Continuing the Australian Fisheries Management Authority’s (AFMA) ongoing work with our Pacific counterparts, last month two AFMA officers were invited by the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) to help deliver training to aspiring fisheries officers in Fiji.
AFMA officers with training course attendees
The AFMA officers assisted in delivering practical assessments for a training course alongside other trainers from FFA and New Zealand. Eight students hailing from Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Solomon Islands participated in the accredited course.
A wide range of fisheries topics were covered, including occupational health and safety; social accountability in monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) activities; roles and responsibilities within MCS; and risk management processes. The officers also facilitated a practical activity involving boarding and inspecting fishing vessels.
Students accessed the course program online to complete theoretical units prior to attending the practical assessment sessions. The face to face component provided an opportunity for students to clarify any questions arising from the online resource.
Upon successful completion, participants received a competency-based Certificate IV in Fisheries Enforcement and Compliance from the University of the South Pacific.
The funding supporting AFMA’s involvement with the course was made available through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Government Partnerships for Development (GPFD) joint agency project ‘Economic development and food security through increased capacity to address illegal fishing in the Pacific’.Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and is just one of the many ways that we work with our neighbouring countries to build capacity in good practice global fisheries management.
More information on Australia’s fisheries management can be found at afma.gov.au