Africa-Press – Seychelles. A historic moment unfolded on Praslin Island on Friday, May 9th, 2025, with the grand opening of Nature Seychelles’ Assisted Recovery of Corals (ARC) Facility. This is Africa’s first land-based aquaculture facility focused on climate change adaptation and conservation. The event took place at the NGO’s Centre for Ocean Restoration Awareness and Learning (CORAL) in Amitié, and was presided over by Principal Minister Jean-François Ferrari, who also serves as the Minister of Fisheries & Blue Economy.
The ceremony drew in key supporters and stakeholders, including representatives of the facility’s funders, which include the Adaptation Fund through UNDP and the Ministry of Agriculture, Climate Change, and Environment, the Seychelles Government, the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT), and the CMA CGM Group – a global player in logistics solutions. Other guests were from government, civil society, business, students, and the local Praslin community.
The ARC facility builds on Nature Seychelles’ 15 years of dedicated work in coral reef restoration, marking a major step forward in the ongoing fight to revive coral reefs that have suffered from the growing impacts of climate change.
Using state-of-the-art techniques like micro-fragmentation and soon, sexual reproduction methods, ARC is set to significantly speed up the growth of various coral species. This includes larger coral types that have been difficult to incorporate into restoration projects, promising to boost the biodiversity and resilience of Seychelles’ essential marine ecosystems.
The coral aquaculture facility is located on Praslin, Seychelles second largest island © Nature Seychelles
Speaking at the opening of the facility, Dr Nirmal Shah, Nature Seychelles Chief Executive, emphasized the critical importance of coral reefs to the nation, and said that the ARC Facility is a bold step toward securing not only their future but that of biodiversity and human communities that are reef-dependant. “We want to make coral reefs great again”, said Dr. Shah. “We have the technology and the expertise. But we do need funding and as everyone now understands, there are massive and unprecedented cuts in overseas development aid. We are looking to private investors and to hybrid funding solutions,” he said. To this end Nature Seychelles is inviting entrepreneurs to look at exporting corals bred in the facility, to create sustainable funding for conservation and continued climate adaptation activities. “There’s a huge market for farmed corals in the global aquarium trade”, Shah says.
Minister Jean-François Ferrari in his opening speech not only praised Nature Seychelles’ success but also highlighted the broader implications of the facility.
“The surprising thing is that an NGO has managed to set up the only functioning private aquaculture facility on land. This is amazing. The other aquaculture facilities are at SFA and on Coetivy island run by IDC, both government entities. So, this facility that we are opening today is not only a game changer for conservation and climate adaptation but also one for aquaculture in Seychelles. I would highly recommend that aquaculture entrepreneurs and investors get into some serious discussion with Nature Seychelles. I think there is a great opportunity to learn and also perhaps to scale up this facility in the future for raising other organisms and at the same time supporting conservation with funding”.
The ARC Facility is set to become a vibrant hub for scientific research, education, tourism, and community involvement, effortlessly merging conservation efforts with innovative aquaculture practices, with exciting new partnerships to be announced in the coming year.
The cutting-edge facility features coral micro-fragmentation units, specialized tanks, and well-equipped wet and dry laboratories, along with a dedicated space for public education. Committed to sustainability, the ARC facility runs on renewable energy, thanks to an array of solar panels installed on its roof.
For More News And Analysis About Seychelles Follow Africa-Press
