Professor Jiansan Jia, a Chinese national, joined the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 1998, and has dedicated all his efforts in promoting sustainable development and management of fisheries and aquaculture at global and regional levels. He has been the Chief of Aquaculture Service for 15 years, overseeing the FAO aquaculture programme through provision of policy advice, technical assistance and information and knowledge sharing and capacity building for developing countries. He was appointed Deputy Director of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division of FAO in 2012. Before FAO, Professor Jia worked for the Ministry of Agriculture in China for more than 20 years, holding a number of leading positions at local and central governmental and non-governmental institutions. He was involved in agriculture and rural development, fisheries and aquaculture management and participated extensively in bilateral and multi-lateral fisheries negotiations as well as distant water fishing operations, and supervised and coordinated international cooperation between China and various governments and international organisations in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries. He retired from FAO in 2017 and is now a Visiting Professor at the Shanghai Ocean University in China.
My main research interests are the growth improvement of candidate brackishwater aquaculture species using molecular tools. I also conduct research on the molecular systematics of coastal decapod crustaceans, especially shrimps of the Penaeidae and Palaemonidae. My more recent research has focused on mangrove and ichthyo-faunal biodiversity of the remotely located Andaman and Nicobar group of islands. I gained my PhD in Aquaculture from the ICAR Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai.
My research interests include conservation genetics and genomics in natural populations of fishes. In the course of twenty five years' research experience, I have developed genetic resources to generate the information to be utilised in conservation and management of natural resources of fishes of India. Additionally, I have studied signatures of natural selection and genomic diversity in important freshwater fish species to build genomic resources and to gain knowledge about functional biodiversity. I am also working on deciphering molecular basis of tolerance in fishes for abiotic stresses, like hypoxia, high temperature and high ammonia tolerance. At present, I have over hundred publications with an H-index of 18.
My research focuses on nutritional physiology with the aims of understanding how aquatic animals use and waste nutrients including amino acids, fatty acids, and minerals. This encompasses understanding climate change effects, growth under sub-optimum conditions and developing new ingredients and aquafeeds. My PhD was on nutritional bioenergetics of grass carp and his interest in warm water animals continues with research on sea bass (barramundi) and tropical lobster species. I am also very interested in globally relevant aquaculture systems including polyculture, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), recirculation aquaculture systems (RAS) and off-shore aquaculture.
My research interests include the reproduction and breeding of ornamental fishes and the standardisation of aquaculture. I have 34 years’ research experience in fish reproduction and breeding, and research projects on ornamental fish from 2001. I started ornamental fish-culture standardisation from 2009. I am Secretary-General of the Subcommittee on Aquarium Fish of the National Technical Committee on Aquaculture of the Standardization Administration of China.
My research interests include aquatic stress physiology and molecular ecotoxicology; aquatic molecular immunology; aquatic reproductive physiology; aquatic genetics and breeding. I have more than thirty years’ research experience in related fields. I have received more than twenty research grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the National Key Research and Development Project of China, the National Institute of Health (NIH, USA), the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission (GLFC, USA & Canada). I have published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and received several academic awards from academic organizations such as the Chinese Fisheries Society. I have a lot of experience in review of academic articles submitted to top journals in the field and review of research proposals submitted to NIH, NSFC, the National Centre of Science and Technology Evaluation of Kazakhstan, and other scientific foundations. I also have worked as a technical consultant to provide professional guidance for the industry for many years.
My research interests major in fish nutrition and feeding and I have authored over 80 scientific publications and book chapters on this topic. My extension program focuses on improving the understanding of molecular mechanisms involved in amino acid and carbohydrate utilization and metabolism among fish species, supported by funding from the National Science Foundation and collaborative research with industry. My research interests also include reducing dietary fishmeal and fish oil levels. Over the last 12 years, I have focussed on replacing fishmeal with cheaper plant proteins in the diet of aquatic animals.
My research interests include the breeding and culture of freshwater fish, and healthy aquaculture technology and management. I have fifteen years’ research experience in breeding and culture of freshwater fish; the development of stock enhancement programmes for integrated fish farming incorporating fish and vegetables; and industrial in-pond raceway recirculating aquaculture technology. I am a master student supervisor of the College of Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai Ocean University, and a scientific Special Commissioner of Aquaculture in Jiangsu province, China.
My research interests include fish parasite systematics, taxonomy, evolution and control in aquaculture, and the interaction between bacterial pathogens and fish hosts. I have ten years’ research and practical experience in freshwater fish (carps, tilapia, and catfish) disease diagnosis and control. I use traditional morphological and molecular methods to reveal underestimated fish parasite diversity, reveal the response of opportunistic bacterial pathogens to fish host stress, and screen medical plant extracts to control fish disease in aquaculture.
My research interests include fisheries eco-environmental monitoring, essential habitat assessment, resource conservation and discrimination of the geographic origin of fishery products. I have 20 years’ research experience in corresponding conservation biology, pollution ecology, and eco-toxicology, especially through the use of bioindicators (e.g., otolith microchemistry of freshwater, diadromous and marine fishes; “Freshwater Mussel Watch” monitoring).
