The Seychelles is world-renowned for the abundance of marine life in its rich Indian Ocean waters and as a result, features on many sport anglers’ bucket lists. North Island is equipped with state of the art tackle and boats so our experienced skippers can get you to the perfect spot for a catch you can be proud of. Like many destinations around the world, Seychelles is at risk of being overfished which could result in future generations being denied the full enjoyment of the oceans, whether from a sports and recreational perspective, and more importantly as a sustainable food source.
In keeping with our conservation and sustainability principles, we are fastidious about enforcing our fishing policies in order to protect North Island’s marine resources. Before every fishing excursion, guests are briefed about what species are considered as catch-and-release and how billfish are considered as species that we do not target. Although billfish are not considered as officially endangered, evidence suggests that their populations are declining and our position on conservation is to be proactive, rather than wait until it’s too late. Marlin and swordfish are known to fight spiritedly, but there is very specific method of bringing these fish in carefully so that they can be safely released. Our activities team has been trained in this method and we have an excellent success rate when it comes to safely releasing these beautiful creatures once they have been hooked.
The majority of the fish served at North Island are caught in the waters of North Island, either by Chef Jeremy from the rocks, our guests, or our staff who go on regular fishing excursions. We have also forged relationships with local fisherman so that we are able to buy fish from them around the island to support the local community, and to reduce our carbon footprint by minimising unnecessary fuel use. We mostly offer pelagic gamefish such as tuna, bonito and barracuda and although we do serve some reef fish, we only serve those species that move in schools (such as red snapper) and which can be caught without trawling on (thereby damaging) the reef.
We specifically avoid catching solitary fish such as giant grouper – these large territorial fish are much prized due to their size and as a result are becoming ever rarer.
Marine conversation on North Island is just as important to us as terrestrial conservation and our ‘Noah’s Ark Project’ aimed at turning back our ecological clock is all-encompassing. It’s about rehabilitating and preserving the entire Island ecosystem, with no discrimination between land and water.
