Dr Matthias Halwart heads the Sustainable Aquaculture – Global and Regional Processes Team of the FAO Fisheries Division and serves as Technical Secretary of the global intergovernmental forum on aquaculture, the COFI Sub-Committee on Aquaculture.
During his over 30-year professional career, he has covered a broad range of subjects predominantly in the fields of general aquaculture development, aquatic biodiversity, and integrated agriculture-aquaculture where he also obtained his PhD.

Over the years Dr Halwart has supported the growth of aquaculture through his work in many development projects, mainly in Asia and Africa, and through his role as coordinator of major events, studies and reviews such as on global and regional cage aquaculture or on The State of the World’s Aquatic Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. In September 2021, he will be convening the FAO/NACA Global Conference on Aquaculture Millennium+20 under the theme Aquaculture for Food and Sustainable Development which will bring together governments, business, academia and civil society to define and build consensus on priorities and actions needed for advancing aquaculture as a sustainable and competitive food production sector.