Udayaramjothy presents on the role of industry in scaling up better management practices for shrimp aquaculture in India.

Ken Corpron presents on the role of certification in scaling up the national programme on better management practices for shrimp aquaculture in India.

Better management practices have proved to be a highly effective tool for the Indian shrimp farming industry. Work to extend adoption of the practices is ongoing and in this view a national workshop was held in Chennai, 16-18 May 2011 at the Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture to discuss scaling up strategies, to extend the concept to new areas and to involve more farmers and identify lessons learned that can be applied elsewhere.

In this issue:

Seaweed farming in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Scaling up better management practices: Empowering small scale farmers. Animal welfare for farmed fish...is Asia-Pacific ready? Aquaculture field schools as an extension methodology. Successful seed production of cobia, Rachycentron canadum in India. 22nd Governing Council Meeting and a new Director General. NACA receives the Magarita Lizárraga Medal. NACA receives Gold Medal Award from the Asian Fisheries Society. Striped catfish farming in the Mekong Delta and more.

In this issue:

22nd Governing Council Meeting and a new Director General. NACA receives the Margarita Lizárraga Medal. NACA receives Gold Medal Award from the Asian Fisheries Society. Special address by Dr E.G. Silas at the inaugural session of the 22nd Governing Council Meeting 9-12 May, Kochi, India. Striped catfish farming in the Mekong Delta: A tumultuous path to a global success. Sign up for the NACA Email Newsletter. Diseases in Asian Aquaculture VIII: Registration and abstract submission open. Food safety and biosecurity. Ramping up adoption of catfish BMPs. Scaling up BMPs: A national workshop. 2nd Aquaclimate project meeting.

The workshop was held in Chennai, India from 16-18 May 2011, at the Central Institute for Brackishwater Aquaculture. It was convened as an activity of the ASEM Aquaculture Platform, funded by the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme. The main purpose of the national workshop was to develop practical scaling up strategies at the national level and build consensus for an implementation plan for wider adoption of shrimp BMPs through a cluster management approach.

This project was conducted to demonstrate small scale shrimp farmer group access to international markets through certification schemes. This project proved that small-scale farmers organised into groups, can improve their technical capacities, and achieve access to markets. This achievement was the result of strong partnerships with producers, private sector and government agencies assisting to develop a sustainable business model for small scale aquaculture. Cost of compliance was found to be a significant barrier to entry.

Tài liệu này là phiên bản thứ 3.0 về “Thực hành quy phạm thực hành quản lý tốt hơn (BMP) cho nghề nuôi cá tra vùng Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long, Việt Nam”. Phiên bản này được chỉnh sửa từ phiên bản 2.0 dựa trên kết quả thí nghiệm ở 11 điểm trình diễn tự nguyện thực hiện theo BMP phiên bản 2.0 và ý kiến phản hồi của các hộ tham gia trình diễn và các nhóm liên quan khác trong các đợt hội thảo. Cùng với tài liệu này, nông dân cũng được dự án cung cấp một bản hướng dẫn BMP đơn giản hơn bằng tiếng Việt (chỉ bao gồm các bước thực hiện BMP) và sổ ghi chép các hoạt động hằng ngày. “Gói tài liệu” này được phổ biến đến người nuôi nhằm thúc đẩy quá trình ứng dụng BMP vào nghề nuôi cá tra ở Việt Nam.

The purpose of the workshop, held in Can Tho Vietnam on 16 April 2011, was to build capacity and awareness of prospective cluster farmers and their leaders on the adoption of better management practices through cluster based management. The workshop shared experiences in cluster formation from other Asian countries and developed a join work programme for implementation of the project.

A cluster-based approach allows small-scale farmers to participate in aquaculture certification schemes.

These guidelines prepare and enable aquaculture societies to seek group certification from independent third party certification programmes. The guidelines are independent of commodity and certification standards. They were developed as part of a collaborative MPEDA/NaCSA/NACA project on the certification of aquaculture societies. Draft guidelines developed by the project partners were discussed at the inception meeting on aquacutlure society certifiction held at Kakinada during 1-2 September 2009.

This document is Version 3.0 of “Better Management Practices for Catfish Aquaculture in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam”. It incorporates revisions of previous versions and experiences from demonstration farms, as well as feedback from a National CatFish BMP Workshop, held 23-24 November 2010 in Long Xuyen City, An Giang Province, involving all stakeholders of the tra/striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) farming sector of the Lower Mekong Delta. A Vietnamese translation is available.

This regional review study is an effort to promote improved inland fisheries management under the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. It covers ten Asian countries with significant inland capture fisheries, namely Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam. The papers were presented and discussed at a regional workshop held from 8-11 February 2010 in Pattaya, Thailand. Audio recordings of the presentations are also available for download.

In this issue:

Recent developments and future prospects of inland aquaculture in Asia. Factors influencing success of Penaeus vannamei culture. Freshwater prawn farming in a carbon-nitrogen controlled periphyton-based system: A sustainable approach to increase stagnant pond productivity. Constraints to fish production in community ponds in Orissa, India. Continued confidence in inland fisheries developmentg of a Sri Lankan youth begins to pay off. The Asia-Pacific Quarterly Aquatic Animal Disease Report: 12 years and beyond.

In this issue:

Better management practices for catfish aquaculture released. 9th Meeting of the Asia Regional Advisory Group on Aquatic Animal Health. Trialling ocean temperature forecasts for fish farms. Global Conference on Aquaculture 2010: Publications. Capacity of small holder ASEAN aquaculture farmers for competitive and sustainable aquaculture strengthened.

This presentation builds on countries’ recent experiences to review the role of aquaculture in countries’ socio-economic growth and development, and discusses how institutional arrangements can lead to aquaculture’s enhanced net benefits to society. Aquaculture growth has recently been slowing down, and the sector is facing various resource, environmental, economic, knowledge and institutional constraints. Population growth, economic expansion and increasing preference for healthy food are expected to sustain the demand for aquaculture products.

Aquaculture is today considered the only viable option for meeting the increasing future demand for fish and seafood products. There are concerns that unconstrained sectoral expansion and intensification, coupled with its ecological and social impacts, globalisation and fluctuation of markets and resources, climate change may have undesirable impacts on the resilience of social-ecological systems. Aquaculture makes demands on, but also can provide a range of ecosystem services.

Public and private sectors, including non-governmental agencies are all involved in provision of aquaculture services, although roles and responsibilities differ. Growth in aquaculture over the past 10 years, under the influence of a range of global drivers, has changed not only the nature of services required but also the way in which these services are delivered. In less-developed and newly emerging aquaculture countries, there are still considerable gaps in services, particularly in rural areas.

An essential element for the ecosystem approach to aquaculture is the use of virtual technology and decision-support tools, particularly if developing nations are to promote the key elements of aquaculture sustainability. We provide an overview of current and emerging issues and trends related to this topic over the past decade, an assessment of progress with regard to the expectations and commitments expressed in the Bangkok Declaration and conclude with some thoughts for the future.

It has been recognised that farmers’ innovations are crucial in order to achieve cumulative growth, both economically and socially. However, several social, political, economical and environmental factors have hampered farmers’ innovation, such as lack of information on aquaculture, inadequate science and technology policies and lack of governmental support. The panel will assess crucial factors needed to promote, encourage and support farmers’ innovative processesand transform developing countries to innovatoin-driven economies.