Our role at IMA has been to work with the University of Strathclyde and FAO’s Legal Office and fisheries specialists to develop a training course to support a step-wise guide for the implementation of international legal and policy instruments related to deep sea fisheries and biodiversity conservation in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Marine Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ)  are those areas of ocean and sea bed for which no one nation has sole responsibility for management. In all, these make up 40 percent of the surface of our planet, comprising 64 percent of the surface of the oceans and nearly 95 percent of its volume.

Urgent action is needed to improve management of many ABNJ fisheries and strengthen protection of related ecosystems. In this way, we can prevent adverse impacts on marine biodiversity, and promote the socio-economic well-being and food security for millions of people directly dependent on those fisheries.

So it is important and interesting work and directly links to our support to sustainable development goals 2 (Zero Hunger) and 14 (Life below Water).

Participants came from countries representing the South Pacific, Indian and South East Atlantic Oceans, namely; Comoros, Cook Islands, Seychelles, Namibia, Thailand and Mauritius. The participants were Government officials in the roles of: fisheries officer, scientific officer, control inspector, policy and planning, enforcement, legal officer.

At the end of the training all mentioned that they will be able to better support the drafting and implementation of laws that apply to the management of deep sea fisheries and the protection of associated ecosystems.

To find out more about our consultancy, please click here and for more information about open courses check our calendar for 2019.

It was really exciting to pilot the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFm) for Inland Fisheries in Mangochi, Malawi in March. Together with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), IMA International was involved in modifying the standard EAFM marine-focused course to address the diversity of inland fisheries contexts. For this workshop we focused on the southern arm of Lake Malawi and neighbouring Lake Malombe, where the livelihoods of fisher communities are affected by inappropriate fishing and farming practices, often with poor governance, and exacerbated by climate change. The workshop was hosted FAO FiRM Project which will be using the EAFM approach to build climate change resilience in the fisheries sector in Malawi.

The workshop was facilitated by Rick Gregory and Silvia Capezzuoli of IMA, together with FAO senior fisheries resource officers. 27 participants from Department of Fisheries, universities, INGOs, representatives from small scale fisher sub-associations and the FiRM project team worked collaboratively for five days, developing draft fisheries management plans.

From a learning and sharing perspective, they all valued the rare opportunity to share experiences, and learn from and with colleagues from diverse institutions.

From a content perspective, participants really appreciated the holistic approach of EAFm, which considers the management of fisheries from the broad lens of i) ecological well-being (both the fisheries resources and the wider habitat/ environment; ii) human wellbeing (health, socio-economic, social) and iii) governance.

The practical, hands-on nature of this course means that those participants who are involved in facilitating the development of plans; those who co-develop plans, and regularly engage with fishers, traditional authorities and other key stakeholders, acquire and practise the skills and tools they need.