Aquaculture Development 9 Development Of Aquatic Genetic Resources A Framework Of Essential Criteria

Aquatic genetic resources play a crucial role in contributing to global food security and nutrition, as well as to sustainable livelihoods. However, in various international fora, FAO Members have highlighted the limitations and constraints that they face in assessing their national capacities to use, manage and conserve such resources as well as in identifying and monitoring the resources used. The main issues are limited information, inadequate national capacities and expertise, and inadequate legislation and policy frameworks. In recognition of these needs, this framework is a guideline that FAO and FAO Members can use to evaluate the capacities, infrastructures and governance tools of a country regarding the sustainable use of aquatic genetic resources. It will be of use to fish farmers, hatchery people, fisher folk, aquatic genetic resource managers, policy-makers, decision-makers, donors, consumers and academia.

The Expert Consultation on the Development of the Sustainable Aquaculture Guidelines was held in Rome, Italy from 17 to 20 June 2019 to come out with a proposal for developing the Sustainable Aquaculture Guidelines to be presented in August 2019 at the tenth session of the Sub-Committee on Aquaculture of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI). The specific objectives of this Expert Consultation were to propose criteria for selecting case studies aimed at providing lessons learned for the development of the Sustainable Aquaculture Guidelines, and methodologies for documenting the case studies, for analysing the case studies to identify the lessons learned, and for developing the Sustainable Aquaculture Guidelines by also making use of existing guidelines. The consultation was attended by 15 experts, one resource person and FAO staff. The consultation was organized into both plenary and group discussions. The Experts agreed on a proposed methodology for identifying and selecting the lessons learned from strategies and experiences of aquaculture development worldwide; a methodology for documenting and analysing the lessons learned; a list of thematic modules; a gap analysis between existing guidelines and needs for new ones, and; an updated roadmap for the development of the Sustainable Aquaculture Guidelines.

1. [without special title] -- 2. Health management for responsible movement of live aquatic animals -- 3. Genetic resource management -- 5. Use of wild fish as feed in aquaculture -- 6. Use of wild fishery resources for capture-based aquaculture

This Global Plan of Action for the Conservation, Sustainable Use and Development of Aquatic Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (GPA) was developed by FAO at the request of the members of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture in response to the needs and challenges identified in the first global assessment of the status of Aquatic Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (AqGR). It was developed following broad consultation with the regions and, following endorsement by the Commission, was formally adopted by FAO members at the 168th session of the FAO Council. The GPA is voluntary and non-binding and aims to promote effective management of AqGR ensuring that it makes a significant contribution to food security and sustainable development and to the alleviation of poverty and is targeted at all stakeholders in aquaculture, with a focus on resource managers and policy makers. The GPA has two parts, the first part introduces and sets the context for the importance of AqGR to sustainable aquaculture and future food security. The second part identifies strategic priorities and recommends actions under four priority areas: i) characterization, inventory and monitoring; ii) conservation and sustainable use; iii) development of AqGR for aquaculture; and iv) policies, institutions, capacity building and cooperation.

The conservation, sustainable use and development of aquatic genetic resources (AqGR) is critical to the future supply of fish. The State of the World’s Aquatic Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture is the first ever global assessment of these resources, with the scope of this first Report being limited to cultured AqGR and their wild relatives, within national jurisdiction. The Report draws on 92 reports from FAO member countries and five specially commissioned thematic background studies. The reporting countries are responsible for 96 percent of global aquaculture production. The Report sets the context with a review of the state of world’s aquaculture and fisheries and includes overviews of the uses and exchanges of AqGR, the drivers and trends impacting AqGR and the extent of ex situ and in situ conservation efforts. The Report also investigates the roles of stakeholders in AqGR and the levels of activity in research, education, training and extension, and reviews national policies and the levels of regional and international cooperation on AqGR. Finally, needs and challenges are assessed in the context of the findings from the data collected from the countries. The Report represents a snapshot of the present status of AqGR and forms a valuable technical reference document, particularly where it presents standardized key terminology and concepts.

Aquaculture, the farming in water of aquatic animals and aquatic plants, has seen extraordinary growth over recent years in terms of production levels and as regards its share of production of aquatic animals and algae. Although the most recent figures show a slight slowdown in the rate of growth of the sector (FAO, 2022), aquaculture is still seen to have tremendous potential. Many developing countries have high aspirations for rapid aquaculture development in order to feed their fast-growing populations and to increase export earnings. The aim of this study is to identify the essential elements of a legal framework for sustainable aquaculture. For the fact is that in many countries the growth of aquaculture appears to have outpaced the development of the legislation and legal frameworks to govern aquaculture. This study is intended both to act as a guide to the complexity of legal frameworks for aquaculture and also to serve as the background or resource document for the Aquaculture Legal Assessment and Revision Tool (ALART).

FAO’s major publications series are presented together in a user-friendly catalogue. The catalogue features all of the most active series, both new and long-standing, and is divided into areas of work, including agriculture, forestry, fisheries, trade and investment, among others. Each series entry includes technical specifications, language versions, most recent titles, relevant ISSNs, and QR codes linking to online resources in the FAO Document Repository.

Provides annotations to the Principles of Article 9 of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. These annotations are meant to serve as general guidance, and should be taken as suggestions or observations intended to assist those interested in identifying their own criteria and options for actions, as well as partners for collaboration, in support of sustainable aquaculture development.