Aquaculture-related activities constitute a central element of Project LIBFISH objectives, as stipulated in the Project Document (ProDoc) under Output 6 of Immediate Objective 1 (‘Strengthen the capability of the Secretariat for Marine Wealth, by the end of the Project, to control and manage the fisheries and aquaculture sectors of marine resource development on a sustainable basis’), and Outputs 1 through 6 of Immediate Objective 2 (‘Develop the capacity of the Marine Biology Research Centre, by the end of the Project, to provide effective technical advisory and management services in marine resource utilization and aquaculture to the Secretariat of Marine Wealth.’).
In-service and study tour training activities are essential to the realisation of these objectives, and have thus been an important focus of concern for the LIBFISH Aquaculture (Aqua) component working group. Although the component's technical and training programme has been subjected to a number of setbacks (Reynolds and Dawid, 1995), considerable in-service training opportunities have been provided on a continuing basis through practical work in such areas as live feed production, aquaria operation, fry collection and rearing, field site technical and assessment visits, and through a number of lectures on theory and basics pertaining to a wide variety of aquaculture-related topics.*
In an effort to expand aquaculture training activities plans began to be formulated in July 1994 to organise a study tour for suitable candidates from the MBRC and the Agriculture Institute in Khoms to attend a course in fish hatchery techniques at the National Aquaculture Centre (NAC) in Malta. Originally scheduled for late October -early November 1994, it was later decided in consultation with Dr. C. Agius. NAC Director, to defer the tour until late January - early February 1995, in order to coincide with the end of the sea bass and sea bream breeding and hatching cycle at the Centre.
In the meantime, so as to maintain the momentum of Aqua component training and to provide a wider audience of national counterpart personnel with an opportunity to acquire further background in aquaculture techniques and an update on LIBFISH Aqua activities, arrangements were made to convene a workshop at the MBRC in late November 1994, with Agius participating as principal lecturer.
This report provides a summary of workshop proceedings and includes various additional briefing materials as annexes.
The workshop and associated site visit timetable is shown as Annex 1, the schedule of workshop sessions as Annex 2, and the list of workshop participants as Annex 3.
Annex 4 shows the Terms of Reference for the Agius mission, and Annexes 5 and 6 respectively provide notes on field visit observations and the executive briefing which was convened for senior Secretariat of Marine Wealth, Aquaculture Institute, and MBRC administrative and technical officials at the conclusion of the mission.
The programme for the NAC hatchery course to take place during a four week period straddling January- February 1995 is shown as Annex 7.
