By 2020, the world will be eating almost as much farmed as world fish, marine bacteria could yield the cure for cancer, and deep-sea bacteria may be exploited to consume oil spills. Science is moving ahead at a staggering speed, and the demand for genetic resources is growing rapidly – yes governance and policy lag far behind.

This groundbreaking work is the first to look at the issues of ownership, governance, and trade in aquatic resources. Blue Genes describes the growing demand for aquatic genetic resources and the desperate need to fill the policy vacuum for the management and conservation of aquatic biodiversity as a foundation for rules governing access to and use of aquatic genetic resources. Special attention is paid to the rights of indigenous and local communities providing access to those resources and their role in managing and conserving aquatic biodiversity.

The book concludes with policy recommendations specifically tailored to aquatic resources and uses six case studies from four continents to illustrate key issues.