Seychelles’ Sports Fishing Season Kicks Off On Jan. 27 With Heineken Funfish Slam

The 2024 Seychelles sports fishing season is expected to be another packed one, with numerous events for local sports fishing enthusiasts, kicking off with the Heineken Funfish Slam Tournament in January.

Set for January 27, the tournament, which always launches the season into the new year, will be a trolling event, where fish must be caught on “rod & reel” only using live bait, dead bait, or artificial lures.

Usually beginning in the early hours, the tournament will see the boats at sea for over 12 hours, with the aim of catching the most and biggest dorado, wahoo, and yellowfin tuna.

The first half of the year has four events scheduled, with the National Fishing Tournament taking place in March, the popular Marlin Slam in April, while the Trevally Challenge will take place in May.

In all, there will be nine fishing tournaments in 2024, along with one for the children as well.

“2023 ended really well for us, where we got more participants than expected in the later tournament, and this made the league more exciting, especially as we had various winners in each event,” said Seychelles Sports Fishing Club (SSFC) president Tarak Patel.

He added that the hope is that the excitement of the league battle can encourage more people to come and join the tournaments this year, which will surely make things even more exciting.

“We think this year should be more exciting, and I have a few meetings soon to discuss ways to make the sport more accessible to the locals,” added Patel.

The tournaments are not only for locals, as teams from other nations are also welcome, as seen by the regular participation of a team from the UAE in the past two years.

The Seychelles Sport Fishing Club was founded in April 2009 and is a non-profit association committed to promoting sport fishing in Seychelles, aiming to balance conservation and education with traditional angling practices.