Africa-Press – Seychelles. A well-known and well respected person in the field of conservation for his vast knowledge of the nature around Seychelles’ many islands, his great experience as a seafarer which made him an expert in the different weather conditions, and his love for our sea turtles and land tortoises, Antonio Constance better known as Mazaren passed away yesterday at his home at Belvedere.
Aged 87, Mazaren, who always talked proudly about his work and exploits on the islands, always boasted that he had laid foot on all the islands of Seychelles. Whenever he had the opportunity to give an interview to the media, Mazaren would reminisce about the two most important persons he met on Aldabra while working there in the late 1950s. They are the legendary Frenchmen Jacques Cousteau in 1956 and he gave Mazaren a diving goggles as a gift, and his beloved wife Alda, in 1957. His wife is named after the island she was born on.
Another interesting person whom he met while working on the island of Coetivy was Dr Jeanne Mortimer from whom he said he learned a lot and deepened his knowledge on tortoises, the fascinating creatures he loved so much.
“It was in 1983 that I got to meet Madanm Torti as we all know her,” he once said in an interview. The two became great friends as they shared their passion for tortoises. They travelled on a yacht called Adelie to many outer islands to do studies, researches on the land tortoises as well as sea turtles.
Once a butcher of the sea turtles, Mazaren turned into an advocate for the preservation of the very same species.
When asked about the change of heart by journalist for the Up Close column published on September 25, 2018, Mazaren simply replied: “the species is getting scarce by day and if we do not make a joint effort to protect it, it will soon disappear. From one batch of hatchlings, only a few survive after escaping the threats from crabs, seabirds and fish.”
A graduate from the school of life, Mazaren was born on La Digue, precisely at Anse Coco on April 16, 1935.
His first real job was a cook on the schooner Aroa before joining the British Army in 1953 and was posted in Egypt. His army number was 8130084.
Once back from his military duties in 1955, Mazaren bought his first boat named Ste Marie, on which he and his brother went fishing and collected green snail (birgo).
After selling his boat, he worked for Harry Savy as a diver, cleaning sea chest strainers under foreign fishing boats.
“I was among the first people in the country to do scuba diving,” he told our journalist Roland Duval.
He then worked on Harry Savy’s boat, doing trips on the outer islands. His daily job included collecting green snails and oysters, fishing and exploiting turtles and sea birds.
After working on Aldabra in the mid-1950s, Mazaren moved to Cosmoledo where he was in charge of fishing, leading a team of fishermen. Of all the outer islands, Mazaren said Cosmoledo was his favourite.
After a spell with the Southern Line Company sailing the coast of Africa on board The Southern Progress, Mazaren went back to Cosmoledo where again he was in charge of fishing. He also worked on other outer islands which were being administered by the Islands Development Company (IDC).
To date, there is still a spot on Aldabra called ‘Pike Mazaren’ (Mazaren’s pole), where he erected a pole to use as land mark while going out fishing. It is a traditional practice used prior to the GPS era and is still being used by the older generation of fishermen.
Life on the outer islands at that time was tough and Mazaren said: “To tell you the truth, despite all the hard times, I have enjoyed life, especially on the outer islands.”
His only regret: “Maybe, my only regret is that I never got a proper education which limited on what I could have achieved in life,” he said.
Mazaren celebrated over 60 years of married life with his wife Alda. They had four children. He leaves behind his wife, his children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and other family members and relatives.
The press expresses its condolences to Mr Constance’s family.
For More News And Analysis About Seychelles Follow Africa-Press
