The Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST, President Kim Woong-Seo) announced that it had hosted a training workshop for Peru’s marine resource estimation at the National University of San Marcos in Peru for two weeks from November 12 (Mon.) to November 23 (Fri.). The end of the training was marked by a completion ceremony, held on the last day of the workshop.

The two-week-long workshop was based on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14, which seeks to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources, and promoted through a resolution of the 5th Korea Peru Research Laboratory on Ocean Science and Technology (KOPE-LAR) Operating Committee. The workshop was jointly hosted by KIOST, the Korea Maritime Institute, and Peru’s National University of San Marcos.
* KOPE-LAR: This marine cooperation was established in Lima, Peru, in 2012, based on an MOU between Korea and Peru, signed by Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and Peru’s Ministry of Production in 2010, for the joint advancement of ocean science and technology. The cooperation is jointed operated by KIOST and the Marine Institute of Peru (IMARPE).

Hosted for the officials of Peru’s Ministry of Production as well as representatives from related industries, universities, and research institutes in Peru, the workshop focused on marine resource estimation, marine management theories, and practical approaches best suited to the unique characteristics of Peru’s fishing industry and marine resources. Leading the training was Professor Zhang Chang Ik of Pukyong National University, who boasts over 40 years' of research and teaching experience and numerous achievements in building and operating Korea’s marine resource estimation and management system and an international organization management system. Throughout the course of the workshop, Professor Zhang Chang Ik emphasized improving ecosystem-based assessment and management capacities, which are a new paradigm of marine resource estimation and management.

“Accurate resource estimation must precede the sustainable management of marine resources, and since the fishing industry accounts for a considerable amount of Peru’s GDP, it is very important for Peru to accurately estimate its marine resources, including anchovies and giant squids,” remarked KIOST President Kim Woong-Seo. He added, “Through KOPE-LAR, we plan on continuing to expand and support various cooperative activities related to marine science in both Korea and Peru.”