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 organized by the University of Alicante (UA), the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), through the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza (IAMZ), and by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), through the General Secretariat of Fisheries (SGP). 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:
Duration:
