A French département located in the Indian Ocean, the volcanic island of Réunion boasts 207 km of coastline and 777,000 inhabitants. Long restricted to operating along the coastline, since the 1990s fishing has extended to longlining of large pelagic species and, more recently, to Southern Ocean fishing. The fishing sector accounts for a marginal proportion of regional GDP¹ (0.4% in 2004) and employs 0.5% of the active population but makes a considerable contribution to the island's exports (15% of export income), in particular, with niche products such as toothfish.

EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone)
Note : Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this map, DG Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, takes no responsibility or is not liable whatsoever for any errors or omissions. The boundaries shown on this map are for illustrative purposes only. For further information users should consult with national authorities. This map is not to be used for navigational purposes.

Fishing

Two longliner vessels, used to fish for toothfish

Main fisheries

• Small-scale costal fishing focuses on 'red'-bellied fish and species of small pelagic fish living in the narrow coastal area. Annual declared catches total between 1,500 and 2,500 tonnes. There is no accurate gauging of the fishing effort and it is clear that stocks in the coastal regions are being over-fished.
• Longlining of large pelagic fish pertains mainly to swordfish but also long-finned, tunny and big-eye tuna and other species such as dolphinfish. Catches are estimated at approximately 3,000 tonnes. The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) – the regional fishing organisation responsible for managing stocks in the region – is highlighting the over-fishing of stocks of swordfish and big-eye tuna. Accounting for 0.25% of the Indian Ocean's tuna catches, the Réunion fleet plays a marginal role in this over-fishing.
• 'Southern Ocean' fishing primarily targets Southern Ocean toothfish and crayfish. This is a relatively recent fishery. However neither catches (approximately 6,000 tonnes per year) nor stocks are are being monitored following community standards.

Fleet

The Réunion fleet comprises 300 relatively new vessels (2004 data) made up as follows:

• 263 traditional fishing boats practising small-scale coastal fishing
• 30 longliners fishing large pelagic fish over 15 m long
• Seven vessels for Southern Ocean fishing (ships measuring 75 m or longer with capacity of several thousands of kW)

Employment

• 900 people are directly employed in the fishing industry.
• 120 people have been documented as being employed in land-based jobs in equipment and processing companies.

Infrastructure

• The island has one modern fishing port – Pointe des Galets.
• There are also 13 different landing points for small-scale traditional crews which have been fitted out using European funds. These include Saint-Gilles-les-Bains, Sainte Marie, Saint Pierre, Saint-leu, Sainte Rose and Étang-Salé.

Aquaculture

• Freshwater breeding farms (trout and tilapia) were set up from 1997 onwards.
• Marine breeding methods have been used in breeding Mascarine® drum since 1999.
• In 2005, aquaculture on Réunion produced 150 tonnes of fish (45% tilapia, 35% trout and 20% drum).

Processing and trade

• Réunion imports 10,000 tonnes of (mainly frozen) processed fish and aquaculture products each year.
• Industrial processing of marine products is limited to three factories.
• The island has no auction house or producer organisation.
• Réunion exports toothfish and crayfish to Japan, Australia and the United States and fresh cuts (loins) of swordfish and tuna to the EU under the POSEIDOM compensation scheme.

Community support

Since 1994, fishing on Réunion has received almost €50 million in direct aid from the European Union: €12 million of this from the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG), €9 million under the specific guidance programmes for remoteness and insularity (POSEI), €1 million from the European Social Fund (ESF), which financed several training initiatives in the fishing sector, and €27 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which subsidised renovation of some aspects of port infrastructure and creation of a marine park. This assistance has been available to the fishing industry since 1992 (and was renewed in 2003). From 2007 onwards, the new European Fisheries Fund (EFF) will take over from the FIFG as the financial instrument behind the Common Fisheries Policy.

• Fleet – Between 1994 and 2006, the FIFG provided €4 million to renovate the fleet and a further €1 million to modernise it.
• Infrastructure and equipment – The FIFG provided €2 million of investment in port infrastructure work in Saint-Pierre (auction house, premises, ship hoist) and at Pointe des Galets (ice machine, renovation of quays, mechanised unloading, etc.). The ERDF was also heavily involved in fitting out several ports and in providing investment aimed at the fishing sector and beyond, mainly in Saint-Pierre, Pointe des Galets, Sainte Marie and Saint-Gilles.
• Aquaculture – 29 aquaculture projects received €1 million of subsidies from the FIFG. Assistance was also provided with investment to shore up research and development capacity in both continental and marine aquaculture.
• Processing and trade – The FIFG allocated €2 million to various processing companies, which mainly enabled recipients to upgrade their storage, handling, freezing and packaging equipment.
• Compensation of extra costs – Since 1998, Réunion has received aid under the POSEIDOM scheme to compensate it for the additional costs of marketing its products due its remote location. It has received a cumulative total of €9 million in support for its shipments of large pelagic fish to the European Union.

¹ gross domestic product