One year on from the launch of the Fishermen’s Community and Training Centre (FCTC) in the Maldives, the pole-and-line skipper curriculum has officially been recognised by the Ministry of Education.
This makes it the first national fishing curriculum in the country and ensures that fishers will be able to train for a qualification that ensures safe, sustainable fishing.
The FCTC is an education centre that provides Maldivian practicing and aspiring pole-and-line fishermen training and tuition. The FCTC was opened in January 2014, through the combined efforts of the International Pole & Line Foundation (IPNLF) and the development fund of Switzerland’s largest retailing group Migros, with support of the Maldives’ government and the Maldives Fisherman’s Association.
Throughout 2014 a number of short-courses were offered – covering a wide range of topics from sea safety, marine engine repair and maintenance, marine ecology and bait management – which formed the building blocks of the national curriculum. The courses, and in turn the curriculum, are aimed at improving the sustainability and efficiency of the Maldives’ pole-and-line tuna fishery, ensuring the industry’s viability for future generations.
The curriculum was launched at a ceremony attended by Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Dr. Mohammed Shainee, Minister of Education Dr. Aishath Shiham, Minister of Environment, Mr. Thoriq Ibrahim, and Mr. Maizan Ahmed Maniku, President of the Maldives Fishermen’s Association, along with Mr. John Burton, Chairman of the International Pole & Line Foundation.
Thanks to its national recognition, the curriculum can now be taught in education service providers all over the country, allowing fishers throughout the Maldives to access to this training.
