Chile to lead FAO group on aquatic genetic resources for food and aquaculture

The head of the Health and Pest Management Unit of the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Subpesca), Alejandro Barrientos, is the new vice president of the FAO Intergovernmental Working Group on Aquatic Genetic Resources for Food and Aquaculture. Thus, Chile will represent the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on issues related to aquatic genetic resources.

This group consists of Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Ecuador, and is part of the Commission on Genetic Resources that promotes biodiversity conservation for food and agriculture. The appointment took place during the fifth meeting of the FAO Group held in Rome, Italy.

According to Barrientos, this has been made possible thanks to the development of the Global Action Plan for the Conservation, Sustainable Use, and Development of Aquatic Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (GAP) by Subpesca.

"Additionally, our efforts were highlighted, as we are one of the few countries that worked to establish a strategy for the implementation of the global action plan for the conservation, sustainable use, and development of Aquatic Genetic Resources (AGR) for food and agriculture in aquaculture and fisheries," he added.

Subpesca, the Ministry of the Environment, and the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca), together with the Blue Nature Alliance (BNA), signed a collaboration in April to protect Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) through surveillance, enforcement, and monitoring.