Program

Blue growth theory has played an important role in the development of marine industry in Europe, but also provides a theoretical basis and guidance for the sustainable development of marine industry in the world. The South China Sea, as one of the largest sea areas in the world with the largest number of disputed areas, is facing the threat of fishery habitat destruction and fishery resource decline. China is actively pursuing fishery cooperation with the ASEAN countries in the South China Sea in accordance with the Blue Growth strategy, to protect the ecological environment and conserve fishery resources, in order to realize the sustainable development of the South China Sea fishery and other industries. This paper systematically expounds the theory of Blue Growth, analyzes the basis of the fishery cooperation of the countries in the South China Sea, and puts forward the idea of the South China Sea fishery cooperation under the strategy of Blue Growth.

It is hypothesized that climate change will impact global fisheries causing demographic changes to populations and shifts in the vertical and horizontal distribution of species. On 8 June 2012, the Fisheries Research Institute (FRI) and Nagasaki University (NU) signed a memorandum of understanding to promote academic cooperation. International cooperation is required because fisheries resources common to both countries comprise species that traverse geopolitical boundaries during various stages of their life cycle. Bio-logging research at NU and FRI, in collaboration with National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU) has steadily developed and expanded to encompass a broad research program to provide essential ecosystem-based information for the management and conservation of pelagic resources. Since 2012, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) entered into a cooperative agreement with the institutions. This initiative has promoted the integration of pelagic research initiatives to encompass bio-logging, population genetics and ecological studies into an ecosystem-based framework. Team activities has included: (I) collaborative field research, (II) graduate student exchange program, (III) post-doc exchange program, (IV) fellowship program, (V) workshops to promote innovative research and stimulate discovery, and (VI) publishing research in peer-reviewed literature. Though the initial start-up period of the program has been spent primarily devoted to organization and logistics, fund raising activities, designing experiments and gathering fisheries independent data; there has been over 23 scientists and students taking part in exchange programs and 6 peer-reviewed papers have been published in international journals. Furthermore, two new joint-research projects were funded by JSPS that started in 2016. Overall results generated by this international cooperative will identify where fisheries management and conservation approaches may be the most resilient to climate change impacts.

Japan had prosperous fisheries industry which was highest in the world amounting to 12.8 million metric tons in terms of production in 1984. As years passed by, the amount of sardines available in the wild depleted decreasing fisheries production to only 4.7 million metric tons. Fishery production in Japan is composed of 7% pelagic fishery, 45% offshore fishery, 23% coastal fishery, and 24% from aquaculture. In terms of value in Japanese currency, the Japanese fisheries used to have a value of 2.97 trillion Japanese yen but decreased to only 1.59 trillion Japanese yen. The fishery sector that contribute to the value of Japanese fishery are the capture fishery which contribute 63% and aquaculture having 36%. Both the production and value of fishery in Japan suffered from depletion but still remained as one of the most important sector in Japanese industry.
Japanese Society of Fisheries Science (JSFS) was founded in February of 1932 with the aim of providing assistance to fisheries industry through scientific knowledge. Fisheries science, capture fisheries, aquatic biology, aquaculture, fisheries biochemistry, seafood production, oceanography, fisheries economics, fisheries education, environmental science, international cooperation and many other fields are the research areas covered by JSFS. Currently, there are 3000 members around the world which consist mainly of researchers from university, research institute of government and private companies, and graduate students from different universities. Aside from managing the organization, the JSFS also actively publishes two journals namely Fisheries Science and the Nippon Suisan Gakkai, with both having six issues being released each year. The JSFS also organize spring and fall meeting annually which is being held in different location each time. In addition, the JSFS also organize an event where in we acknowledge and honor people who made a remarkable contribution to fisheries. At present, the JSFS have seven branches that helps organize annual meetings and symposia.

Sardines account for the highest individual catch by volume for any single fishery species in Australia. Sardine Sardinops sagax is widely distributed throughout the world albeit showing significant population structuring. The largest geographical distribution of sardines occurs off southern Australia. Understanding the stock structure of small pelagic fishes can be difficult due to their patchy distribution and complex movement patterns. We review existing literature on stock structure of Australian sardine and apply a semi-quantitative approach to integrate datasets collected over 60 years and infer mixing and stock structure. We then used otoliths from archived collections to assess variations in stock structure in two regions. The absence of strong separation of most adjacent sub-groups supports the hypothesis that sardine in Australian waters is a meta-population, but with effective isolation of at least four stocks. There is also evidence for sub-division of the stocks in some regions. Otolith chemistry and shape data suggested significant differences between northern and southern sub-groups on the east coast for all three age cohorts examined. For South Australia, there were significant differences among two sub-groups for most cohorts examined across two sampling years suggesting movements between sub-groups may vary among years. Integrating historical data using a stock differentiation index is suitable for identifying fishery management units. Integrated analysis of otoliths from archival collections is useful for examining temporal variability in stock structure, which is also important for fisheries management. Our findings are relevant to fisheries where sustainability risks are increased by management arrangements based on assumptions that stock structure is absent or stable.

This landmark year sees the Japanese Society for Fisheries Science celebrate its 85th Anniversary, and the Fisheries Society of the British Isles (FSBI) celebrate its 50th Anniversary. At a time of considerable political, environmental and scientific change, this presents an ideal opportunity to look at the important role played by academic societies, and to examine the current state of fish and fisheries science at local, national and international levels. In this presentation I will provide a summary of the history, aims and achievements of the FSBI, and present a summary of the major issues that emerged from the FSBI’s 50th Anniversary International Symposium, held in July 2017, on the broad topic of ‘Understanding Fish Populations’. Four themes in particular will be highlighted, focusing on: (1) the biology of fish, from individuals to populations, (2) understanding the impact of a rapidly changing world on fish biology and fisheries, (3) assessing how we value and manage fish populations, and (4) developing new scientific tools for understanding and managing fish populations. Each topic will be reviewed both from a UK and an International perspective, with potential threats and opportunities being identified.

The global fishery production is increasing mainly due to the aquaculture production. China is ranked as 1st production country followed by Indonesia, India, Vietnam, in that order, in which Japan and Korea ranked as 7 and 12 in 2015, respectively. The total fisheries production in Korea increases a little due to the aquaculture production too.
This presentation will focus on the prospects and issues of Korean seafood industry, adjacent waters fisheries, aquaculture, and distant water fisheries. Seafood industry has recessed since 2015 because of decrease in domestic fisheries consumption, while the foreign fisheries consumption increased. The fishery production in adjacent waters fisheries has been declined since 1980 from 1.52 M M/T in 1987 to 0.96 in 2016 due to high temperature in winter, changes in migration route and period of major fishes, production reduction of live food such as anchovy, as well as the reduction of fishing boat and working days. World aquaculture production in 2014 was 73.8 M M/T occupying 44% of total fisheries production. China was ranked 1st production country with 45.5 M M/T followed by India (4.9) and Indonesia (4.2), in which Korea ranked 14 (0.48). The distant water fisheries production decreased from 0.58 M M/T in 2015 to 0.46 in 2016 due to decrease in company and export, as well as strict fishing control and enforcement of resources preservation of IUU.
Korean fisheries consumption ranks 1st over the world, but its shelf-supply rate decreased dramatically. Hence, it is inevitable to confront insufficient supply of fisheries together with high price in near future. Therefore, various policies should be prepared to increase the fisheries production including aquaculture and import.

A recent survey of employers in the fisheries profession in North American confirmed what we have always suspected: fisheries scientists generally lack the communication skills needed to succeed in their jobs. Employers across the governmental, academic and private sectors all ranked communication skills and the ability to think critically as the most important skills young fisheries professionals needed to succeed in entry-level positions. However, employers ranked performance in communication by recent entry-level hires substantially below desired levels. The inability of fisheries scientists to effectively communicate the underlying basis for fisheries management recommendations has taken on greater importance in recent years, as stakeholders and policy makers have challenged the science behind those recommendations more frequently. Challenges to the science, and in some cases, total disregard for the science, are likely to increase in frequency in the current political climate of dismissing scientific evidence that does not confirm policy makers’ desired courses of action. Scientists may exacerbate the problem if their criticism of policy choices is perceived as arrogance and disregard for public opinion. I suggest that if fisheries scientists want to reverse the trend and maintain a solid scientific basis for future resource management, they must do three things: (1) they must drastically improve their ability to explain the science and technical aspects of fisheries in language that stakeholders and policy makers can understand, (2) they must do a better job of demonstrating the value of good science by pointing out successful cases of its application, and (3) they must accept that policy makers have the right to make choices that may not seem “right” to the scientists.

The Asian Fisheries Society (AFS), founded in 1984 by the fishery professionals of Asia, has been steering the co-operation and networking between the stakeholders involved in fisheries and aquaculture sector in Asia-Pacific. It was seven fisheries scientists from Southeast Asia, who met in Manila in May 1983 and discussed on formation of a common forum for the Asian fisheries scientists. The group formed a “Foundation Council for the proposed “Asian Fisheries Society” and co-opted a few more members to make the Council more representative of the entire Asian region. In the historic meeting held on 2 May 1984, the constitution of the Society was adopted. The Society then held its first general assembly and elected its councillors and first set of officers. In 1987, the Society was registered as a non-profit, non-stock corporation under Philippine laws.
The Society organised its first major event, “The First Asian Fisheries Forum” during 1986 in Manila, Philippines. Since then, it has been organising its triennial Asian Fisheries Forum (AFF), presently the Asian Fisheries and Aquaculture Forum (AFAF), with the latest one organised at Bangkok in 2016. The International Symposium on Cage Aquaculture in Asia (CAA); International Symposium on Aquaculture and Fisheries Education (ISAFE) and Global Symposium on Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries (GAF) are the specialized symposia series organised by AFS at periodical intervals. The three regional branches in India, Taiwan and Japan have been providing appropriate platforms for addressing important regional issues of the sector. The Fish Health Section (FHS) and the Asian Fisheries Social Sciences Research Network Section (AFSSRN) are the two specialized Sections operational within the Society. The Society has been publishing a journal ‘Asian Fisheries Science’ and an e-Newsletter. For encouraging young researchers, it provides assistance for small research projects through its Kanazawa Research Fund and travel support to attend the Forum.
AFS is governed by a Council consisting of 15 Councilors who are elected for a three-years term, with the daily affairs of the Council run by an Executive Committee. The Council holds Annual Meetings to discuss and take major decisions on behalf of the Society. In 2008, AFS moved to its new campus at the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Kuala Lumpur. While all relevant information on AFS are available in its website: www.asianfisheriessociety.org; the MyConferences website - www.afsconferences.net provides information on its conference activities. AFS, during last 32 years of its existence, has transformed into a vibrant International Scientific Society, dedicated for fisheries and aquaculture development in the Asia-Pacific.

Faculty of Fisheries, Kagoshima University aims at contribution to sustainable development and utilization of aquatic resources, conservation of the environment on the aquatic ecosystems and international contribution and engagement in regional fisheries. To meet emerging needs of fisheries industry in this globalized world, the faculty initiated and formed the first alliance to conduct internationally cooperative education in Asia, called the ‘Postgraduate (Master) Programme on Tropical Fisheries with International Linkage’ (ILP). Its framework shares the curriculum formed with characteristic subjects offered by the member graduate (master) schools in Asia and to provide young people with high quality education with the aim of developing talented persons who possess the spirit and the expertized knowledge to contribute to the globalizing fishery industry and society. The Programme officially launched in August 2014 and is composed of six (6) member schools, namely Sam Ratulangi University (Indonesia), Kagoshima University (Japan), University Malaysia Terengganu (Malaysia), University of the Philippines Visayas (Philippines), Kasetsart University (Thailand) and Nha Trang University (Vietnam). Students registered in the Programme at their home university can take subjects offered under the Programme freely at member schools, receive education with no additional cost and obtain credits. Students who fulfill the requirements set by the Programme will receive a certificate of completion of the Programme. In addition to the integrated curriculum, establishment of the Common Rule and its Governing Council makes this Programme reliable and unique at the same time.

The University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) is one of the eight (8) Constituent Universities (CU) of the UP System. UPV has five (5) degree-granting units with a total of 3,889 students (3,352 undergraduate and 537 graduate). It is known for its Biology, Fisheries and Marine Science programs recognized either as Center of Excellence or Center of Development by the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Its flagship unit is the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (CFOS), the undisputed leader in fisheries education in the Philippines.
Globalization and the recent ASEAN integration compelled the university to reach out to the larger academic communities for capacity building through research and academic exchange, sharing of information, expertise, and to a certain extent, resources. Through the CFOS, the UPV besides its existing linkages continues to forge alliances with universities in the Philippines and abroad. Such is the case of the Professional Masters in Tropical Marine Ecosystem Management (PMTMEM) with the 3 CUs of the UP System and the Post Graduate Program in Tropical Fisheries with International Linkage (ILP) with Kagoshima University of Japan and 4 other ASEAN Universities. Both are pioneering degree-oriented undertakings of UPV providing learning experiences in dealing with disparate and unique educational systems of each of the participating universities. More recently, UPV joined the ASEAN Fisheries Education Network+ (ASEAN FEN+), a consortium of 22 ASEAN universities plus institutions from other countries intending to support and enhance the fisheries and aquaculture sectors in the Southeast Asia region through education, research and public outreach programs.
The world’s borders are diminishing and we are responding. It is an imperative for the university to continue establishing networks and to have open and constant dialogues with partner institutions for mutual recognition towards enhanced mobility of manpower across Asia and the world.

Sam Ratulangi University (SRU) is located in Manado, municipality geographically laid in the Rim of Pacific and has become an important gateway to Indonesia. SRU has 11 faculties (medicine, engineering, agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries and marine science, economics and business, social and political sciences, law, cultural science, mathematics, basic sciences, and public health). Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science (FFMS) of SRU was established in 1965 and now has 6 study programs (Fisheries Technological Product, Fisheries Resources Exploitation, Fisheries Agribusiness, Aquatic Resources Management, Aquaculture, and Marine Sciences). FFMS serves undergraduate courses (bachelor in Fisheries), master courses (Master of Science in Aquatic Sciences), and doctorate courses (Doctorate in Marine Science). To achieve educational goals in fisheries and marine sciences, FFMS provides Center of Tropical Marine Biodiversity and 12 laboratories (Fisheries Social and Economic, Marine Biology, Marine Biomolecular and Pharmacology, Fisheries Capture Engineering, Fresh Water Bioecology, Coastal and Small Islands Management, Coastal Geomorphology, Aquaculture Engineering, Fish Health and Aquatic Toxicology, Quality Control of Fisheries Products Handling and Processing of Fisheries Product, Marine Field Station). International Cooperation for Fisheries and Marine Education in FFMS are: a) Postgraduate Programme on Tropical Fisheries with International Linkage. Among 15-25 students per year enrolling regular Master of Science in Aquatic Sciences Program will be selected the best five to do ILP, b) International Master (MSc) Program on Indo-Pacific Coral Reefs Biodiversity and Conservation, c) Coral Triangle Initiative for Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (CTI-CFF) University Partnership. The proposed programs/actions on capacity building include academic collaboration and regional training focused on international Master of Science program. There is some other international cooperation with university abroad for fisheries and marine education at SRU.

University Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) is one of the 20 public universities in Malaysia. It focuses on becoming a leading institution in marine-related subjects. One of the centres in UMT which focuses on this area is the School of Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences (SFAC). It is the only learning centre (or faculty) in UMT that offers programmes at all levels (Diploma, Bachelor, Master and PhD). At Master’s level, the SFAC offers two coursework programmes namely MSc in Sustainable Tropical Fisheries (MSc-STF) and MSc in Aquaculture (MSc-Aq). While the MSc-Aq is an old programme (established in 2005), the MSc-STF is a relatively new programme with the first intake was in September 2015. Both programmes teach students on aquatic-related subjects using various methods such as lecture, case study, practical and presentation. MSc-STF is developed to suit the Postgraduate Pogramme on Tropical Fisheries with International Linkage (ILP), hence the inclusion of UMT in ILP programme. The subjects in MSc-STF programme are mainly related to fishery resource management as well as subjects of UMT’s forte, related to post-harvest, biotechnology and molecular ecology. The first batch of MSc-STF’s students has involved in the ILP programme by taking part in a summer session in Kagoshima University from August to September 2016. The feedbacks gathered both from students and Kagoshima side indicated that UMT’s students have shown their potential and skills to be able to excel at all subjects. It is assumed that the learning style in UMT which focuses on two-ways communication between students and lecturers and critical thinking application, of which are in English medium, has made all students well-equipped. As much as UMT is grateful to have students excel in their study abroad, UMT is also anticipating students from other ILP institutions to come and experience study session in UMT.

Nha Trang University (NTU) evolved from the Department of Fisheries, which was established in 1959 at Hanoi Academy of Agriculture and Forestry. The University has become one of the country’s major multidisciplinary, large-scale multi-level universities, and a leading center for fishery research and advanced technology deployment, playing an important role in the course of socioeconomic development of the country. NTU is one of the first 20 higher education institutions of Vietnam accredited by the National Accreditation Council. Currently NTU is offering five doctoral degree programs, 12 master's degree programs (including one international Master’s program on Marine Ecosystem-based Management and Climate Change), 30 undergraduate degree programs, and 15 associate degree programs. We also offer various short courses for professional developments or exchange programs for both domestic and international students. In terms of research, NTU is among leaders in fisheries fields. The University has implemented many small and large research projects on aquaculture techniques, aquatic animal diseases, food technology, fisheries economics and management of fishery resources, fishing, shipbuilding, etc. NTU has a staff body of 700 members with over 100 doctors and 300 masters, of which over 40% obtained their degrees in developed countries. We enroll 3700 new students across all levels yearly. Our student body consists of more than 1000 graduates and 15000 undergraduates. NTU constantly expands the scale of training, upgrades infrastructure, improves training programs and updates teaching and learning methods. We maintain close relationships with businesses, production factories, and manufacturers in Khanh Hoa and coastal provinces particularly and also nationwide for feedbacks about training quality, labor demands, needs for new knowledge and skills, needs of technology transfer, etc. In compliance with the process of development and integration of the country, NTU continuously seeks new cooperation and reinforces existing collaborations with international partners.

The Faculty of Fisheries at Kasetsart University was established under the Kasetsart University Act of 1943. It has been the main degree granting institution for fisheries and aquaculture in Thailand, for both undergraduate and graduate programs. Its departments include Aquaculture, Fisheries Management, Fishery Biology, Fishery Product and Marine Science. Through the years, the Faculty of Fisheries has been producing graduates to work in various government and private agencies, academic and research institutions, and civil society organizations. The Faculty has also trained a number of people from various levels of the fisheries and aquaculture workforce, both local and foreign, as well as new entrants to the field of fisheries. Stakeholder consultations as well as employer and alumni feedback revealed a need for a more responsive fisheries education curriculum. This means a curriculum not only covering the basics of fisheries and general education, but also recent trends, global issues and relevant interdisciplinary topics. Fisheries students are encouraged not only to focus on a specific field of fisheries, but to encompass other interconnected areas within fisheries and aquaculture. This will enable them to be more prepared when they graduate and enter the workforce, which covers various fields and disciplines in job responsibilities. Thus the Faculty of Fisheries curriculum has been evolving to adapt to recent developments. With Thailand as a leader in aquaculture and fisheries in the region, and even globally for some species, the Faculty of Fisheries of Kasetsart University’s has a comparative advantage in enriching its curriculum to make it more responsive to the sector’s needs, especially in equipping the young generation with skills and capabilities to implement sustainable fisheries and aquaculture development.