The conservation and sustainable use of aquatic genetic resources is characterised by intensive international cooperation, in which Germany plays an important role.
The main international cooperation partner in the field of AqGR is the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and its Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA). The CGRFA is the only standing commission that discusses and negotiates exclusively biodiversity issues in the food and agriculture sector. Germany intensively promotes cooperation with the CGRFA, including in the area of AqGR. For example, the "State of the World's Report on Aquatic Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture", which is based on the national reports of 92 countries, was substantially supported by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). The Information and Coordination Centre for Biological Diversity (IBV) of the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (BLE) prepared the German national report on behalf of the BMEL and in cooperation with the Expert Committee on Aquatic Genetic Resources. It also sent a representative of the IBV to international working groups that accompany the work of the FAO in the field of aquatic genetic resources. The BMEL also provides funds to enable developing countries to participate in the reporting process and to finance individual projects. This includes, for example, the creation of a database, coordinated by the FAO, which will in future record strains of important aquaculture species.
As the national contact point, the IBV fulfils the German reporting obligations to the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO) and supports the BMEL in representing German interests within the EU-NASCO membership. NASCO is a Regional Fisheries Organisation dedicated to the conservation, restoration, promotion and management of salmon throughout the North Atlantic Basin, based on scientific advice on this migratory fish species. NASCO is also the main initiator of the
International Year of Salmon, a multi-year initiative focused on 2019.
