Mr. Thor Heidar Asgeirsson, deputy program officer, at the United Nations University Fisheries Training Programme (UNU_FTP) in Iceland, on Saturday arrived in The Gamia for a four day visit of the Fisheries Department in Banjul.

His mission to The Gambia is to interview potential candidates for the UNU- FTP 2008/2009 semester, to discuss the current status of the UNU- FTP,  to see if The Gambia can utilise other aspects of the programme other than the six months fisheries training and to discuss and learn about the country's future fisheries plans.

Speaking to the Daily Observer, Mr Asgeirsson disclosed that the UNU- FTP was established in Iceland in 1998 to assist  developing countries to tackle challenges and promote development in their fisheries sectors. He noted that the training period for the UNU-FTP is six months, adding that in a five week introductory course, the fellows should gain a holistic view of fisheries and be able to place their home fisheries in a regional and global perspective.

"The specialist course takes about six weeks and it is followed by 15 weeks of project work and work experience", he revealed. He further stated that, UNU-FTP provided scholarships to outstanding UNN- FTP fellows wishing to pursue post-graduate studies in Iceland. He noted that six Gambians had benefited from this training and that they were hoping to train more.  "UNU- FTP provides scholarship from the public and private sectors as well as academic, it is meant to strengthen institutional capacity through training of staff" he concluded.

For his part, Alh. Ebou Mass Mbye, Fisheries Officer at the Fisheries Department in Banjul, said that fisheries department  is the contact of the UNU-FTP. He expressed hope that Gambians would continue to benefit from various courses in fisheries training.