By Kamal Azmi1, Ruth Davis1, Rachel Nichols1, Kofi Apreku2 and Lindon Havimana2
1 ANCORS, University of Wollongong; 2 Solomon Islands National University
ANCORS is collaborating with the Solomon Islands National University (SINU) to help train the next generation of Pacific fisheries managers. We have just held our first in-person workshop in Suva, Fiji, with our 2025 cohort in the University of Wollongong’s Graduate Certificate in Fisheries Management and Development. Students spend a year studying part time, with generous funding from the Australian Government .
The Graduate Certificate was delivered for the first time in 2024 and is now in its second year. It is designed to build essential expertise and provide a foundational qualification for Pacific Island officials in the critical areas of fisheries management, development and governance.
The course is targeted at early to mid-career fisheries managers employed by the national fisheries authorities of the 14 small island developing States that are members of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) and is also open to officials of other Pacific Island territories (such as New Caledonia) and officers working for fisheries-related regional organisations.
The academic content of the Graduate Certificate builds on existing ANCORS Masters-level subjects, which have been selected and refined in consultation with SINU and sector stakeholders to focus on the needs of Pacific Island countries and officials. The program includes subjects on maritime and fisheries law, fisheries management, science and economics, fisheries-related social and economic development, and regional fisheries governance. It was designed and is delivered by an inter-disciplinary teaching team who have deep experience working in the Pacific region and combined expertise in law and policy, economics, fisheries management, ocean governance, marine social science, environmental sustainability, and gender and capacity development.
The course places equity and social inclusion at the forefront of fisheries policy thinking. Diversity and inclusion is also a key part of the way the program is delivered, which includes flexible learning arrangements that can cater for the needs of all students. This is reflected in the first cohort, in which 11 out of 12 students were women, one had a disability, one was unable to attend an in-person workshop due to the recent birth of a child, and all had ongoing responsibilities in the workplace. Flexible arrangements were made to ensure all students were able to access the course content (including in the design of field trips) and not be penalised for taking up opportunities to participate in work travel.
The Graduate Certificate is designed to be completed part-time over one year, with participants studying remotely for most of the year, and two intensive teaching weeks delivered in-person in Fiji and Solomon Islands. The 2024 cohort comprised 12 students from Solomon Islands, Tonga, Samoa, Tuvalu, Nauru and Vanuatu, all fully funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Australia Awards Program. All students in that cohort graduated, and several are considering continuing their studies by progressing to the full Masters of Fisheries Policy offered by ANCORS. The 2025 cohort comprises 13 fully funded students from Solomon Islands, Fiji, Kiribati and Samoa, and one student from a regional organisation.
As well as ANCORS and SINU academics, the course features online guest lectures and interviews with experts from the Pacific Community (SPC) and the FFA. And at our Suva workshop last week we were thrilled to be joined by guests from Conservation International and BirdLife International in some rich discussions on community-based fisheries management and bycatch mitigation. Students also visited Suva port, where they took a closer look at tuna longliners operated by Fiji fishing company, Solander Pacific, and toured a fish processing plant operated by Golden Ocean.
Closer collaboration
As well as building fisheries management capacity, UOW is also supporting capacity development in SINU to deliver world class courses. The Graduate Certificate provides an ideal vehicle for this work. We were delighted to be joined our friends from SINU’s Fisheries Department, led by Department Head, Dr Kofi Apreku, and Dr Lindon Havimana, Associate Dean (Research), in Suva and we are looking forward to expanding this collaboration to include other SINU academic staff at the next in-person workshop in Honiara.
Coastal and offshore fisheries and wider marine ecosystems are vital to the economies of Pacific Island countries and the livelihoods and cultures of their people. The Graduate Certificate strives to both support Pacific Island countries to strengthen the stewardship of their marine resources, and to strengthen the region’s own ability to train its workforce and build its capacity to manage those resources. Small but important steps on the road to SDG 14 – Life Below Water.