Building Human Capital To Lead 21st Century Fisheries

1
Building Human Capital To Lead 21st Century
Fisheries
Laura W. Jodice, Clemson University
Gilbert Sylvia, Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment
Station, Oregon State University
Michael Harte, Falkland Islands Government
Susan Hanna, Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment
Station, Oregon State University
Kevin Stokes, New Zealand Seafood Industry Council
Introduction The nations of the world confront co
mplex challenges in managing fisheries resources
in the 21st century. While attention focuses on
the need for new institutional ideas, designing
and implementing effective governance may be
imperiled by inadequate investment in the human
capital needed to lead, innovate, and manage. To
address this challenge, the international
inaugural workshop, Training Managers for 21st
Century Fisheries, was convened in Queenstown,
New Zealand, on December 5-7, 2001. This paper
summarizes areas of consensus and recommendations
of the sixty-three government, industry,
academic, and NGO leaders from Oceania, North
America, and Europe who participated in this
workshop.

• Needs (Defining the Gap)
• All necessary skills and knowledge (Table 1)
  cannot exist in one manager.
  
• All participants in fisheries management require
  a basic minimum level of common skills and
  knowledge.
  
• Each class of manager needs different levels of
  competency.
  
• Minimum competency levels should be defined
  specific to each managerial class (Figure 2).
  
• Training needs assessment should rely on
  benchmarking of current knowledge, attitudes,
  skills, and abilities against an idealized
  profile for a managers role in the process
  (Table 2).

• The Future of Fisheries
• Building human (intellectual) capital is a
  dynamic process of discovering, collecting, and
  synthesizing knowledge that directs human action
  in extending existing systems or the creation of
  new systems. Society's wellbeing depends upon
  developing institutions that
• Compel learning
• Build infrastructure to store and disseminate
  knowledge
  
• Stimulate flexibility in problem solving
• (adapted from www.resalliance.org)
• 21st Century fishery managers should be capable
  of
  
• Balancing utilization and sustainability
  mandates
  
• Structuring and allocating property rights
• Defining and implementing ecosystem management
• Designing cooperative research and management
• Contending with risk and uncertainty
• Addressing international management
• Integrating fisheries within ocean governance
  regimes
  
• Reducing oppressive bureaucracy and litigation

• Current Investment
• Society has not adequately invested in the human
  capital capable of successful leadership and
  management of 21st century fisheries.
  
• Fishery managers worldwide have received little
  formal training in fisheries management.
  
• Few education programs exist that provide
  professional development, fishery management
  curricula which integrate leadership, critical
  decision-making, and systems level thinking.

Table 1. Skill and Knowledge Needs for 21st
Century Fisheries Management (2001 workshop summ
ary).

• Eight Priority Strategies
• Success will require regional, national, and
  international commitment to the following
  
• Develop partnerships within and among
  institutions, sectors, and nations
  
• Include the management process as a learning
  experience
  
• Broaden and lengthen career paths
• Identify the gaps between training supply and
  demand for each management class or sector
  
• Create a website with training opportunities and
  resources
  
• Encourage industry scholarships
• Develop a case study library
• Establish a training provider network
• Additional recommendations and details are
  provided in the 2001 workshop report available
  at
  
• http//oregonstate.edu/dept/trainfishmngr/
• You may also subscribe to the listserv
• trainfishmngr_at_lists.oregonstate.edu

Figure 2 Conceptual model of fisheries manager
competencies profile.
Sector or Type of Manager
Level of Competency
Minimum level basics for all managers of this type
Skill or Knowledge Area

• NOAA Fisheries Leadership
• Strategies should include
• Continue building fellowship, cooperative
  academic, leadership, and mentoring programs
  
• Align academic and government training
• Facilitate development of well defined
  competencies for all managerial classes
  
• Develop intersectoral and international exchange
  opportunities

• International Coordination
• Success requires leadership and cooperation from
  the highest levels of national management
  authorities and international bodies.
  
• A stronger coordinating mechanism is necessary.
  Ideally this is an international level
  organization charged with facilitating fishery
  management training and partnership within and
  among classes of managers at a variety of
  regional scales.

• Building Support
• Members of the Training Managers for 21st Century
  Fisheries Initiative, international steering
  committee are facilitating
  
• Strategy development and partnership building
• Case study development
• Development of competencies and benchmarking
  processes for each managerial class
  
• Communications among training providers and
  managers - trainfishmngr listserv

NEXT STEPS
Sponsors NOAA Fisheries Coastal Oregon Marine Ex
periment Station, Oregon State University
New Zealand Seafood Industry Council

Additional Contributors New Zealand Ministry of F
isheries Te Ohu Kai Moana (Treaty of Waitangi Fis
heries Commission) New Zealand Foundation for Res
earch, Science and Technology
American Fisheries Society, Marine Division
Training Managers for 21st Century Fisheries
Initiative http//oregonstate.edu/dept/trainfishm
ngr/ Contact Laurie Jodice (jodicel_at_yahoo.com)
or Gil Sylvia (gil.sylvia_at_oregonstate.edu)