Mauritius Had Rs 81 Billion for Food Security — Yet Still Buys Back Its Own Fish

Mauritius has long championed food self-sufficiency as a national priority. Billions of rupees have been allocated toward achieving it. Yet a striking contradiction persists on the island's dinner tables: Mauritians are still buying back fish that was caught in their own waters — often at inflated prices, after it has been processed and repackaged abroad. According to a report by Le Défi Media, the country had access to Rs 81 billion earmarked for food autonomy initiatives, yet the fishing and aquaculture sectors remain far from self-sustaining. Local fishermen continue to operate with limited infrastructure and support, while foreign vessels — some licensed to fish in Mauritius's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) — land their catches elsewhere, leaving the island to re-import what was originally sourced from its own seas. **A Vast Ocean, A Missed Opportunity** Mauritius controls one of the largest EEZs in the world — approximately 2.3 million square kilometres of Indian Ocean waters. This vast maritime territory is rich in tuna, swordfish, and other commercially valuable species. In theory, it should be a cornerstone of national food security. In practice, however, the country's artisanal fishing fleet is ageing and underfunded. Cold storage, processing facilities, and distribution networks remain inadequate. As a result, much of the marine wealth passes through Mauritian waters without meaningfully benefiting local consumers or the national economy. **The Rs 81 Billion Question** The figure of Rs 81 billion — cited in the context of funds available or pledged for food self-sufficiency — throws the sector's underperformance into sharp relief. Critics and industry observers are now asking how such a substantial sum failed to produce a resilient, self-sufficient fishing industry capable of feeding the population at affordable prices. The government has in recent years launched various programmes aimed at boosting local food production, including subsidies for small-scale farmers and fishermen, and plans to develop mariculture (sea-based fish farming). But implementation has been slow and outcomes difficult to measure. **What This Means for Mauritians** For everyday consumers, the impact is felt at the market. Fish — a staple of the Mauritian diet — is frequently expensive and sometimes scarce, despite the island being surrounded by ocean. Import dependency drives up prices and exposes households to global supply chain disruptions. For the fishing community, the situation reflects a deeper structural failure: small-scale fishermen lack the capital, equipment, and market access to scale up, while policy support has not translated into meaningful change on the water. For policymakers, the challenge is accountability. If Rs 81 billion was available for food autonomy, the public deserves a clear accounting of how it was spent, what was achieved, and what reforms are now planned. The question of food sovereignty in Mauritius is not new — but the scale of the figures involved makes it harder than ever to accept the status quo. Source: Le Défi Media