FAO Fisheries and aquaculture circulars The Blue Growth Initiative supports productive, responsible and sustainable fisheries and aquaculture through governance and management of fishery resources and aquatic ecosystems, trade and marketing of fish and fisheries products, aquatic biodiversity and knowledge sharing.

This document summarizes the status and trends of aquaculture development in North America, focusing on Canada and the United States of America, with some discussion on Bermuda, Greenland, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Relevant aspects of the social and economic background of each country are followed by a description of current and evolving aquaculture practices and the needs of the industry in terms of resources, services and technologies. Impacts of aquaculture practices on the environment are discussed, followed by a consideration of the response by the industry to market demands and opportunities, and its contribution to social and economic development at regional, national and international levels. External pressures on the sector are described, including climate change and economic events, along with associated changes in governance. The review concludes with an analysis of the contributions of North American aquaculture to the Sustainable Development Goals, the FAO Strategic Objectives, and the FAO Blue Growth Initiative. Throughout the review, outstanding issues and success stories are identified, and a way forward is suggested for each main topic.

The present regional review and synthesis for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) provides an overview of major issues and trends in the aquaculture sector between 2004 and 2014 with emphasis on outstanding issues over the last five years. The regional review reflects development in 41 countries in SSA for which production was reported to FAO in 2014. The production volume and value data have been derived from the latest FAO global aquaculture dataset 1950-2014 (FishStat).

This report explores the alignment of aquaculture with the 2030 agenda's goals and targets, suggesting that existing guidance needs strengthening in cross-cutting areas - such as poverty alleviation and resource use efficiency.

This volume defines and analyzes the Blue Economy, a system that encompasses all the economic activities which are happening in and around the ocean within a sustainable development framework, with focus on countries in Asia. This work is timely, as Blue Economy activities account for a significant share of GDPs in the island and coastal economies in the Asia region, sustaining the livelihoods of one of the largest sections of the world's population. This book, therefore, assesses how the Blue Economy contributes to these livelihoods from economic and ecological perspectives and analyzes the various types of ecosystem services provided, and how these services are regulated and maintained. While most studies of the Blue Economy focus only on the economic aspects, this book provides ample statistical data to demonstrate why ecosystem services should additionally be considered for the estimation and valuation of the Blue economy. The book is primarily meant for researchers, students, and teachers in the fields of environmental and ocean economics, sustainable development, and ecosystem services, and will be of further interest to policymakers and government officials working in matters related to the Blue Economy and sustainability policy.

This review provides an overview of the status, trends, challenges and projections for aquaculture in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and evaluates the major trends during previous five years. While the sector still faces various internal and external challenges, the inherent natural potential of the region and rapidly increasing demand for fish has resulted in increased prioritization of aquaculture in almost all SSA countries and the African Union and subsidiary bodies have given special attention to the sector development. In order to realize its full potential, the SSA region needs to address a combination of overarching factors limiting aquaculture development so far, such as ineffective development approaches, weak governance frameworks, underdeveloped value chains and low availability as well as the high cost of key production inputs. Strengthened value chains for tilapia and catfish, promotion of new species, improved biosecurity, continued development of certification and associated harmonized best practices, improved information systems and innovations to address climate-change related impacts are some of the matters to be addressed. Financial institutions and private sector (national and international) have equally started investing, even though in the global picture such interventions may seem negligible, which makes the continent to call for more and higher levels technical and financial assistance from international partners. Upscale the status of production and productivity via healthy investments would help the sector to generate a variety of benefits including food security, livelihoods, employment, domestic and intra-regional markets, foreign currency income and other socio-economic benefits.

Space policy is now a top priority in international relations. This timely Research Agenda takes the definition of space policy itself as an object of analysis rather than as an unquestioned premise. It presents the multi-faceted spectrum of elements combined within space policy which are crucially relevant to security, welfare and modern society. Expert international contributors set out a forward-looking research agenda for the 2020s, identifying key problems and conflicts related to the topic and exploring policy, regulatory approaches and diplomatic mechanisms to reach possible solutions.

The Expert Consultation on the Development of the Sustainable Aquaculture Guidelines was held in Rome, Italy from 17 to 20 June 2019 to come out with a proposal for developing the Sustainable Aquaculture Guidelines to be presented in August 2019 at the tenth session of the Sub-Committee on Aquaculture of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI). The specific objectives of this Expert Consultation were to propose criteria for selecting case studies aimed at providing lessons learned for the development of the Sustainable Aquaculture Guidelines, and methodologies for documenting the case studies, for analysing the case studies to identify the lessons learned, and for developing the Sustainable Aquaculture Guidelines by also making use of existing guidelines. The consultation was attended by 15 experts, one resource person and FAO staff. The consultation was organized into both plenary and group discussions. The Experts agreed on a proposed methodology for identifying and selecting the lessons learned from strategies and experiences of aquaculture development worldwide; a methodology for documenting and analysing the lessons learned; a list of thematic modules; a gap analysis between existing guidelines and needs for new ones, and; an updated roadmap for the development of the Sustainable Aquaculture Guidelines.