THE SEYCHELLES, promoted by tourism brochures as an untouched paradise, is building special courts and a maximum security prison to combat the growing menace of Somali pirates.
Pirate sightings or attacks were reported almost daily near the islands late last year, including the kidnapping of the British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler.
Facing a threat to its two main industries, tourism and fishing, the Seychelles cabinet last week agreed tough new anti-piracy laws. It plans to build a £320,000 (€365,000) jail by the end of this year to hold up to 40 pirates. It will make the Seychelles, along with Kenya, the main centre for prosecution and detention of pirates in east Africa.
The move follows international frustration last year when the Seychelles repatriated 22 Somalis, claiming it had insufficient evidence to bring piracy charges against them.
The expanding range of the pirates, displaced from waters further north in the Gulf of Aden, has hurt the Seychelles as a yachting destination. It also resulted in a 30 per cent drop in income from the fishing industry at one point last year.