On August 16, the “2022 Forum on Freshwater Aquaculture Science and Innovation for Belt & Road Countries” was held at FFRC.

Under the specific guidance of the Department of International Cooperation, MARA, the Bureau of Fishery, MARA, and the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, this forum is organized by the Freshwater Fisheries Research Center, and co-organized by the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) China Office, Network of Aquaculture Centres in Central and Eastern Europe (NACEE), Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Indonesian Ministry of Marine Fisheries, etc.

With the theme of “Constructing a Smart Valley for Freshwater Fisheries and Promoting the Prosperity of the ‘Belt and Road’ Fishery Industry”, the forum aims to implement the goals and tasks of the China-Africa Joint Center for Modern Agrotechnology Exchange, Demonstration and Training, promote the construction of the “Science and Technology Innovation Institute of China” and the exchange and cooperation of freshwater fishery science and technology among countries along the “Belt and Road”, meets the needs of domestic and foreign industries, disseminates and exchanges concepts, technologies and models for the sustainable development of freshwater aquaculture, and promotes the healthy and sustainable development of aquaculture in countries along the “Belt and Road”. More than 500 representatives from international organizations such as FAO, WFP, NACA, and NACEE, as well as fishery authorities, scientific research management, educational institutions, industry associations, and leading aquatic enterprises in 44 countries including China, Germany, France, Italy, and Norway, registered to participate. The forum was presided over by Ge Xianping, Secretary of the Party Committee of FFRC, and the chiefs of relevant departments of FFRC participated in the event.

Yu Peimin, Chief of the Department of International Cooperation, MARA, said in his speech that the Chinese government attaches great importance to freshwater fisheries, focuses on developing freshwater aquaculture, and takes practical and effective measures to promote the high-quality development of freshwater fisheries. The convening of the Forum for International Freshwater Aquaculture Science and Innovation for Belt & Road Countries will build a high-quality exchange platform for the development of international freshwater fishery, which is conducive to further innovation cooperation, knowledge sharing and technology transfer in the freshwater fishery industry, improving the freshwater fishery industry chain and supply chain, and contributing to the development of the global freshwater fishery industry to a higher level.

Qu Sixi, Director of WFP China Office, said that freshwater aquaculture is crucial to maintaining global food security and occupies a dominant position in global aquaculture. Freshwater aquaculture produces more food at less cost than marine culture and has the potential to continue to expand. In addition, freshwater aquaculture is a smallholder-friendly production method that plays an important role in improving the livelihoods of smallholders. At the same time, freshwater aquaculture is resilient to many of the impacts of climate change, creating opportunities for mitigation and adaptation to global climate change. He believed that South-South cooperation can become a promoter of freshwater aquaculture technology innovation and provide an important platform for developing countries to share solutions and exchange aquaculture experience.

Huang Jie, Director-General of NACA said that freshwater aquaculture plays an important role in the Asia-Pacific region, providing important guarantees for food security, key nutrients, maintaining rural livelihoods and alleviating poverty. Technological innovation in aquaculture is the key driving force for the sustainable development of the aquaculture industry, and technological innovation in aquaculture is also the internal driving force for the continued development of freshwater aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region, and it will enable countries in the region to recognize the importance of cooperation and exchange in aquaculture policy, research on new technologies, industry investment, information sharing, education and training.

Haru Rahayu, Director of the General Administration of Fisheries of Indonesian Ministry of Marine Fisheries, spoke as the representative of the foreign co-organizers. He said that in July this year, at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited China, and the two sides renewed the agreement on jointly promoting the “Belt and Road”. Initiating a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with the concept of “Global Ocean Fulcrum”, he expected that under the highest instructions of the two presidents of state, the fishery science and technology cooperation between Indonesian Ministry of Marine Fisheries and Freshwater Fisheries Research Center will reach a new level.

Liu Yingjie, Vice President of Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences (CAFS), as the highest academic institution for fisheries science and research in China, the CAFS has been committed to building a highland for frontier scientific innovation, a cradle of core technologies and a base for the transformation and application of scientific achievements. He hoped to fully rely on the scientific and technological innovation platform of the CAFS and the Global Alliance for Sustainable Aquaculture, the CAFS can carry out knowledge sharing, scientific and technological exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries under the framework of the “Belt and Road” initiative and South-South cooperation, so as to make joint efforts to create a better future for the sustainable development of global fisheries.

At the forum, several well-known domestic experts and scholars made keynote reports on the innovation of China’s farmed fish breeding industry, fishery science and technology research and international cooperation, rice-fish farming technology and system innovation, digital technology innovation and digitization in aquaculture. Several leaders and project experts from international organizations such as FAO, NACEE, WFP, etc., made special presentation on the improvement of global food security and stability through South-South cooperation, the current situation and development trend of global fishery science and technology innovation, the current situation and future development direction of aquaculture science and technology in Central and Eastern Europe, etc.. Senior officials and experts from the fishery departments of many countries made thematic reports on the technological innovation progress and development bottlenecks in the development of freshwater aquaculture in their respective countries, and conducted lively discussions with representatives from other countries.

This forum was supported by the domestic institutions such as Nanjing Agricultural University, Huazhong Agricultural University, Ningbo University, Shanghai Ocean University, Guangdong Ocean University, Heilongjiang Fisheries Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangdong Hengxing Feed Industry Co., Ltd., Tongwei Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Famsun Group, Dehomic Biotechnology Group Co., Ltd., Qingdao Kenon Company, Hanove Animal Health Products Co.,Ltd. and so on.

The “2022 Forum on Freshwater Aquaculture Science and Innovation for Belt & Road Countries” built a high-level platform for global fisheries science and technology innovation and industrial cooperation, and strongly promoted global freshwater aquaculture science and technology cooperation and exchange. The participants expressed that they would rely on the “Belt and Road” science and innovation platform and fisheries cooperation platform of FFRC to give priority to pragmatic cooperation on hot topics such as the aquatic germplasm, integrated rice- fish farming, carbon sink fishery, facility fishery, digital aquaculture, food security and international scientific and technological cooperation in fisheries, which are of common concern in the global aquaculture field. , to promote international collaborative innovation in fishery science and technology, and jointly develop innovative aquaculture technologies and models. As the organizer, FFRC said that facing the future, it will actively practice the concept of a community with a shared future for global fishery development, use practical actions to promote a higher level of “Belt and Road” fishery scientific and technical innovation and development, and promote the establishment of the new pattern of “Belt and Road” fishery development.