Dr. Tumi Tomasson, UNU-FTP director, on leave (7/5/08)
Dr. Tumi Tomasson has temporarily taken a post in Sri Lanka as the country director for Icelandic International Development Agency (ICEIDA). Dr. Tomasson will be, as from April 1st, on leave from UNU-FTP for 15 months and in the meantime his deputy, Mr. Thor Asgeirsson, will act as the programme director. An new staff member, Mr. Konrad Thorisson, has temporarily joined the UNU-FTP staff. Mr. Thorisson has worked as a scientist at MRI for many years and his research work has mainly been in the field of fish juvenile ecology. In addition Mr. Thorisson has great experience in teaching and scientific communication.
Visiting lecturer 2007
Prof. Sena S. De Silva
To honor the new line of specialization on aquaculture the visiting lecturer this year is Prof. Sena S. De Silva the general director of NACA, the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific.
NACA has 17 member countries, among them some of the world leading countries in aquaculture, including China, India, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. http://www.enaca.org/
Prof Sena de Silva has a long and distinguished carrier in aquaculture research and education , and has been awarded numerous national and international awards for his contribution. Among these are the Gold Medal Award of the Asian Fsiheries Society in 2004 and the Honorary Life membership of the World Aquaculture Society.
Prof de Silva will deliver a series of lectures on Aquaculture with special reference to developments in Asia. The lectures will be held on the 1st floor of the MRI. Each lecture will be about 50 minutes long and then there will be an opportunity for questions and a discussion afterwards for about 30 minutes:
New aquaculture line
(October 2007)
This year, for the first time, the UNU-FTP offers training in aquaculture. The new line has been developed in cooperation with Holar University College. Currently 5 fellows are undertaking training at Holar in addition to one visiting professional from Malaysia.
The main objective of the aquaculture training is to provide people that are already involved in aquaculture activities in their home countries, with information and training in planning, operation and development of aquaculture. The training will be based on principles rather than being species specific and consider the relationship between the environment and aquaculture. The fellows will gain sound knowledge on how to identify the appropriate aquaculture operation for any particular environment, both in terms of suitable species, location and infrastructure. Fellows will gain insight into operational management of farms, both financially and technically.
Visiting lecturer 2006
James L. Anderson
This year our visiting lecturer will be professor James L. Anderson, from the University of Rhode Island, USA. Professor Anderson is an economist who has specialized in the economics and marketing in fisheries and aquaculture. He has several publications to his name, including a book on the International Seafood Trade, published in 2003.
His lectures will be delivered:
Monday 28 January: 14-15:: and 15:20-16:20
Tuesday 29 January: 14-15 and 15:20-16:20
Wednesday 30 January 9:30-10:30 and 10:50-11:50
The general theme of his lectures will be:
Fisheries and aquaculture: Managing for the market
Visits in Akureyri
(January 2007)
Every year the UNU-FTP group visits a large number of fishing companies in Akureyri as a part of the introductory course. This year's group was joyned by students from Finnland that were in a students exchange programme at UNAK (University of Akureyri). The Finns filmed some of the visits and made a short documentary video that can be viewed here
The
group in 2006
(October 2006)
This year the UNU-FTP group of fellows (9th) came unusually late to Iceland. On September 11 a total of 19 fellows from 14 countries started the course. 22 were invited but three dropped out at the last minute. Two new countries are represented this year. They are Tonga and Vanuatu which are part of the South Pacific Island communities. The fellows will go through 6 weeks of introduction to fisheries and then the group is split on to the lines of specialization. This year the lines are Quality Management of Fish Handling and Processes, Fishing Technology, Management of Fishing Companies and Marketing, and Fisheries Policy and Planning. Two of the lines (FT and MFCM) will be conducted outside Reykjavik. The FT will be run for the first time in Isafjordur town and the MFCM will be run in Akureyri at the University of Akureyri.
Selection of candidates for 2006 well underway
(April 2006)
The selection of the candidates for this year´s training programme is going well. It is expected that the list of the candidates will be finalized in the middle of May. Candidates that have already accpeted the invitation come from: China, Iran, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Namibia, Jamaica, Vietnam, Mauritius, Samoa, Vanuatu, Fiji.
Short
course to be delivered in cooperating countries developed.
(April 2006)
Short courses are currently being designed by the staff of UNU-FTP and counterparts in some of the countries that have sent candidates for training. They are based on the material that has been developed for the lines of specialization offered by the UNU-FTP. These short courses (8-10 days) will be delivered by local people with assistance from former UNU fellows. One short course on quality management issues has already been held in Vietnam and others in the area of fisheries statistics and company management are being developed.
The new group of 2005 (October 2005)
In Septeber the largest group so far started the 8th session of the UNU-FTP, 23 fellows. In addition one visiting guest has joined the group from Chile. The lines of spcialization this year are: Stock assessment, Fishing technology, Quality Management of Fish Handling and Processing, and Aquatic Environmental Assessment and Monitoring.
Fellows 2005 visiting Djupalonssand, an old fishing station
Ladies observing mariculture
Fellows from North Korea, Mozambique and
Tanzania looking at traps for mollusks
The visiting lecturer for the UNU-FTP 2004 is Dr. Grímur Valdimarsson, Director of the Fishery Industries Division (FIID), Fisheries Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, Rome)
Dr. Grimur Valdimarsson with the UNU-FTP fellows
Dr. Valdimarsson is well know here in Iceland for his work in the fishing industry and his work as the director for several years of the Icelandic Fisheries Laboratories. For the past seven years he has served as the director of the Fishery Industry Division of FAO. In December Dr. Valdimarsson gives three lectures to the UNU-FTP fellows and meets with individual fellows to discuss and advise on the final projects. The topics of the lectures are:
1) Ecosystem based fisheries
management: What does it take?
The Reykjavik Conference in 2001 on "Responsible Fisheries in the
Marine
Ecosystem " requested FAO to produce guidelines on ecosystem approach
(EAF)
to fisheries management. The lecture will discuss the guidelines, various
initiatives aiming at ecosystem approaches to fisheries management and
particularly how the fish industry can comply with such new requirements.
2) Recent developments
in international fish trade.
Fish and fishery products are the most internationally traded foodstuffs
in
the world with about 37% (live weight) being sold across national borders.
In
value terms over 50% of this trade originates in developing countries
and has
thus become a very important source of income for them as well as food.
The
lecture will discuss the main developments in international fish trade
and
the increasing demands placed on fish exporters, such as sanitary
requirements as well as various social and environmental demands.
3) Risk-based food safety
approach.
The Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement of the World Trade Organization
from 1995 states that standards and regulations to protect the health
of
animals, plants and humans must be science based and risk based. In that
way
the basis is laid against arbitrary standards that are technical barriers
to
trade. The lecture will discuss developments in establishing risk based
standards and regulations for fish and fishery products.
Tumi Tomasson visits Sri Lanka
Dr. Tumi Tomasson, the UNU-FTP director, visited Sri Lanka in November 2004. In his visit he met with former UNU-FTP fellows and had a special meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse. The UNU-FTP has had a good relationship with Sri Lanka fisheries authorities and during the visit Dr. Tomasson strengthened the future cooperation.
Dr. Tumi Tomasson, UNU-FTP director, with Ms. Wickramaarachchige
Sepali Wickramasinghe (UNU fellow 2002) and Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse, Prime
Minister.
Dr. Tomasson with Jagath Munashinghe (UNU fellow 1999),
Ms. Wickramaarachchige Sepali Wickramasinghe, Mr. Bandu Ekanayake (UNU
fellow 1999), and Mr. Helgason from ICEIDA.
Fellows 2004
In September 2004 19 fellows from 13 countries started in the UNU-FTP. The lines of specialization offered are: Quality Management of Fish Handling and Processing, Stock Assessment, Management of Fisheries Companies and Marketing, and Fisheries Policy and Planning. The group is now finished with all the lectures in the introductory and the specialist courses and are currently (Nov. 25) developing their final projects
Below are some pictures from 2004 group
Visit from Vietnam (Nov 2004)
The UNU-FTP has been developing and running a short course in Vietnam (part of SEAQIP-project) in cooperation with the Ministry of Fisheries on quality management in fish processing. As a part of the course development the people responsible for the course in Vietnam (staff members of Nha Trang University, Can Tho University and the Ministry of Fisheries) visited the UNU-FTP in Iceland. During their one week stay in November (2004) they attended selected lectures and visited various fisheries companies. It gave us great pleasure to have them here in Iceland and we hope to continue the good relationship we have with Vietnam.
The new group in 2003
The largest group of fellows, 22, has just started (Sept. 1) the UNU/FTP. These fellows come from 15 countries, and for the first time Mauritius is represented. The fellows will undertake training on four lines of specialization; Aquatic Environmental Assessment and Monitoring, Fisheries Policy and Planning, Quality Management of Fish Handling and Processing, and Fishing Technology.
The UNU/FTP for 2002 (August 2, 2002)
The UNU/FTP will start on August 19, 2002. The fellows, a total of 19, will arrive in Iceland on 13th and 14th of August. The new countries participating in the programme are Russia, Estonia, Malaysia and Iran. The lines of specialty offered this year are three; Marine and Inland- Waters Resources, Assessment and Monitoring (6 fellows), Quality Management of Fish Handling and Processing (7 fellows), and Management of Fisheries Companies and Marketing (6 fellows). The Management of Fisheries Companies and Marketing specialty line will be organized and run by the University of Akureyri.
New Staff Member of the FTP
From January 15 2002 Ms. Sigridur Kr. Ingvarsdottir has joined the permanent staff of the Fisheries Training Programme. She will work 1/2 time as a project officer. Sigridur is educated as an Industrial Operations Specialist and a Fisheries Technologist. She has great experience in fish processing and worked in the information division of the Icelandic Fisheries Laboratories.
Publication of the Final Projects
The final projects will be published on this web site. From November 20, 2001 most of the final projects from 1999 can be viewed in the section on the fellows. Future projects will be published on the web site as they will become available for publication. To view the projects an Acrobad reader is required (documents are on a pdf format)
Aquatic Environmental Assessment and
Monitoring
- a new line of specialization in 2001
The UNU/FTP was established in 1998 and was designed to offer training in seven different lines of specialization. The first year the UNU/FTP offered three lines of specialization and gradually started building up the rest of the lines. In 2000 five lines had been established and for 2001 we are going to offer training for the first time in Aquatic Environmental Assessment and Monitoring. Three fellows from three different countries will be the first to undertake that training.
