The Freshwater Fisheries Research Center (FFRC) of CAFS – 淡水渔业研究中心 is a comprehensive freshwater fishery research institution affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA). Established in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, in 1978, the center was designated a non-profit scientific research institution in 2002 by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance, and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, enabling the center to enter the national science and technology innovation system.
The FFRC currently employs 197 people, including 71 senior professionals. The center is home to various laboratories, such as the biotechnology laboratory, fishery environmental protection laboratory, aquatic biological resources laboratory, aquaculture laboratory, aquatic disease and feed laboratory, fishery economics and information laboratory, aquatic genetics and breeding laboratory, and the fishery ecological protection laboratory in the Huaihe River Basin. Additionally, it operates five scientific research experimental bases located in Nanquan, Yangshan, Dapu, Yangzhong, and Jingjiang.
The center hosts several important research facilities, including the Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries and Germplasm Resources Utilization, the Aquatic Product Quality, Safety and Environmental Factors Risk Assessment Laboratory, the Yangtze River Basin Fish Genetic Breeding Center, and the Tilapia Genetic Breeding Center. Other notable units include the Freshwater Shrimp Breeding Innovation Base, the Scientific Observation and Experimental Station of Fishery Resources and Environment, and the Aquatic Animal Nutrition and Research Center, among others.
The FFRC is active in international cooperation, having sent many groups of scientific personnel to over 50 countries for exchange visits and cooperative research. It maintains long-term collaborations with over 20 international organizations and universities, including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and institutions in Australia, Hungary, and the United States. As an essential part of its mission, the Asia-Pacific Comprehensive Fish Farming Research and Training Center has trained over 4,000 aquatic technology and management professionals from more than 130 countries and regions. It has received recognition as one of the first national agricultural foreign cooperation science and technology support and talent training bases.
In 2017, the center was recognized as one of the first national agricultural foreign cooperation science and technology support and talent training bases. In 2018, the center was awarded the “Chinese Government-FAO South-South Cooperation Special Contribution Unit”. In 2021, the center was approved as one of the first batches of “China-Africa Joint Center for Modern Agricultural Technology Exchange Demonstration and Training”.
More information (in Chinese): https://www.ffrc.cn/index.htm.
