OBON – FAO Workshop
Leveraging Biomolecular Technologies for Supporting Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture
FAO Headquarters, Rome, September 2-4, 2025
The Ocean Biomolecular Observing Network (OBON), a UN Ocean Decade-endorsed programme led by the Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO), was established by a broad consortium of international and regional organisations, research institutions, and NGOs dedicated to advancing biomolecular observation of the ocean. In collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), OBON is organising a workshop aimed at developing pathways to support the management of aquatic resources by leveraging biomolecular technologies. The following section provides background and context for this initiative.
Agenda (updated 1 Sept)
Day 1: Introduction and Collaboration Kick-off
Tuesday 2nd September: 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Morning Session: Setting the Stage
9:00 – 09:10 AM
Welcome – [FAO Official] Manuel Barange, ADG, Director of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division.
9:10 – 09:30 AM
Workshop overview and objectives
9:30 – 10:15 AM
Challenges in applying biomolecular tools – global perspectives from fisheries and aquaculture managers. – Hassan Moustahfid, NOAA/US IOOS – Remote presentation via zoom.
10:15 – 11:00 AM
Introduction to biomolecular technologies in supporting sustainable fisheries and aquaculture – Michael Bunce, Director of OceanOmics and Ecosystem Intelligence at the Minderoo Foundation.
11:00 – 11:15 AM
Coffee break
11:15 – 12:00 PM
Examples of existing good practices to inspire new approaches in supporting sustainable fisheries and aquaculture ( 7 minutes each)
- Integration of eDNA-based approaches in fisheries science: insights, experiences, and perspectives from the Mediterranean Sea. – Tommaso Russo
- eDNA in Action: From Biodiversity Assessments to Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture in the Red Sea – Susana Carvalho
- Environmental DNA Applications in Türkiye: Bridging Science and Policy for Sustainable Aquatic Resource Management – Emre Keskin
- eDNA Implementation Progress at Fisheries and Oceans Canada – Anaïs Lacoursière-Roussel
- eDNA for fisheries monitoring: insights from the Celtic Sea – Vera Fonseca
- eDNA-based tools to trace sustainability from fishery to fork – Lahsen Ababouch.
- How biomolecular evidence can support conservation of marine fishes – Martin Genner
12:00 – 12:30 PM
Open discussion (Q&A)
12:30 – 1:30 PM
Lunch break
Afternoon Session: Identify goals, challenges and obstacles.
1:30 – 1:40 PM
Breakout session 1 – Introduction to activity
1:40 – 3:00 PM
Participants break into small groups to identify key goals, challenges and obstacles facing the use of biomolecular tools in marine resources management.
3:00 – 3:30 PM
Coffee break
3:30 – 4:30 PM
Q&A and report from Breakout session 1
4:30 – 5:30 PM
Day 1 Feedback and Reflection and Day 2 Objectives
5:30 PM
Day 1 Adjourn
6:00 PM
Social event – FAO building, 8th Floor.
Day 2: Deep Dive into Collaborative Strategy Development
Wednesday 3rd September: 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Morning Session: Strategy development
9:00 – 10:15 AM
Presentations on strategies for use of biomolecular tools to address sustainable fisheries/aquaculture management based on case studies (7 minutes each)
Introduction: Successes and Challenges by Anaïs Lacoursière-Roussel
- ‘Omics Applications for Fisheries- Kelly Goodwin
- Progress and Roadblocks to Implementation in Aquaculture, and Potential Approaches to Address Them: Perspectives from Norway, New Zealand, and Australia – Nigel Keeley
- Incorporating biomolecular tools into the existing management frameworks – Mark Dimech
- Changing Seas, Changing Fish: What 12 Years of eDNA Tells Us About Shifting Fish Populations and Future Monitoring – Karen Tait
- Enhancing species detection and monitoring through biomolecular tools to target marine fisheries conservation actions in the Colombian Pacific – Vanessa Yepes
- Integrating fisheries and biomolecular tools for management and sustainability in the Humboldt Current system, with a focus on bycatch reduction. – Giovanna Sotil & Javier Quiñones.
- Fisheries and Aquaculture Management Utilizing Biomolecular Tools in Panama – Yazmin Villareal (Pre-recorded with English Subtitles).
- Developing passive environmental DNA biomonitoring for detecting offshore marine biodiversity in South Africa – Sophie Von der Heyden.
Q&A – 15 Minutes
10:15 -10:30 AM
Coffee break
10:30 – 12:00 PM
Breakout session 2 – Part I
Themes and Facilitators
1. Aquaculture (Anais Lacoursiere & Nigel Keeley)
- Using biomolecular tools to address issues on disease/pathogens, escapement, characterizing food, introduction and transfer, etc.
2. Ecosystem-based management approaches (Mark Dimech & Mike Bunce)
- Tools to address ecosystem and biodiversity assessment and management, including species composition, spatial and temporal resolution of aquatic biology, biodiversity baselines and conservation issues.
3. Stock assessment (Eiup Mumptas & Warwick Sauer)
- Support the estimation of abundance and biomass for improved stock assessments.
- Reduce labor-intensive taxonomic identification and improve species ID accuracy.
12:30 – 1:30 PM
Lunch break
Afternoon Session: Breakout 2 (continuation)
1:00 – 3:30 PM
Breakout session 2 – Part II.
4. Compliance and enforcement (Kelly Goodwin & Lahsen Ababouch)
- Tools to support the reduction of IUU fishing, improve seafood traceability, eco-labeling and track bycatch, Aquaculture introduction and transfer.
5. Biomolecular data (Susana Carvalho & TBC)
- Integration, accessibility, access benefit sharing for research and management, following FAIR and CARE principles to maximize benefits.
6. Capacity Development (Mattie Rodrigue & Martin Genner)
- Foster analytical expertise for biomolecular data analysis and synthesis and products development for Management
3:30 – 4:00 PM
Coffee Break
4:00 – 5:00 PM
Report and discussion from Breakout sessions. Groups will seek feedback to refine their recommendations and incorporate diverse perspectives.
5:15 – 5:30 PM
Day 3 Objectives
5:30 PM
Day 2 Adjourn
Day 3: Sharing Outcomes and Future Collaboration
Thursday 4th September: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
8:45 AM
Morning coffee
Working Group Report-Outs
9:00 – 10:30 AM
From today’s capacity to tomorrow’s potential
- Identify Short (5 years) and long term (20 years) recommendations.
- Audience – Who are the recommendations for?
- Managers
- Scientists
- Commercial
- Policy Makers
- Other stakeholders
- What can we do to maximise the potential for recommendations
- to be adopted and implemented?
- Priority actions required for implementation.
10:30 – 11:30 AM
Final discussion
- Have we addressed the challenges, goals and opportunities identified on Day 1?
- How would this envision future benefit countries?
- Economically, Sustainability, Health, Food Security, etc.
11:30 – 12:00 PM
Coffee Break/Steering Committee discussion
Wrap-Up Session: Next Steps and Ongoing Collaboration
12:00 – 1:00 PM
Creating a Roadmap for Moving Forward: Plan for Delivering on Workshop Outcomes
Plan for staying connected through ongoing communication channels and discuss opportunities for continued collaboration among participants.
1:00 – 1:30 PM
Closing Remarks and Reflections.
End of Workshop
Background
Global fisheries and aquaculture production have expanded dramatically over the past seven decades, from 19 million tonnes of capture fisheries and 638,457 tonnes of aquaculture in 1950 to over 92.3 million and 130.9 million tonnes, respectively, in 2022 (FAO, 2024). This rapid growth has raised sustainability concerns, especially regarding bycatch impacts and the conservation of endangered, threatened, and protected species (Gray & Kennelly, 2018; Lewison et al., 2004).
Aquatic products are now the world’s most traded food commodity, involving over 230 countries (SOFIA, 2024). Trade globalization, technological innovation, and consumer demand trends have brought traceability challenges and emphasized the need to ensure the sustainability, legality, and safety of aquatic products. Meanwhile, the proportion of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels has continued to decline, reaching 62.3% in 2021 (FAO, 2024).
Sustainable harvesting demands accurate data on species identification, population size, dynamics, and exploitation rates. Traditional fishery-dependent and independent methods, while valuable, face biases and limitations (Hilborn & Walters, 1992; Dennis et al., 2015). Biomolecular technologies, such as qPCR, DNA (meta)barcoding, and especially environmental DNA (eDNA)-based approaches, offer transformative, non-invasive alternatives that improve monitoring, biodiversity assessments, and management responsiveness.
eDNA-based approaches and similar tools provide major advantages: high detection rates, cost-effectiveness, reduced labour, and scalability for long-term monitoring (Knudsen & McDonald, 2019; Russo et al., 2021). With careful integration into existing frameworks, biomolecular technologies can significantly enhance aquatic ecosystem assessments.
Applications include:
- Strengthening eco-labelling and combating illegal fishing (Willette et al., 2023)
- Aquatic biomonitoring with expanded spatial-temporal resolution (Thomsen &Willerslev, 2015)
- Reducing labour in taxonomic identification (Ramírez-Amaro et al., 2022)
- Improving species identification and seafood traceability (Gleadall et al., 2024)
- Climate change and biodiversity monitoring
- Fish abundance and biomass estimation (Lacoursière-Roussel et al., 2016)
- Generating population genetics data for conservation (Abdul-Muneer, 2014)
Workshop Overview
Goal:
Accelerate the use of biomolecular technologies for aquatic resource monitoring, assessment, and sustainable management.
Format:
An in-person 2.5-day workshop hosted at FAO Headquarters, Rome, combining expert talks, case studies, collaborative sessions, and flexible, participant-driven discussions.
Audience:
Researchers, practitioners, government agencies, RFMOs, UN bodies, NGOs, and industry representatives. Broad participation will encourage cross-sector learning, resource sharing, and strategic collaboration to advance biomolecular applications in fisheries management.
Vision:
By utilizing the strengths of environmental DNA (eDNA) which is non-invasive, affordable, and highly sensitive, fisheries and conservation strategies will become more adaptive, responsive, and ecosystem informed.
Expected Outcomes
1. Aquaculture Monitoring
Explore how biomolecular tools supports pathogen detection, escapee monitoring, water quality assessments, and environmental impact evaluations.
2. Fish Stock Assessment Using eDNA
Discuss biomolecular tools for refining estimates of abundance, distribution, and genetic diversity, especially for hard-to-monitor species.
3. Ecosystem-Based Management Approach
Explore use of biomolecular tools for biodiversity tracking, invasive species detection, and habitat health assessments to support adaptive, ecosystem-based management.
4. Guiding Fishery Harvesting Decisions
Discussion of how biomolecular tools can inform dynamic management measures, such as adjusting quotas, planning seasonal closures, and protecting critical life stages.
5. Development of an Integrated Framework
Work toward creating practical guidance for biomolecular sampling, interpretation, and integration with existing fisheries management systems.
6. Co-Designing Trials and Implementation Pathways
Collaborate with managers and industry stakeholders to identify challenges and opportunities for pilot trials, scaling lab services, and operationalizing biomolecular technologies.
Steering Group
| Chair: Margaret Leinen | Scripps Institution of Oceanography and UCSD, USA |
| Co-Chair: Hassan Moustahfid | NOAA, IOOS , USA |
| Eric Raes | Minderoo, Australia |
| Anaïs Lacoursière-Roussel | DFO, Canada |
| Warwick Sauer | Rhodes University, South Africa |
| Martin Genner | University of Bristol, UK |
| Lahsen Ababouch | UN FAO, Italy and RFMO GFCM |
| Sharon Appleyard, | CSIRO, Australia |
| Mark Dimech | KAUST, Saudi Arabia |
| Tommaso Russo | University of Rome Tor Vergata, CESTHA, Italy |
| Mattie Rodriguez | OceanX, USA |
| Luz H Rodriguez-Vargas | OBON Programme Manager |
Supported by:
With thanks to the Minderoo Foundation and Dalio Philanthropies for the financial support that makes this workshop possible.
Thanks also to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for providing a venue, and to POGO for logistical support.
Contact Us
For additional information please contact – Luz H Rodriguez – OBON Programme Manager – OBONxFAO-2025@pml.ac.uk
