INFORMATION ON THE COURSE
APPLICATION
FORM
Introduction
and objectives
Organising institutions
Structure
Diplomas
Admission
Registration
Scholarships
Programme of the Postgraduate
Specialisation Course
Programme director
Module coordinators
Scientific Committee
Fishery resources are an
excellent source of food and of jobs in the coastal areas. According to the
FAO, supply of fish for food from capture fisheries (marine and inland) and
aquaculture at present provides more than 15% of the total supply of animal
protein. Furthermore, international trade of seafood products has once again reached
a maximum level with an annual growth rate of 4% in the past decade. These
statistics meanwhile, serve to highlight concern for the rise in fishing
pressure, increasing the number of overexploited, depleted and recovering
fishery resources.
Great changes have been
taking place in the fishing sector in recent times, including: (i) growing
demand and high fish prices that are stimulating the increase in fishing
effort; (ii) global technological advances that are affecting the structure of
the fleets and their fishing capacity; (iii) protection of the environment,
which, as in other sectors, is becoming a priority; and (iv) growing importance
of the international scope of fisheries.
The exploitation and management of fisheries has
been, until very recent times, in the hands of the fishing communities,
supervised by the national administrations. But today, a new type of management
is necessary, flexible enough to respond to the evolution of the fishery
resources, enabling stable and sustainable long-term exploitation. Therefore
the administration and the fishing sector must be capable of interpreting the
reality of a situation, its probable evolution, and the repercussions that
adopting (or not adopting) given measures will have in the medium term, in the biological,
social and economic frameworks.
In order to obtain and interpret
management-supporting data, experts with multidisciplinary background are
needed, covering diverse perspectives such as biology, economics, sociology or
law, allowing them to valuate and assess fishery resources and to propose
management measures through different techniques such as mathematical
simulations, statistics, surveys, assessments or negotiation. Therefore, it is
of maximum interest to train these experts so they may advise stakeholders in
the diverse world of fisheries: different administrations (local, regional or
state), fishermen (artisanal or semi-industrial), social groups (shipowners,
trade unions, consumers, processors, fish farmers, etc.).
Furthermore, given the international scope of
the marine environment, the need arises to establish a common method and
language to be used between experts of the different countries sharing
fisheries. To train specialists, that can, from their respective countries,
contribute to facilitating the search for cooperative measures that may benefit
all stakeholders, is, undoubtedly the great challenge to which this Master
programme rises.
The programme has a practical orientation with
the objective of providing high level specialisation in issues related to the
economics and management of the fishing activity through:
-
An
analysis of the fishing system, exploitation mechanisms, marketing, evaluation
and management, with special emphasis on the economic perspective and
interpretation of fishing issues in the Mediterranean, an area which, due to
its diversity of species and fleets and fragmented vessel ownership, requires
management based on control of the fishing effort.
-
A
multi-disciplinary vision of fisheries management from the perspective of
different sciences such as biology, economics, law and sociology.
-
Acquisition
of experience in the use of new techniques and methods for the development of a
more efficient fisheries management, adapted to the conditioning social and
environmental factors.
Likewise, the Master of Science cycle
represents a training period of initiation to research or to professional
activity in the field of fisheries economics and management, through completion
of the corresponding Thesis.
The
Master programme is jointly organised by the University of Barcelona (UB),
the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), through
the General Secretariat of Maritime Fisheries (SGPM), the International
Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), through the Mediterranean
Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza (IAMZ), and the Food and Agriculture
Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), through the COPEMED
Project.
The
Master programme consists of two cycles, the first cycle covers the Postgraduate
Specialisation Course and the second cycle is devoted to the preparation of
the Master of Science Thesis. Participants who so wish may complete only
the first cycle.
The
Postgraduate Specialisation Course
The
course, of 600 hours in duration (60 credits), constitutes the lecturing part
of the programme and will consist of lectures, practicals and technical visits.
These activities will be complemented with open seminars, debates, group work,
etc.
The
course will be held in Barcelona, in the Faculty of Economics and Business
Studies of the UB, from 27 September 2004 to 18 March 2005 and requires
full-time participation.
The
programme will be delivered by highly specialised lecturers from the organising
institutions and prestigious guest lecturers belonging to universities,
research centres, administrations and private bodies from various countries.
The
course is structured in complementary but independent modules, in order to
allow professionals from the sector, who may be unable to attend the whole
course, to enrol in the modules of their interest and thus complete a
retraining period. The modules and their corresponding assignation of credits
are specified in the Programme section.
Master
of Science Thesis
This
second cycle constitutes an initiation to research or to professional practice
and lasts approximately 10 months.
Participants
that have obtained a grade of 70 out of 100 or more in the Postgraduate
Specialisation Course may opt to go on to this cycle, following approval of a
work protocol presented by the candidate under the supervision of the Thesis
Director.
The
topic of the thesis will be chosen by the candidate in accordance to his or her
training interests, upon approval of the Thesis Director, who should be a
Doctor or Researcher of renowned experience.
The
cycle will begin in April 2005 and end in February 2006 with the public
presentation and defence of the theses before an examining board.
Those
participants in the Postgraduate Specialisation Course that have passed the
stipulated tests will receive the Postgraduate Specialisation Diploma in
Fisheries Economics and Management.
Once
the Master Thesis has been completed, defended and approved, participants will
obtain the Master of Science Degree in Fisheries Economics and Management.
Both diplomas will be
jointly awarded by the UB and the CIHEAM.
Participants
that only attend certain modules will receive a Certificate of Attendance
for those modules.
The
Postgraduate Specialisation Course is designed for a maximum of 25 participants
that should fulfill the following conditions:
a)
University
degree
related with the topic of the Master; preference will be given to graduates in
Economics, Business Studies, Biology, Marine Science, Law, Agronomy or
Fisheries. Candidates with professional experience in the specialist topics
will also be given preference.
b)
Knowledge
of Spanish,
which will be the working language of the course. For admitted candidates that
so require it, an intensive Spanish course will be organised from July to
September 2004.
c)
Understanding
of English,
given that some lectures and part of the teaching material will be in English.
Applications
should be addressed to the Director of the Programme:
Ramón FRANQUESA
Gabinete de Economía del Mar
Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad de Barcelona
Espai Recerca 310, Av. Diagonal, 690, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Fax: +34 93 402 72 42, E-mail: ramon@gemub.com
They
should enclose:
-
Registration
form
-
Curriculum
vitae,
stating university degree, experience and professional activities
-
Copies
of certificates of courses undertaken, with grades achieved
-
Certificates
of language knowledge
-
Reasons
for applying to the course
The
deadline for the submission of applications is 30 May 2004. Provisional
acceptance will be notified in due time and will become definitive once
registration fees have been paid.
Applications
from those candidates who cannot present their complete records when applying,
or those requiring authorisation to attend the course, may be accepted
provisionally.
Registration
fees amount to 4,000 euros. This amount covers tuition fees, course documents,
practicals and visits. In no case will travel, board and lodging expenses be
included. For candidates wishing to attend part of the course, the fees will be
calculated on a pro rata basis.
Participants
should take out their own accident and health care insurance valid for Spain.
Proof of insurance cover must be provided at the beginning of the course.
Candidates
from CIHEAM member countries (Albania, Algeria, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy,
Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey) and from
countries participating in the FAO-COPEMED project (Algeria, France, Italy,
Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Spain and Tunisia), may apply for scholarships
covering all or part of the registration fees, and for scholarships covering
the cost of travel and accommodation.
Candidates
from other countries who require financial support should apply directly to
other national or international institutions.
Programme of the Postgraduate Specialisation
Course
1.
Introduction (0.5 credits)
2.
Marine resources (6.5
credits)
2.1.
The marine ecosystem
2.2.
Fishery resources
2.3.
Bases of population
dynamics
3.
Economic utilisation of the
marine environment (8.5 credits)
3.1.
Basic economics
3.2.
Production factors in
fishing
3.3.
The fishing vessel and
fishing technology
3.4.
Aquaculture
3.5.
Recreational activities
3.6.
Marine protected areas of
fisheries interest
4.
Fishing trade and
processing industry (3.5 credits)
4.1.
The world fishing trade
4.2.
Fish marketing
4.3.
Fish processing
5.
The social and cultural
context (5.5 credits)
5.1.
The historical overview of
the fishing activity
5.2.
The socio-cultural
perspective
5.3.
The socio-political context
5.4.
Types of activity from the
social science perspective
5.5.
Social analytical issues in
fisheries
5.6.
Management of employment
and social services
5.7.
The economic context of
fishing
6.
Fisheries research and
statistics (6.5 credits)
6.1.
Fisheries research
6.2.
The multidisciplinary
approach, a Mediterranean application
6.3.
Statistical analysis in
fisheries research
6.4.
Statistical data and
information management
6.5.
FAO statistical services
7.
Theory of fisheries
management (9 credits)
7.1.
Theory of fisheries
management
7.2.
Bioeconomic modelling
7.3.
Applied bioeconomic models
7.4.
Use of indicators in
fisheries management
7.5.
Legal framework in
fisheries
8.
Practical fisheries
management (9 credits)
8.1.
Fisheries policies and
management instruments
8.2.
Regional Fishery
Organisations (RFOs)
8.3.
The sustainable development
of fisheries
8.4.
The common fisheries policy
(CFP) of the European Union
8.5.
National fisheries
management: the case of Spain
8.6.
National fisheries
management: the case of Morocco
8.7.
Fisheries monitoring and
surveillance
8.8.
International cooperation
9.
Technical visits and
tutorials (11 credits)
R.
FRANQUESA, Universitat de Barcelona (Spain)
J.L. ALEGRET, Universitat
de Girona (Spain)
R. FRANQUESA, Universitat
de Barcelona (Spain)
J. GARCÍA BADÍA,
Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona (Spain)
F. MAYNOU, CSIC-ICM,
Barcelona (Spain)
P. OLIVER, IEO,
Palma de Mallorca (Spain)
R. SÁNCHEZ TABARES,
Universitat de Barcelona (Spain)
R. ROBLES, FAO-COPEMED,
Madrid (Spain)
A. BERRAHO, INRH,
Casablanca (Morocco)
E. DE CARDENAS, SGPM-MAPA,
Madrid (Spain)
A. DI NATALE,
AQUASTUDIO,
Messina (Italy)
R. FRANQUESA, Universitat
de Barcelona (Spain)
J. LLEONART, FAO,
Roma (Italy)
J. LØKKEGAARD, Danish Res.
Inst. Food Econ., Copenhagen (Denmark)
R. M'RHABET, INSTM,
Tunis (Tunisia)
P. OLIVER, IEO,
Palma de Mallorca (Spain)
R. ROBLES, FAO-COPEMED, Madrid (Spain)