 300 tonnes annually. The catch is mainly composed of albacore tuna caught from November to April at depth down to about 350 metres which again confirms the presence of albacore tuna in the waters of Mauritius during the austral summer.

The Government of Mauritius is already providing grants and loans to the registered artisanal fishers for the purchase of larger off-lagoon fishing vessels to enable them to fish in the outer lagoon open sea targeting deep demersal fish and pelagic species such as tuna.

The Government of Australia and the Government of Mauritius equally funded the acquisition of a multipurpose support vessel from Australia in 2020 with the aim to further developing the blue economy. She is fully equipped to do surface longline fishing targeting tuna and swordfish (Xiphias gladius) and up to 700 hooks can be used for fishing per set. However, in the absence of a Master fisherman/Longline Fishing Expert this fishing method has not been undertaken yet. Moreover, the vessel is equipped with three deep-sea hydraulic fishing reels for fishing at depths down to 500 metres targeting deep-water demersal species of high commercial value. Training is an important component of the project which will enable the fishers to move from lagoon safely and confidently to off-lagoon fishing where catch rate is much higher.

Scope of work

For the project implementation, a Master fisherman/Longline Fishing Expert will be recruited to provide training in the surface horizontal longline fishing techniques using nylon monofilament lines on board the multipurpose support vessel “Investigator II” of the Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping. (Prior theoretical training on the surface monofilament longline fishing and classroom practical training on gear mounting will have already been dispensed to the trainees.)

The Master fisherman will provide guidance to the skipper and crew for the safe operation of the vessel and fishing operations within the concept of responsible fishing practices. The Master fisherman will ensure that all components of the longline gear targeting tuna are available. He/ She will be required to work with a range of people, including local artisanal fishers, fishing operators, fisheries officers, and vessel’s crew members.

The Master fisherman will be the commander on board and will be responsible for organising the fishing trips and will direct all fishing operations in collaboration with the officers of the Fisheries Training and Extension Centre of the Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping.

The Master fisherman will report to the Project Manager, UNDP-Ecofish project.

Duties and Responsibilities

Key Functions

• Prepare and submit assignment workplan,

• Prepare and conduct relevant training courses, and undertake demonstration of onboard fish vessel’s activities,

• Support in procurement of fishing related gears,

• Provision of general office support.

1. Prepare and submit assignment workplan

▪ Establish and submit to the Project Manager a workplan for a 30-day hands-on training course on surface horizontal longline fishing targeting tuna and tuna-like species.

2. Prepare and conduct relevant training courses, and undertake demonstration of onboard fish vessel’s activities

▪ Prepare and conduct the training course for the artisanal fishers especially youngsters and fisheries officers on the surface horizontal nylon monofilament longline fishing technique,

▪ Train fisheries officers as Trainers in the horizontal surface longline fishing method,

▪ Train fisheries officers, Skippers and Crew in vessel operations, use of safety appliances, safe fishing operations particularly for tuna, safety at sea and fish finding technology,

▪ Provide training in fish quality, fish handling practices and preservation methods,

▪ Inculcate responsible fishing practices including pollution prevention, avoidance of non-targeted (by-catch) species, especially mammals, shark and sea turtles, and their mitigation measures as established by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission.

▪ Operation of the monofilament hydraulic reel, the line shooter and the line hauler systems,

▪ Baiting, shooting, and hauling of the main line, branch-lines, and float-lines,

▪ Gaffing, hauling, killing, and bleeding of catch,

▪ Dressing and loining of catch for chilling,

▪ Onboard preservation and icing of catch; and

▪ Cleaning and sanitising tools and working deck space.

3. Support in procurement of fishing related gears

▪ Provide specifications for the purchase of any additional fishing gear and other fishing items that may be required including bait.

4. Provision of general office support

▪ Solve problems as they arise to ensure the objectives of the project are met wherever possible, or modifications made to maximise the benefits from the training programme,

▪ Keep records of progress and/or problems encountered,

▪ At the end of the assignment, the Master-fisherman/Longline Expert will prepare and submit a report on the training activities with conclusions and recommendations for future training programmes.

For detailed information on the outputs and deliverables, please refer to the Terms of reference. 

Duration of the Work

The Master fisherman/Longline Fishing Expert shall be for 30 working days over 1 year, starting May 2022 until April 2023. This is a lump sum-based contract, based on set deliverables.

Duty Station

During the field-based part of the assignment, the Master fisherman/Longline Fishing Expert may be based part time at PMT office in the Fisheries Training and Extension Centre (FiTEC) at Pointe aux Sables and the Trou Fanfaron Fishing Port, Port Louis where the vessel “Investigator II” is wharfed. Work from home will be applicable in general.

Qualification and Experience

• An internationally Recognized Master’s Certificate of Competency as skipper for fishing vessels up to at least 24 meters in length-over-all and working up to 200 nm off the coast,
• At least five years’ commercial fishing experience in tuna and/or swordfish longlining, as skipper and/or fishing master of the vessel preferably in the Indian Ocean basin,
• Knowledge of, and preferably demonstrated experience in using a range of nearshore fishing gear and techniques, especially small-scale and semi-industrial scale tuna fishing methods,
• Demonstrated experience in operating and maintaining all vessel systems, including diesel engines, hydraulics and electronics including communication, navigation, and fishing equipment,
• Demonstrated ability to work with people from different ethnic, cultural, and educational background, • Experience in using Microsoft Office to prepare analyses, reports, and presentations,
• Experience in implementation of donor funded projects is required; experience working on EU funded projects is an advantage,
• Experience working on field with Fishers and/or with relevant authorities working with fishers is desirable,
• Experience in developing training syllabus and training materials is desirable,

• Experience in providing training to a wide audience. Proven experience in providing training to fisher community will be an advantage.

Recommended Presentation of Offer

The following documents are requested:
a) Duly completed Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP,
b) Personal CV or P11, indicating all experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the candidate and at least three (3) professional references,
c) Technical offer: Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment, and a methodology on how they will approach and complete the assignment,
d) Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided by UNDP.

Submission of Application

Applications should be sent through email: [email protected] on or before Friday 20 May 2022 (by 4.00 p.m. Mauritian Time).

The subject of email should be : 90688_Master Fisherman

Annexes
Annex A - Letter of confirmation of interest and availability and Submission of financial proposal
Annex B - Model Contact IC (for information only)
Annex C - UNDP GCC IC 
Annex D - P11
Terms of Reference