PSMA and IUU fishing online course series launched
A series of online courses by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been launched, to provide an opportunity for users to learn more about the impacts of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and ways how to combat it.
The two e-learning courses have a total learning time of 4 hours. They are made up of a series of lessons, with interactive exercises. At the end of each course, a certificate is provided by FAO’s E-learning Academy after successful completion and achievement of a grade of at least 75%.
Course 1 explores the international responsibilities of flag, coastal and port States and international instruments which contribute towards combatting IUU fishing, giving a strong background on the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA), which is the first internationally binding instrument specifically focused on preventing, deterring and eliminating IUU fishing.
Course 2 takes a closer look at monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) systems that countries should have in place to fight IUU fishing.
Both courses are available in English, while Spanish has been added to Course 1, shortly to be followed by French.
The two courses were developed by FAO to serve as an opportunity for practitioners in the field, as a general refresher of the main concepts related to IUU fishing, and the responsibilities of the different roles of States in combatting IUU fishing.
The courses also serve as a useful introduction to participants of other FAO courses offered under the intensive PSMA Global Training Programme, also developed by FAO, which supplements the specialized technical assistance FAO offers to countries to assist them in their efforts in preventing, deterring, and eliminating IUU fishing.
The two courses were funded by the Kingdom of Norway through the Responsible use of fisheries and aquaculture resources for sustainable development project.
More information about the two e-learning courses can be found here, while more information about the PSMA Global Training Programme and FAO’s Global Capacity Development Programme can be found here.