Raphael Fishing Company

Raphael Fishing Company is a Mauritius-based fisheries company with offices in Port Louis and fishing stations on the Cargados Carajos shoals, also known as St Brandon. It was incorporated in Port Louis as Company C404 on 7 July 1927 and is described as the oldest continuously registered commercial company in Mauritius on record. The business operates in a remote marine environment, supporting resident fishermen, maintaining fishing stations, moving personnel and supplies, and transporting catches to Port Louis for sale. The company’s commercial activity is primarily artisanal rather than industrial. According to the available reference account, around forty fishermen work in teams of two, using hand lines and fiberglass pirogues. Nets are illegal in St Brandon. This operating model depends on a combination of local fishing knowledge, small-boat activity, station infrastructure, provisions, and regular maritime transport between the archipelago and Mauritius. In 2022, the company’s principal transport vessels were MV Albatross and MV Fregate. The vessels were specially designed and commissioned in 2017 to carry fish, supplies, and personnel over the approximately 469-kilometre route between St Brandon and Port Louis, where fish is sold soon after arrival. The company’s historical significance extends beyond fishing. Its name is associated with Captain Raphaël, who held a lease to Île Raphaël and maintained installations in Port Louis. Historical records cited in the company’s Wikipedia account identify Captain Raphaël as having travelled regularly between Port Louis and St Brandon, including documented voyages in 1816 and 1817 in which salted fish was brought back aboard the lugger Le Cheriby. The later corporate entity acquired the rights and interests of St Brandon Fish & Manure Co. Ltd. in 1928, following that company’s liquidation and a chain of transfers approved by the Mauritian state. Raphael Fishing Company became especially notable through a long-running property dispute concerning the islands of St Brandon. Proceedings began in Mauritian courts in 1995 against a claimant who purported to own six islands and the Îles Boisées, with the State of Mauritius joined as a co-defendant. After the company’s attempt to continue the matter was rejected by Mauritian courts in 2005, the Judicial Committee of the United Kingdom Privy Council granted leave to appeal in 2006. On 30 July 2008, the Privy Council allowed the appeal, set aside the lower-court orders, and declared that the company held a permanent grant of the islands identified in the 1901 deed, subject to the deed’s conditions. The decision gave the company title to thirteen islands in the Cargados Carajos shoals and established a significant common-law precedent concerning the conversion of a historic unlimited jouissance, or long-term and effectively permanent leasehold interest, into a permanent grant. The grant retained conditions relating to guano royalties, an annual payment to the government, and the requirement that produce from the islands be sent to Mauritius. Raphael Fishing Company therefore occupies an unusual position: it is both a continuing Mauritian fishing operator and the holder of historically important rights connected with a remote island group in the Indian Ocean.

The historical background of Raphael Fishing Company reaches back before the incorporation of the modern company. The business takes its name from Captain Raphaël, who held the lease to Île Raphaël in the St Brandon group and maintained installations near rue des Pamplemousses and rue Fanfaron in Port Louis. Records cited in the company’s historical account associate Captain Raphaël with regular voyages from Mauritius to St Brandon. On 17 May 1816 and again in November 1817, he is recorded as returning with salted fish aboard the lugger Le Cheriby. These voyages illustrate the long-standing connection between Port Louis commerce and the remote fishing grounds of the Cargados Carajos shoals. Raphael Fishing Company Ltd. was incorporated in Port Louis as Company C404 on 7 July 1927. It is identified as the oldest continuously registered commercial company in Mauritius on record. In 1928, the company acquired the rights and interests of St Brandon Fish & Manure Co. Ltd. under an 11 October 1901 deed. That earlier company had entered liquidation; the relevant interests were purchased from the liquidator by Mr Ulcoq in 1925 and subsequently transferred to Raphael Fishing Company. The transfers were approved by the Mauritian state. The company continued to maintain a practical presence on St Brandon through fishing stations, resident fishermen, provisions, and infrastructure. Its fishing activity has remained artisanal in character. The reported workforce consists of approximately forty fishermen operating in pairs, using hand lines from fiberglass pirogues. Nets are prohibited in St Brandon. The company also operates or arranges maritime support for the movement of personnel, supplies, and catches between the islands and Port Louis. By 2022, MV Albatross and MV Fregate were identified as its principal vessels; both had been specially designed and commissioned in 2017 for the roughly 469-kilometre route. The company’s most consequential historical episode was a dispute over rights to islands in the St Brandon group. In August 1995, Raphael Fishing Company began proceedings against a claimant who purported to own six islands and the Îles Boisées. The State of Mauritius was named as a co-defendant. Mauritian courts refused the company leave to appeal in May 2005, apparently bringing the domestic proceedings to an end. On 27 July 2006, however, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council granted leave to appeal under the constitutional arrangements of Mauritius. On 30 July 2008, the Privy Council allowed the appeal and set aside the orders made by the lower courts. It declared that Raphael Fishing Company was the holder of a permanent grant over the islands described in the 1901 deed. The result effectively confirmed the company’s title to thirteen islands in the Cargados Carajos shoals. The judgment is notable in common law because it recognized the conversion of the company’s historic unlimited jouissance, a permanent or exceptionally long leasehold interest, into a permanent grant. The grant was subject to conditions originating in the deed. The company was required to export guano found on the islands and pay the government a royalty of five rupees for each ton exported, pay an annual sum of one rupee, and send all produce of the islands to Mauritius. The decision thus linked private title, historic commercial rights, and continuing obligations to the Mauritian state. In its present form, Raphael Fishing Company remains associated with fishing, island-station support, and transport between St Brandon and Mauritius, while the 2008 judgment gives it significance in the legal history of land and leasehold rights in the Indian Ocean.

• 2022

  Reported operating fleet includes MV Albatross and MV Fregate

  [1]Raphael Fishing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The company’s principal reported vessels were MV Albatross and MV Fregate, supporting its remote-island fishing logistics.

• 2017

  Specialized transport vessels commissioned

  [1]Raphael Fishing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  MV Albatross and MV Fregate were specially designed and commissioned for transporting fish, supplies, and personnel between St Brandon and Port Louis.

• 2008

  Permanent grant confirmed for thirteen islands

  [1]Raphael Fishing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The Privy Council allowed the appeal and declared that the company held a permanent grant over the islands identified in the 1901 deed, subject to its conditions.

• 2006

  Privy Council grants leave to appeal

  [1]Raphael Fishing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council granted Raphael Fishing Company leave to pursue an appeal under the constitutional framework of Mauritius.

• 2005

  Mauritian courts refuse leave to appeal

  [1]Raphael Fishing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Mauritian courts refused the company leave to appeal in the island-rights dispute.

• 1995

  Island-rights litigation begins

  [1]Raphael Fishing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Raphael Fishing Company initiated proceedings concerning a claimant’s asserted ownership of six islands and the Îles Boisées, with the State of Mauritius as co-defendant.

• 1928

  Acquisition of St Brandon commercial rights

  [1]Raphael Fishing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The company acquired the rights and interests of St Brandon Fish & Manure Co. Ltd. under the 1901 deed after that company entered liquidation.

• 1927

  Raphael Fishing Company incorporated

  [1]Raphael Fishing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Raphael Fishing Company Ltd. was incorporated in Port Louis on 7 July 1927 as Company C404.

• 1817

  Further early voyage associated with Captain Raphaël

  [1]Raphael Fishing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  A second documented voyage in November records Captain Raphaël bringing salted fish back from the St Brandon area.

• 1816

  Documented salted-fish voyage from St Brandon

  [1]Raphael Fishing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Captain Raphaël is recorded as returning from St Brandon to Mauritius with salted fish aboard the lugger Le Cheriby, demonstrating the early commercial connection associated with the company’s name.

A long-established Mauritian fisheries operator combining artisanal fishing, remote-island station support, and maritime logistics, with a distinctive historical and legal connection to the St Brandon archipelago.

• Seafood

  Artisanal fresh fish

  Fish caught by resident fishermen at St Brandon using hand lines and fiberglass pirogues. Teams generally consist of two fishermen, and nets are illegal in the archipelago. Catches are transported to Port Louis and sold shortly after arrival.

• Preserved seafood

  Salted fish

  Salted fish is part of the historical trade associated with the St Brandon fishing grounds and Captain Raphaël’s early voyages. The available reference material establishes this historical activity but does not provide a current product range or packaging description.

• Marine services

  Fishing-station support

  The company provides infrastructure, provisions, and operational support for fishing stations and resident fishermen on the remote Cargados Carajos shoals. This activity enables fishing and associated operations far from Mauritius.

• Maritime logistics · 2017

  Marine transport and logistics

  The company transports fish, supplies, and personnel between St Brandon and Port Louis. MV Albatross and MV Fregate were commissioned for this role, covering a route of approximately 469 kilometres.

• 2008

  Pursuit of a permanent grant over the St Brandon islandsOther

  Background

  The company pursued a legal claim based on rights and interests connected with the 1901 deed and a historic unlimited jouissance over islands in the Cargados Carajos shoals.

  Action taken

  After adverse decisions in Mauritian courts, the company obtained leave to appeal to the Privy Council. The Privy Council allowed the appeal and recognized the company as holder of a permanent grant over thirteen islands, subject to conditions in the deed.

  Aftermath

  The judgment gave the company title recognized under the Mauritian constitutional and common-law framework. Conditions included guano royalties, an annual payment to the government, and sending island produce to Mauritius.

  Source

• 2022

  Raphael Fishing Company operates MV Albatross and MV Fregate as principal St Brandon transport vessels[1]Raphael Fishing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company’s reported principal vessels were MV Albatross and MV Fregate, commissioned in 2017 for the movement of fish, supplies, and personnel between St Brandon and Port Louis.

• 2008

  Privy Council recognizes Raphael Fishing Company’s permanent grant over thirteen St Brandon islands[1]Raphael Fishing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Lawsuit · Other

  The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council allowed the company’s appeal, overturned the lower-court orders, and declared that Raphael Fishing Company held a permanent grant over the islands identified in the 1901 deed, subject to specified conditions.

1. 1Raphael Fishing Companyen.wikipedia.org