Today in Bangkok, a three-day global conference on climate change adaptation for the fisheries and aquaculture sector opens. The Conference, FishAdapt, provides participants from government, intergovernmental organizations, academia, private sector and civil society the opportunity to share real-life experiences and practical research relating to identifying and addressing the vulnerabilities associated with climate change.

Worldwide, more than 1 in 10 people depend on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihoods. Fish is a crucial source of nutrition, particularly in developing countries. 400 million people in the poorest countries receive more than half of their protein and minerals in their diets from fish. Fish is the most highly traded food commodity, contributing an estimated USD 135 billion to the global economy. Developing countries’ share in fish trade rose from only 37% of world fisheries trade in 1976 to over 60% today.

Yet, despite the important role of fisheries and aquaculture for developing countries and the vulnerability of the sector to the effects of climate change, the unique challenges to fisheries and aquaculture are still not central to discussions that will soon be underway at the United Nations Climate Change Conference taking place in Marrakech, Morocco in November.

The FishAdapt Conference builds upon discussion from the 32^nd Session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries, where FAO presented to member countries an overview of efforts to assist countries with climate change mitigation and adaptation in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors, where countries expressed the need for more emphasis on this work that would support vulnerable fisheries and aquaculture communities.

FishAdapt is an opportunity to continue the discussion along the road to Marrakech, exchanging lessons learned on how to identify, prioritize and implement adaptation and disaster risk management actions within the fisheries and aquaculture sector, particularly in dependent rural communities.

The Conference will provide the opportunity to compare applied vulnerability assessments, as well as practical case studies focusing on real-life fisheries and aquaculture-dependent community impacts. The themes will be presented along three parallel tracks of technical sessions:

• Applied experiences in Freshwater, Coastal or Marine Fisheries and Aquaculture.
• Linking global, regional and national climate change and disaster risk management processes to fisheries and aquaculture.
• Communicating climate change issues and potential impacts to policy makers, fishers, farmers, fish workers, scientist, development partners, industry and others for effective planning, implementation, and monitoring.

The FishAdapt Conference is funded by Japan, Norway, Thailand and the United States of America, with local organization by the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA), as well as FAO’s  Fisheries and Aquaculture Department.  Visit the FishAdapt Conference website  (www.fishadapt.com) to learn more about this exciting event!