Training Opportunities For The NPF

If you work in the NPF and you are interested in learning more about the ecology of your fishery and playing a vital role in demonstrating its sustainability, you are invited to get involved in the Crew Member Observer Programme.

Crew Member Observers (CMOs) collect critical information about interactions with threatened, endangered and protected (TEP) species, as well as other species of interest while at sea.

This valuable scientific information will be used with other data sources to monitor the status of the fishery and help ensure it remains sustainable.

A training workshop will be held on 21 and 22 July 2011 which will equip you with the knowledge and skills you need to correctly identify, measure, photograph and safely release TEP species.

As a CMO in the NPF, each year you will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to a pleasant location where you will be trained by some of Australia’s leading marine scientists and learn a few things you might not previously have known about the species in your fishery.

You will be provided with a waterproof digital camera to use for data collection and have the opportunity to win up to A$4,000 for collecting accurate and high-quality data.

The NPF Crew Member Observer Programme is managed by NPF Industry Pty Ltd (NPFI), the representative organisation for licence holders and fishers in the Northern Prawn Fishery, as part of a co-management trial with AFMA.

Primarily funded by industry, the CMO Programme is a great example of industry working alongside AFMA and CSIRO to ensure the sustainable management of a Commonwealth fishery.

In 2011, additional funding is being provided by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s Next Generation Farmers grant scheme to enable more crew members to participate in this important programme.

For more information please contact Matt Barwick, NPFI Projects Manager on 0422 752 789 or m.barwick@npfindustry.com.au.