Working with Fisheries Enforcement officers from the Kiribati Ministry for Fisheries and Marine Resources Development (MFMRD) and Maritime Police Officers, AFMA recently conducted Port State Inspection training building on their capacity to conduct inspections in the region.
The training took place on the Island of Kiritimati , which in English translation means Christmas Island, an Island located in the Line Island chain belonging to the Republic of Kiribati. Kiritimati is an important transit hub for fishing vessels and carrier vessel catching and shipping tuna species in the Western and Central Pacific.
The training involved theoretical classroom work as well as practical in-port inspection. This included training in freezer inspections and volumetrics, which assisted in establishing techniques that the international officers can utilise in their roles as Fisheries Enforcement Officers.
These skills, such as hold volumetrics training (calculating the weight of fish on a boat by multiplying the dimensions of the hold by the known stacking factor for a species of fish), will enable the officers to accurately determine the amount of catch contained in a fishing vessel hold without having to unload the vessel. This is particularly important in quota fisheries where there could be a tendency by operators to under report catch to avoid quota restrictions.
The training program was a continuation of the Fisheries Management/Monitoring, Control and Surveillance/Governance project funded through the Department of Foreign Affairs AusAid Public Sector Linkages Program.
MFMRD Enforcement Officer undertaking volumetrics analysis during in-port inspection in Kiritimati.