The Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam, in collaboration with the Institute of Marine Research (IMR), Norway and EAF-Nansen Program of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); as well as the Department of Environmental Affairs: Oceans & Coasts, South Africa and Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute are organizing a Regional Training Workshop on “Identification of Zooplankton and Fish Larvae of the Western Indian Ocean”, that will be held in Zanzibar, Tanzania from 23rd February to 3rd March 2019. The training course is sponsored by WIOMSA, through its Marine and Coastal Science for Management (MASMA) Programme.

The main aim of the workshop is to train participants on zooplankton, fish larvae and fish eggs identification and analysis of their samples collected from the waters of the Western Indian Ocean. The structure of the course is such that two parallel sessions will run concurrently, one on the identification of zooplankton and the other on the identification of fish eggs and larvae. Both sessions will comprise lectures and practical work.
Session 1: Identification of zooplankton. This session will begin with an introduction to the broad diversity of marine zooplankton, then briefly cover standard methods of zooplankton sampling and sample preservation. The course will then focus on sample analysis and the use of identification keys, focusing initially on copepods, followed by the other main taxa.
Session 2: Identification of fish eggs and larvae. Participants will be trained on the identification of eggs and larvae of important species of teleost groups to the family level or lower. A succession of theoretical and practical sessions will ensure that the participants gain familiarity with fish egg and larval anatomy, the key characteristics for identification, and how to use existing identification keys for early life history stages of fish.
Applications for the training are invited from researchers/scientists and students from the Western Indian Ocean region, dealing with the subject matter. 
Eligibility: The workshop is open to researchers, technical staff as well as post graduate students interested in identification of zooplankton or fish eggs & larvae. Places are limited, and priority will be given to applicants with existing samples requiring analysis. 
Financial support will be provided to the selected participants.
If you would like to apply for this training workshop, please submit your CV and a short justification clearly indicating which session you would like to attend and how you will apply the acquired knowledge to your work/research (maximum 1 pages). These should be sent at the latest on 23rd January 2019 via email to Margareth S. Kyewalyanga (mamakevin@gmail.com) and Jenny Huggett (jenny.huggett@gmail.com), with a copy to WIOMSA (secretary@wiomsa.org). 
Please note: we recommend that you submit your application as soon as possible, as the selection process will start before the deadline, for logistical reasons.