The aim of the project is to develop a basis fora national and international regulationofaccess aquatic genetic resources for breeding and equitable sharing of the benefits rising from such use. By combining law, biology, and political science, the pr oject will aquire systematic knowledge on the effects of corporate strategies and international and national regulations. The interdiciplinarity will allow foran understanding of the specific features ofaquatic genetic resources that influence the scop e and effects of legal regulation. The analysis will be based on case studies of germplasm use in aquaculture, drawn from the angle of utilisation ofsalmon germplasm within Norway. To narrow down this large field of inquiry, the case study will primarily limit its scope to examine two as pects: i)access from the “wild” (bioprospecting) and ii) access and exchange between breeders. Main research questions are i) how property rights to germplasm affect access to germplasm, including access for small-scale breeders? and ii) how users and pr oviders ofsalmon germplasm perceive that equity issues are affected by rights to the propagating material and what are their strategies with a view to this policy situation?