Regional Training Workshop on Improved Fish Smoking Using The Thyarore System. Tanzania

Abstract

The Indian Ocean Commission through the SmartFish programme, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is implementing a regional fisheries strategy programme aimed at improving the sustainable regional supply of fish and fishery products. The programme has five different result areas, the fifth one being food security, which primarily focuses on the implementation of activities geared at reducing post-harvest fish losses that occur in small-scale f isheries. Regarding post-harvest fish loss reduction, the approach of SmartFish is to build on what has already been done in the region. More specifically, to build the capacity of various key institutions in the region in terms of a systematic application of fish loss assessment methodologies in small-scale fisheries as a precondition for rational intervention, and indeed to find practical ways to reduce such losses. In line with the above, the Fisheries Education and Training Agency (FETA), in collaboration with FAO-SmartFish, organized a regional training workshop on improved fish smoking using the Thyarore system, which was held in Mwanza, Tanzania, from 04 – 08 November 2013. Seventeen participants from Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, United Republic of Tanzania, and Uganda took part in the training. Participants were Fisheries Officers from the respective countries. The competency-based training programme had two main learning outcomes: participants are able to design and construct a Thy arore system oven/kiln; participants are able to smoke fish using the Thyarore system. The training was conducted by experienced experts from FETA and Senegal who employed a variety of hands-on type training methods and practical sessions. The pre- and post-evaluation suggested that the teaching-learning process was appreciated. Likewise, the participants’ perception of the training was generally high and observations from the post training evaluation indicated that many are now planning to intr oduce FAO-Thyarore Technology systems in their respective countries.