| CODE | BIO3080 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Introduction to agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries and other biological Resources | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Biology | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | 1. Principles of exploitation and management of biological resources 2. Principles of agriculture 3. Principles of horticulture 4. Agricultural and horticultural practices in Malta 5. Organic farming 6. Principles of fisheries management 7. The fisheries industry in Malta 8. Principles of aquaculture 9. The aquaculture industry in Malta Practicals/Visits 1. Visit to fisheries-related site 2. Visit to aquaculture-related site. Students are informed that regular attendance to lectures, practical classes and visits is obligatory. Students will be allowed to sit for the examination and a grade may be awarded to a particular study-unit only if attendance to lectures, practical sessions and visits has been regular and if they have submitted all assignments and report as required. Study-unit Aims: This unit is designed to cover the biological principles governing the food production industries, that is, fisheries and aquaculture as well as agriculture and horticulture. It also covers the main methodologies used in animal and crop production and their relation with the environment with particular emphasis on the sustainability aspect. Although the coverage is wide ranging, emphasis is also placed on local production methods and associated practices. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - describe the principles underlying the commercial activities of fisheries, aquaculture, agriculture and horticulture; - list, describe and discuss relevant production methods and practices; - acknowledge the importance of exploiting fisheries resources in a sustainable way and identify different fisheries management approaches; - have first-hand knowledge of the commercial activity in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors in Malta through site visits. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - identify the main technologies, species, etc., suitable for animal and crop production in a particular country/region; - assess a particular site/area in terms of its suitability for developing a commercial activity in the aquaculture, agriculture and horticulture sectors; - apply knowledge of basic concepts and fundamental principles that underpin fisheries productivity and sustainability in practice. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - FAO (2020). The State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries. General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean. Rome, Italy. http://www.fao.org/3/cb2429en/CB2429EN.pdf - FAO (2020). The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA). Rome, Italy. http://www.fao.org/3/ca9229en/CA9229EN.pdf - Farrugia-Randon, S. (2007). Fishing in Malta. P.E.G. Ltd. Malta. ISBN: 9789993205012. - Jennings, S., Michel K. & Reynolds, J. D. (2009). Marine fisheries ecology. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN: 9780632050987. - King, M. (2013). Fisheries biology, assessment and management. Blackwell Publishing, 2nd Edition. ISBN: 9781405158312. - Pascual Fernández, J. J., Pita, C., Bavinck, M. (2020). Small-Scale Fisheries in Europe: Status, resilience and governance. Dordretch: Springer. - Doy, S. (2017) Crop production: principles and practices. Callisto Reference. ISBN: 9781632397836. Well, R. R. and Brady, N.C. (2016). The nature and properties of soils. Pearson, 15th Edition. ISBN: 9780133254488. - Ackefors, H., Huner, J. & Konikoff, M. (2019) Introduction to the General Principles of Aquaculture. CRC Press. ISBN 9780367401979. - Lucas, J.S. Southgate, P.C. & Tucker, C.S. (2019) Aquaculture: farming aquatic animals and plants. Wiley-Blackwell, 3rd Edition. ISBN: 9781119230861. - Stickney, R. (2017) Aquaculture: an introductory text. CABI, 3rd Edition. ISBN: 9781786390103. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-Requisite: B.Sc. (Hons) 1st, 2nd and 3rd Year Study-Units or equivalent Students are to note that they will be allowed to sit for this study-unit examination and will be awarded a grade only if they have regularly attended lectures and practical classes, if they have submitted any assignments, including practical reports and if they satisfy all other study-unit requirements. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Fieldwork | ||||||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Simeon Deguara Noel Vella |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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