An indicator approach based on six major components and their corresponding sub-components was applied in order to assess community vulnerability of small-scale fishers on Mahe and Praslin Island with the framework of the Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI). These major major components include socio-demographic profile, livelihood strategies, food, health, social networks, and natural disasters and climate variability from which questionnaires were designed based on expert judgements. Fisher associations on Mahe and Praslin provided guidance for the selection of fishing households and a total of 80 surveys were completed with 40 from each island. Three shared dialogue workshops (SDWs) were conducted to gather additional qualitative data. A composite index was used to aggregate the data and the LVI-IPCC methodology was applied in the calculation of the contributing factors of the sub-components to the major components and the overall vulnerability was deduced for exposure, adaptive capacity and sensitivity. Results showed that the percentage of fishers’ households that depend mainly on fisheries as a source of income was 95% and 97% for Mahe and Praslin respectively with alternative income streams along the fishing value chain such as transportation, fish mongers and processor. Fishers on Mahe Island had a dependency ratio index that was slightly higher than those on Praslin. Overall, fishing households on Mahe showed greater vulnerability on socio-demographic profile index compared to their counterparts on Praslin. However, greater livelihood diversification was recorded for householders on Mahe than Praslin – an indication that the level of development on the former as the largest island and capital of Seychelles offer greater opportunities for diversification. The SDWs revealed that fishers earned income from tourism-related activities such as guest house, car rental, boat ride, and sales of coconuts. While householders on Mahe struggled to find fish for 3 months during the southeast monsoon season, those on Praslin had just 2 months given that they are granted access to fish in the lagoon during this season. More importantly, the voluntary closure of some fishing zones between the months of November to April on Praslin is a sustainability strategy with an increase in size and number observed for rabbit and parrotfish. Further studies are needed in two key areas as follows: the role of subsidies and sustainable fisheries management, and a value-chain approach to vulnerability of small-scale fishers within the fishery sector in Seychelles.