Officers from the Solomon Islands Maritime Police and the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine resources attended a prosecution and dockside-boarding workshop at the Forum Fisheries Agency in Honiara this week.

The 21 officers increased their skills on boarding fishing vessels, gathering evidence, and successfully prosecuting fishing offences.

They learnt about court procedures, fisheries laws, offences and charges, questioning and examination of witnesses, boarding, and evidence collection, vessel records and the FFA Vessel Monitoring System.

FFA has provided these workshops to 15 of its member countries.

In a statement, it says the officers need to increase their understanding of how fishing vessels operate and to understand recent changes to international law.