7th - 16th June 2017

 

The National Fisheries Observer training is being conducted at the Fisheries office at Sopu from the 7th to the 16th of June. The training focuses mainly on the areas such as observer tuna data collection forms and data quality. Commercial tuna longline and purse seine gear are the two main fishing gears that are covered in the training.

Twelve Fisheries observers attended the training. An observer mainly collects accurate catch and fishing effort information. This is used by fisheries managers for science or compliance purposes to evaluate fish stocks and to ensure vessels are fishing within the law. The observer acts as the eyes and ears for Fisheries Managers in the fishing grounds. This fishery independent data is imperative as it serves as the baseline for key policy and decision makers.

The training is funded by the Japanese Government and the Ministry of Fisheries The current training is conducted by Siosifa Fukofuak from the South Pacific Community (SPC).