Tumi
Tómasson, programme director
Executive
summary
Preparations for the establishment of the
UNU-FTP started in the mid-1990’s which led to an agreement between the UNU,
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in
The programme is run from August to February each year and consists of
two distinct parts. In the five to six-week
common introductory course the fellows get an overview of the fisheries sector which
enables them to put the fisheries in their home countries into a regional and
international perspective and to gain an appreciation for its development
potential. The rest of the programme is
devoted to specialist training, where the fellows are split into smaller groups
according to their areas of expertise.
This part consists of 6 weeks of
formal course work and 14 weeks of
project work and, where appropriate, on-the-job training.
Emphasis is put on the practical application of knowledge for
assessment, development and research. The programme takes place in the working
environment of the Marine Research Institute (MRI) and the Icelandic Fisheries
Laboratories and is also carried out in cooperation with the
Cooperative countries and institutions within those are selected in
relation to the relative importance of fisheries, at a national or provincial
level, and the emphasis authorities place on its development. The programme aims to invite 10-15 fellows
from the same country over a period of 5-10 years to build up group of
professionals in different areas of fisheries.
The progress is in many cases slower, not least due to the keen interest
expressed by many developing nations to cooperate with the UNU-FTP. This year three new countries are represented
on the programme,
The total budget of the programme in 2005 is estimated at USD 1.368
000, which is an increase of over 50% over last year budget. This is in part attributable to a weakening
of the US Dollar. In Icelandic Krona, the budget has increased by 38%. Most of this increase is due to an increase
in the regular contributions of the Icelandic Government, which allocated USD
1.068 000 from the sate budget in 2005.
These contributions are expected to increase further next year.
Increased finances will to a large extent be used to develop and
implement short courses in cooperating countries. A short course on fish processing and quality
management developed with partners in
Preparations for the establishment of the UNU-FTP started in the
mid-1990’s which led to an agreement between the UNU, the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs in
The programme is run from August to February each year and consists of
two distinct parts. In the five to six-week
common introductory course the fellows get an overview of the fisheries sector
which enables them to put the fisheries in their home countries into a regional
and international perspective and to gain an appreciation for its development
potential. The rest of the programme is
devoted to specialist training, where the fellows are split into smaller groups
according to their areas of expertise.
This part consists of 6 weeks of
formal course work and 14 weeks of
project work and, where appropriate, on-the-job training. Care is taken to select projects that will be
of direct relevance to the home situation of the fellows and senior staff in
their institutions often takes an active part in the process of selecting
relevant topics for the projects. In
many cases the projects are based on data which the fellows have been sent or
have brought with them. Sometimes the
projects are a part of larger research and development projects carried out at
one of the institutions hosting the UNU-FTP, and this work then finds its way
into progress reports, technical reports, conference proceedings or even
international journals. This year three peer reviewed articles, based on
project work, have been accepted for publication in peer reviewed
journals. Most projects can be accessed
on the homepage of the programme http://www.unuftp.is/.
Emphasis is put on the practical application of knowledge for
assessment, development and research. The programme takes place in the working
environment of the Marine Research Institute (MRI) and the Icelandic Fisheries
Laboratories and is also carried out in cooperation with the
During the first six years of the programme, specialist courses in six
different fields of study have been offered.
So far, 103 fellows from 20 countries have completed the programme,
including 36 women. Almost half the
fellows come from
There are three permanent members of staff working on the programme,
the director and deputy director in full time positions, and a programme
officer in a 70% position. A seven-member board governs the programme, with
representatives from the cooperating institutions, the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, the fisheries sector in
The main rationale for the UNU-FTP is that the contribution of
developing nations to the world supply of fish has increased greatly in the
last few decades, from about 44% in 1976 to over 77% in 2001, and has continued
to rise since. This is both due to
increased supply from aquaculture, mainly from
Quality Management of Fish
Handling and Processing
Fisheries and aquaculture in developing countries is often export
oriented. To be able to compete on the
most expensive markets, in
Marine and Inland Waters Resources, Assessment and
Monitoring
A large proportion
of the world’s fish stocks is thought to be either
fully exploited or over exploited. This
applies not least to stocks exploited by artisanal
fisheries in developing countries, which often provide a large proportion of
the animal protein in peoples’ diets, and in many cases supply fish for
export. Assessment of the exploitation
status of stocks is a necessary if appropriate management and conservation
measures are to be implemented. In the
specialist course, survey design, sampling strategies and common stock
assessment models are explored. The
formulation of harvest control rules and their relationship to the precautionary
approach is described, and the risk involved due to assessment errors and
environmental fluctuations and their application in situations where the
quality and quantity of data may vary.
Fisheries
Policy and Planning
Open access and
poor policy formulation characterises many fisheries in developing
countries. Those fellows who specialise
in the study of fisheries policies and planning gain a solid understanding of
the basic principles of a socially beneficial fisheries policy and receive
practical training in the design and implementation of such a policy. At the
end of this part of the course the student should be able to evaluate a given
fisheries exploitation regime and roughly design and plan for the
implementation of a successful fisheries policy for given fishery
Fishing technology
The type of gear
used and how it is used not only influences how much is caught, it also affects
the quality of the catch and the effect fishing may have on other parts of the
ecosystem. In the UNU-FTP a holistic
view is taken of fishing technology. The act of fishing is viewed as the an
integrated process where due consideration must be taken of the design and
materials used to produce the fishing gear, the biology and behaviour of the
fish being caught, the environmental conditions on the fishing grounds and the
design and operation of the vessel used to deploy the gear and the equipment
used to monitor the environment, fish concentrations and the fishing gear.
Management of Fisheries
Companies and Marketing
Global
trade in fish and fish products has increased faster than that of any other
food commodity in recent decades, and earnings from fish exports are important
to the economy of many developing countries.
Trade on domestic markets is also very important. Fishing companies and fish processing companies
operate in a complex economic and ecological environment. The management of
fishing companies must deal with all the usual economic uncertainty as any
other company, but in addition it must take into account a very complex
ecological system which affects both the quantity and quality of catch. Fish
processing managers must deal with a highly perishable product, which is sold
both on domestic and international markets. About 50% of all processed catch is
sold through international trade so understanding of foreign trade and
marketing is vital for any manager of a fishing company. The specialist course on Management of
Fisheries Companies and Marketing is aimed at training people to be able to
become managers of a diverse fishing and fish processing companies.
Aquatic Environmental
Assessment and Monitoring
Coastal waters support over 90% of the marine fish production and it is
also in these areas that the greatest diversity of marine life is found. At the same time, these areas are coming
under increasing threats because of erosion, poorly planned aquaculture
development and as well as unrestrained and often damaging fishing
practices. The main objective of the
specialist course is to examine how living aquatic resources are affected by
natural and human-induced changes in the environment and how such changes can
be monitored, measured, evaluated and mitigated. Integrated coastal zone management and
aquaculture are used as unifying themes of this specialist course.
Table 1. Fellows of the UNU/FTP in
1998-2005, according to country and area of specialisation.
|
Area of specialisation |
|||||||
|
Country |
Quality Management |
Policy & Planning |
Resource Assessment |
Fishing Technology |
Company Management |
Environmental Studies |
Total |
|
Argentine |
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
Cape Verde |
|
|
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
4 |
|
China |
4 |
2 |
|
|
|
1 |
7 |
|
Cuba |
4 |
|
2 |
|
2 |
1 |
9 |
|
Estonia |
1 |
2 |
2 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
Iran |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
1 |
5 |
|
Kenya |
1 |
|
2 |
|
1 |
2 |
6 |
|
Malawi |
|
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
|
4 |
|
Malaysia |
1 |
|
|
1 |
3 |
|
5 |
|
Mauritius |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
Mexico |
2 |
|
|
2 |
|
1 |
5 |
|
Mozambique |
4 |
1 |
|
1 |
1 |
|
7 |
|
Namibia |
1 |
3 |
|
1 |
|
|
5 |
|
Russia |
|
|
2 |
|
|
1 |
3 |
|
South Africa |
|
2 |
|
|
|
|
2 |
|
Sri Lanka |
4 |
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
6 |
|
Tanzania |
|
3 |
|
|
|
|
3 |
|
The Gambia |
1 |
|
3 |
|
1 |
|
5 |
|
|
5 |
3 |
2 |
|
1 |
|
11 |
|
|
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
9 |
|
Total |
35 |
21 |
18 |
10 |
12 |
7 |
103 |
All nineteen fellows who entered the main programme in August 2004
completed their studies successfully and graduated in February this year. Their
projects will be published on the web site of the programme. This year a special effort has been made to
catch up with the editing of projects and to publishing them on the web.
The course structure is under constant review and evaluation. The main changes made this time were to
shorten the introductory course from six to five weeks and extending the course
part of the specialist training from 4-5 weeks to six weeks. In
2005-2006 there are four main lines of specialisation being taught, Quality
Management of Fish Handling and Processing, Marine and Inland Waters Resources,
Assessment and Monitoring, Aquatic Environmental Assessment and Monitoring, and
Fishing Technology. Twenty-three fellows
from fourteen countries participate in the training and including participants
from three new countries,
All fellows are selected after a personal interview and in
consultations with the directors of their organisations. The main criteria used have been discussed in
some detail in earlier annual reports.
The main objective of the UNU-FTP is to assist in institutional capacity
building in key organisations and institutions in the fisheries sectors in
cooperating countries. All fellows must
therefore have the full support of their superiors, and final selection is
always done in consultations with senior staff of the institutions. It is our aim to invite over time a group of
professionals from each partner and during visits we try to select potential
candidates for the next 2-4 years.
In early March the director visited
Most candidates for the intake in 2006 have now been identified and
invitations to apply will be sent out later this year when the budget allocation
from the Icelandic Government for 2006 has been approved. We expect to hold a couple of places open for
candidates from countries we plan to visit early next year.
Finances
The total budget of the programme in 2005 is estimated at USD 1.368
000, which is an increase of over 50% over last year budget. This is in part attributable to a weakening
of the US Dollar. In Icelandic Krona, the budget has increased by 38%. Most of this increase is due to an increase
in the regular contributions of the Icelandic Government, which allocated USD
1.068 000 from the sate budget in 2005.
These contributions are expected to increase further next year.
Short courses
Development of a short course in
•
Biochemistry composition and quality changes in
fish and fish products
•
Handling, holding and transportation of raw
materials
•
Assurance of safety and hygiene in seafood
processing
•
Processing technology
•
Methods of quality evaluation and hygiene
monitoring in the seafood industry
This course has not only benefited the fishery sector in
With increased finances, we expect to become more active in the
development and implementation of short courses in partner countries. This year the UNU-FTP agreed to work with the
Commonwealth Secretariat and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community to
develop short courses to fisheries professionals in the
The UNU-FTP is now involved in a three year cooperative programme with
FAO to develop and implement short courses in developing countries. The programme is financed by the Icelandic
Government. FAO appointed a programme
officer from the beginning of November.
He is presently visiting the UNU-FTP to discuss the modalities of the
implementation. Through this project,
the UNU-FTP will benefit from the expertise available within FAO which should
strengthen the regular training activities in
A draft for a short course on profitability assessment in fisheries has
been prepared, based on one module in the specialist training in Management of
Fisheries Companies and Marketing, and in September the director and a senior
stock assessment expert from the Marine Research Institute participated in a
workshop on stock assessment in coastal fisheries held by FAO and World
Fish. This was done as a part of a
preparation for the development of a short course in stock assessment to be
held in
A number of visitors have been received during the year and interest in
the programme remains keen. These
include government ministers from
The deputy director embarked on a research project studying the
distribution, growth and abundance of juvenile flatfish around