December 2-4, 2019

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

FAO has recently published its report on The State of the World’s Aquatic Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.  This report identified a number important needs and challenges in the conservation, sustainanable use and development of aquatic genetic resources (AqGR). One of the major priorities identified was to “Establish and strengthen national and global characterization, monitoring and information system for AqGR”. This priority includes:

1. Promotion of a globally standardized use of terminology, nomenclature and descriptions of AqGR;
2. Improved and harmonized reporting procedures and expanded existing species-based information systems to cover unreported AqGR including ornamental species and micro-organisms;
3. The development, promotion and commercialization/institutionalization of national, regional and global standardized information systems for the collection, validation, monitoring and reporting on AqGR below the level of species (i.e. farmed types and stocks).

Examples of incorporating genetic diversity into national and global reporting and monitoring do exist, but primarily in the terrestrial agriculture sector where nomenclature for breeds and varieties has been standardized and used for centuries. In the aquaculture sector the establishment of strains of cultured species is a much more recent practice and thus the nomenclature and characterization of strains is not standardized. We also have a diversity of genetic technologies that can produce different farmed types of cultured species for use in aquaculture (e.g. creation of monosex groups, polyploidization, hybridization and gene transfer). It is now time for the aquaculture sector to develop a standardized information system. This need was recognized by the FAO Intergovernmental Technical Working Group on Aquatic Genetic Resources for Food and Agricuylture (ITWG-AqGR), a subsidiary body of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Commission), which recommended the development of such a system.

This regional workshop is one of the crucial activities planned and supported by the project.  The principal objectives of this regional workshop are:

• Promote standardised use of nomenclature and terminology in the descriptions and categorisation of AqGR, especially below the level of species (i.e. Farmed Types and Stocks)
• Identify the priority stakeholders in an information system (specifically a Registry of Farmed Types of AqGR) in the region
• Trial and evaluation of key elements of the prototype Registry using regionally relevant species and farmed types
• Identify potential indicators for the effective monitoring of AqGR within a future Global Plan of Action

December 2-4, 2019

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia