Seychelles Fishing Authority launches book "Zak Aquaculture Adventures" by Peter Lalande

The book "Zak Aquaculture Adventures" by Peter Lalande targets the younger audience. (Seychelles Fishing Authority) 

(Seychelles News Agency) - The Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) has launched an educational comic book to help children understand aquaculture and to encourage them to become interested in this field at a young age.

"Zak Aquaculture Adventures" by Peter Lalande is targeting the younger audience, through the main character, a little boy named Zak, the book simplifies aquaculture so that children from the grassroots level get to understand this sector.

"The Seychelles Fisheries Authority has been implementing its aquaculture education and awareness campaign since 2017. Its main target has mostly been students in terms of career path guidance, the entrepreneurs in terms of new business ventures and the public for general information on the development of the sector in the Seychelles," Aubrey Lesperance, head of Aquaculture at the SFA, told SNA.

Lesperance added that in the past, students targeted have been those mainly from secondary schools and professional centres. "Primary students have not been targeted yet as it is more difficult to explain the science of aquaculture to the younger students."

The storyline gives children a clearer definition of aquaculture, its benefits for the country, benefits for the environment, benefits for the local fishing community, as well as the different components of aquaculture, from the hatchery to the actual farming through cages placed in the sea.  

Children also get to learn about different fish and other marine species. In the cartoon book, Zak visits the aquaculture facilities, including the broodstock, acclimation, quarantine facility, and the Containerised Echinoderm Hatchery at the Providence Fishing Port on the main island of Mahe. 

During this visit, the little boy sees all the different equipment, including different tanks, their uses and functions. Zak asks the teacher featured in the book many questions through which children get to better understand aquaculture, with simple explanations accompanied by illustrations.

Peter Lalande, the cartoonist and storyteller

SFA said that primary schools – both public and private, as well as other institutions, such as the National Library - will receive a copy of the comic book, produced by local cartoonist Peter Lalande. Lalande, a historian-turned-cartoonist, told SNA that through this project he had used the form of art of caricature to pass on the message he wanted to convey, following research he had made on the subject. 

According to Peter Lalande, the cartoonist, the strategy used is very powerful. (Seychelles Fishing Authority) Photo License: CC-BY

"My focus is on education, and I use storytelling for this purpose. A comic book is a fun way that kids can be educated at the same time that they are reading," explained Lalande.

According to the cartoonist, the strategy used is very powerful. "Storytelling is underutilised in Seychelles and this can be used for education purposes, to pass on information. We have a group of students who do not read and this is a way that is very engaging and makes it easier for them to assimilate this information," explained Lalande.

Zak is not a new character to the fisheries sector. In fact, he was featured in another book entitled "Shark Fin Soup," published a few years ago, which raised awareness on the killing of sharks for their fins. The book, launched in September 2016, was aimed at educating the public about the dangers of unsustainable exploitation of the species. 

The publication of the book was part of a wider project dubbed the 'Shark Fin Soup' project, and was a collaboration between the Fishermen and Boat Owners Association (FBOA), the Seychelles Fishing Authority, and an environmental non-profit organisation, Green Islands Foundation (GIF), which was not only targeting the general public but the fishermen themselves.

Speaking about this initiative, Maria Brioche, an environmental educator, who has been working with children for over 20 years, said having a book on aquaculture for children is a fantastic idea. 

"Introducing children to aquaculture can help them develop an understanding of where their food comes from, especially seafood, and the importance of sustainable practices to protect marine life [...] It could also spark their interest in marine biology and environmental stewardship from an early age," she said.