Tuna seiners operated by CFTO rescued small-scale fishermen in difficulties in two incidents on the same day.
The crew of purse seiner Pendruc first noticed an artisanal fisherman in a small boat around 60 nautical miles south of Mayotte. The fisherman had been adrift for some days.
Pendruc picked the fisherman up and took him back to Mayotte, where he was subsequently taken care of by rescue services.
On the same day Cap Sainte Marie’s crew observed a fishing vessel from the Comoros around 150 nautical miles from home, adrift after suffering an engine malfunction and an ingress of water.
Engineers from Cap Sainte Marie transferred to the boat and made unsuccessful attempts to get its engine running again, and to secure the leak.
With difficult sea conditions, the boat’s crew were taken on board Cap Sainte Marie, while their boat was marked with a transponder so it can be located.
‘This is proof, if any were needed, of the great solidarity between seafarers, a far cry from the strife between artisanal fishermen and offshore fisheries that has been undermining the IOTC for years,’ a CFTO representative commented.
