The Training Managers for 21st Century Fisheries Initiative: Summary and Recommendations from the Inaugural International Workshop

Research PaperOrganizers convened an international workshop to address training necessary to produce effective managers for 21st century fisheries. The workshop involved government, industry, academic, and nongovernmental organization (NGO) leaders from Oceania, North America, and Europe. They addressed vision and management challenges of 21st century fisheries; requisite skills and knowledge; current training capacity and curricula; and incentives, responsibilities, and rewards to enhance recruitment and retention. Participants formed the following consensus strategies and recommendations significant to development of training capacity at international, national and regional levels - 1) develop creative partnerships within and among institutions, sectors, and nations; 2) include the management process as a learning experience; 3) broaden and lengthen career paths; 4) identify the gaps between those supplying and demanding management training; 5) create a website which shares information about training programs and resources; 6) encourage industry scholarships; 7) develop a case study library similar to those created by the top business management programs; and 8) establish a network of training providers. Participants also agreed that they should continue working together to improve the education of fishery managers. The workshop concluded with establishing an international steering committee charged with facilitating implementation of major recommendations and strategies critical to this initiative. The full workshop report is available online at: http://oregonstate.edu/dept/trainfishmngr/