20 young people from 13 countries around the world recently undertook a two-week module on responsible aquaculture development, taught by an expert from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The module focused on the ecosystem approach to aquaculture and spatial planning and is designed to enable participants to help build more skills and knowledge within the aquaculture industries in their countries.
FAO aquaculture officer and teacher of the module, José Aguilar-Manjarrez, said: “This was a great opportunity for me to promote the tools and guidance FAO disseminates about ecosystem approaches to aquaculture.”
The module, which ran at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, is part of a larger international training course entitled ‘Responsible Aquaculture Development for Food Security and Economic Progress’ and this year marks the second time it has run.
Participants were aided by The Netherland University Fund for International Collaboration with the expectation that they will return to their countries and help disseminate their new-found knowledge amongst their governments, research institutes, universities and conservation NGOs.
The FAO stated that although best practices for ecosystem approaches to aquaculture, spatial planning and area management exist, there is no one-size-fits-all plan.
It stressed that this is why this type of training, with its emphasis on sharing of experiences and international collaboration, is key to ensuring the successful implementation of ecosystem approaches to aquaculture.
