Medidas de Gestao das Pescarias Marinhas e Aquicultura 2019 The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018 | Page 123

THE STATE OF WORLD FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE 2018
The report is based primarily on countr y reports
submitted to FAO by its Members, which have
been incorporated into a database for periodic
updating and analysis (proposed for ever y ten
years). As of November 2017, nearly 100 countr y
reports had been received, from which the
following obser vations can be made:
„ „ several countries reported on more species and
species t y pes than in the past;
„ „ the wild relatives of farmed aquatic species are
extremely important in aquaculture and
capture fisheries;
„ „ the populations of many wild relatives that are
fished have declined in recent years;
„ „ the main reason for the decline in wild
relatives is habitat loss and degradation;
„ „ national policies regarding the use of AqGR
often constrain access to them;
„ „ numerous strains of aquatic species are used in
aquaculture, but there is currently no agreed
global norm or mechanism for documenting or
monitoring their use;
„ „ although selective breeding is the most
common form of genetic improvement, most
aquaculture facilities farm the wild t y pe, i.e.
strains that are not domesticated or genetically
improved;
„ „ the use of non-native species is extremely
important in aquaculture.
rather than focusing only on improving a limited
number of commercially viable fish strains.
The increasing scope for use and trade of genetic
resources requires policy-makers, government
resource managers, the aquaculture private sector
and rural communities to implement new
approaches to management and responsible use
of these resources and genetic technologies
(e.g. selective breeding, hybridization and genetic
characterization). To this end, information on the
use of technologies and resources must be
traceable, and consolidated information must be
available on the effectiveness of management
through monitoring against standard indicators.
Despite the crucial role of wild aquatic species
and their farmed relatives in contributing to
global food securit y and sustainable livelihoods,
this information is still somewhat disaggregated
and generally incomplete, with recognized gaps
in reporting of data at the countr y level and
hence to FAO at the international level.
Furthermore, characterization of aquatic genetic
diversit y at below-species level is currently
limited to relatively few species and countries. In
response to this challenge, FAO is currently
working with its Members to develop appropriate
and commonly agreed AqGR diversit y indicators.
Reporting on the state of the world’s aquatic genetic
resources
Five thematic background studies complement
the state of the world report (available at w w w.
fao.org/aquatic-genetic-resources/background/
sow/background-studies), providing information
that has not previously been reported to FAO:
„ „ Incorporating genetic diversit y and indicators
into statistics and monitoring of farmed
aquatic species and their wild relatives
„ „ Genome-based biotechnologies in aquaculture
„ „ Genetic resources for farmed seaweeds
„ „ Genetic resources for farmed freshwater
macrophytes
„ „ Genetic resources for microorganisms of
current and potential use in aquaculture
Improved information on the status, trends and
drivers affecting AqGR is increasingly important
to underpin sound management of sustainable
aquaculture and fisheries and to improve
opportunities for supporting food securit y and
nutrition. At the same time, many countries
have limited policy frameworks and legislation
for managing and conser ving AqGR and
currently lack the capacit y and/or the resources
to collect and report information on aquatic
genetic diversit y. To improve the collection and
sharing of information on AqGR, FAO’s
Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture (CGRFA) tasked FAO with
producing a State of the World’s Aquatic Genetic
Resources for Food and Agriculture report. The
new report, following review by the
Intergovernmental Technical Working Group on
Aquatic Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture, will be submitted for endorsement
by the 33rd Session of COFI in July 2018.
In the context of reporting on the state of the
world’s AqGR, it is worth noting that the ninth
session of the COFI Sub-Committee on
Aquaculture (COFI SCA), held in October 2017,
recognized a number of issues for future
attention, including the lack of capacit y in
genetic characterization of farmed species and
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