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Secure Fisheries Senior Research Associate and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) expert, Paige Roberts, conducted a guest GIS workshop for the Berbera Maritime and Fisheries Academy (BMFA) on March 20-21, 2022 on their campus in Berbera, Somaliland. Over the two days, 20 students learned background information about GIS software and techniques, along with important considerations when working with spatial data and creating maps for public display.
GIS is frequently used in fisheries to show fishing grounds, areas of marine habitat, and other environmental parameters that are best displayed spatially rather than in tables or numeric databases. Analyzing data based on location can reveal interesting interactions among different elements in the marine environment or highlight where conflicts between resource users could occur. The students gained hands-on experience with QGIS software and learned how to load data, change its properties, and make a map suitable for publication. The students went away from the workshop with new skills they can use in their marine science studies.