International Master in Sustainable Fisheries Management

Next edition: 1st part: October 2025 – June 2026 / 2nd part: September 2026 – June 2027

Fishery resources are an excellent source of food as well as a driver of job creation in the coastal areas. According to the FAO, supply of fish for food from both capture fisheries (marine and inland) and aquaculture currently provides about 17% of the total supply of animal protein. At the same time, international trade of fish and fishery products has expanded significantly in the last decades, with about 36% of the production being exported. These statistics however do not reveal the concern about the current situation of fishery resources. If exploitation of these resources is to be both stable and sustainable in the long term, better management is required.

In order to obtain and interpret management-supporting data, experts with a multidisciplinary background are needed, that will address the issue from diverse perspectives such as biology, economics, sociology or law. In this way, they will be able to valuate and assess fishery resources and 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 can advise stakeholders in the diverse world of fisheries: different administrations (local, regional, state or supranational), fishermen (artisanal, semi-industrial or 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 contribute to facilitating the search for cooperative measures from their respective countries to benefit all stakeholders is undoubtedly a great challenge that this Master addresses.

The Master is held in Alicante, jointly organised by the University of Alicante (UA) and the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), through the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza (CIHEAM Zaragoza).

The Master also counts on the collaboration of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), through the General Secretariat of Fisheries (SGP), and Casa Mediterráneo.

The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) and the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) will provide technical support within the limits of their respective mandates.

The Master is offered since 2004 and it is held every two years.

It is structured in two parts (120 ECTS) held in two academic years, and it is an official Master of the Spanish university system within the framework of the European Space for Higher Education.

The Master enables participants to:

• Make 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
• Have a multi-disciplinary vision of fisheries management from the perspective of different sciences such as biology, economics, law and sociology
• Acquire 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
• Be initiated into research, making a critical application of the knowledge, skills and competence acquired in the treatment of real problems related with the economics and management of fishing activity
• Exchange experiences and points of view, enhanced through a programme developed in a highly international and interprofessional context

Duration:

• First part (first academic year): October-June, 60 ECTS
• Second part (second academic year): September-June, 60 ECTS

For further information on the syllabus and study guides please refer to the Web of the Master available in the web page of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Alicante