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.

The aquaculture industry globally is characterised by an endemic cyclicity that goes beyond good or bad management and affects good companies and bad. This presentation aims to address the boom and bust phenomenon in the industry by examining some of the solutions that can help smooth out its cyclicity. The role of information gathering, management and analysis for decision making is discussed. The presentation includes a brief review of the global market for aquaculture products.

Certification schemes for both wild and farmed products are gaining market share in many developed country markets. In a not too distant future, aquaculture’s share of total supply for human consumption will rise to somewhere between 60 and 70 percent. This will have a profound impact on the sector’s ability to shape world markets but it will also challenge the sector’s ability to respond successfully to evolving consumer needs.

As standards, certification schemes and claims proliferate, their value is being questioned. Producers and producing countries in particular question whether these private standards and certification schemes duplicate or complement government work, especially in relation to food safety and animal health. The expert panel will review current practices and future trends in market-based quality standards and certification schemes in aquaculture, including international initiatives to promote transparent market standards for improved safety, quality and sustainability in aquaculture. 

There is unprecedented growth in the demand for organic food and new areas of organic food production, such as fish, are proving increasingly popular. Today, several specific and relatively precise standards of organic aquaculture production (hatchery, feed, grow-out) and processing exist which aim at achieving optimal agro-ecosystems which are socially, ecologically and economically sustainable. Around 80 different organic aquaculture standards exist, both public as well as private.

Between 70 and 80 percent of Asian farmers are estimated to be small-scale farmers. It is clear that increasing globalisation and the resultant trade liberalisation of aquaculture products is leading towards the marginalisation and exclusion of individual small-scale producers. There is a need for changing the management of both large- and small-scale producers to remain competitive. Recent experiences show that establishment of farmer societies are effective.

The Phuket Consensus is a declaration on aquaculture development endorsed by participants of the Global Conference on Aquaculture 2010, held in Phuket, Thailand, 22-25 September. The consensus builds on the Bangkok Declaration, which was formulated at the International Conference on Aquaculture in the Third Millennium, held in Bangkok, 20-25 February 2000. The consensus and declaration provide strategic guidance on sustainable development of aquaculture considering social, environmental, technical and economic issues.

In this issue:

Relative efficacies of lobsters Panulirus ornatus and P. homarus cultured using pellet feeds and trash fish, Vietnam. Tilapia in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Marketing low-value cultured fish in Bangladesh: An evaluation of value chain. Current practices of rice field eel Monopterus albus culture in Vietnam. Self-help group makes fisherwomen self-relian: A story of success. Small indigenous freshwater fish species of India: Significance, conservation and utilisation. 

This report is the outcome of a study conducted by NACA to assess the shrimp price trends in Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh from January 2008 to June 2009, updating the previous study Evaluation of the impact of the Indian Ocean Tsunami and US Anti-Dumping Duties on the Shrimp Farming Sector of South and South-East Asia, 2006. The previous study highlighted the need for continuous collection of price data at all levels in the supply chain.

In this issue:

Development of modern aquaculture in Java, Indonesia. Better management practices - gateway to sustainability. Update on organic scampi aquaculture in Andhra Pradesh. Domestic fish marketing in south India. Seed rearing of catfish Clarias batrachus. Supply and use of catfish Pangasianodon hypopthalmus seed in the Mekong Delta. Risk analysis and sustainability of catfish seed in the Mekong Delta. Life of a river in the Himalaya: Ecological study of the Trisuli River, Nepal and more.

In this issue:

GLOBALGAP standard in Thai shrimp farms: Mission (im)possible? The Victorian trout industry and the bushfires. Small-scale aquaculture in the Ayeyarwady Delta, Myanmar. The history, status and future prospects of monosex tilapia culture in Thailand. Mangroves of Nakhon Si Thammaarat Province in Souther Thailand. Induced breeding of pacu Piaractus brachypomus in captivity. Fumosins - mycotoxins of increasing importance in fish. Microsatellite DNA markers, a fisheries perspective. Formulated feed for tiger grouper grow out.

In this issue:

NORAD funded project on climate change initiated. Sign up for our free email newsletter service! Market chains and biosecurity of 'low value' aquaculture commodities. Global conference on aquaculture 2010. Extending information and technical services to aquaculture farmer groups in Aceh. Giant Prawn 2011, Quindao, China. Alien species in aquaculture and biodiversity: A paradox in food production. Aquatic ecosystems and development: Comparative Asian perspectives. Macrobrachium: The culture of freshwater prawns.

In this issue:

Myanmar revisited. Harvesting, traditional preservation and marketing of fishes of Chalan Beel, Bangladesh. Role of community in production and supply of larger, quality fingerlings. Can rice-fish farming provide food security in Bangladesh? Nutritional and food security for rural poor through multi-commodity production from a lake of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Emerging boost in Sri Lankan reservoir fish production. Farming the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium malcolmnsonii. Breeding and seed production of catfish Ompok pabda.

This report provides an appraisal of the status of mangrove ecosystems and linkages with associated communities and their livelihoods. The report addresses ecosystem health and function, the livelihoods of poor people, goods and services and gender issues. The major causes of impacts to mangrove forest and related aquatic resources are considered along with community perceptions of trends in natural resource quantity, economy, social relations and conflicts. Relevant policies and laws are briefly reviewed.

This workshop was the fifth in a series of consultations to prepare the international guidelines for aquaculture certification. The workshop had a strong emphasis on aquaculture products from China, and explored opportunities and challenges for implementing the certification guidelines in China towards improving overall aquatic production and trade of aquaculture products. The workshop considered that international guidelines for aquaculture certification would provide a useful basis for development of standards for certification of aquaculture products in China.

Fish and fish products are crucial in the nutrition and livelihoods of the Myanmar people. However, little information is available on their patterns of consumption, inter-regional differences, availability and types of fish consumed. This report is the outcome of two concurrent missions, one to coastal areas and one to inland areas. The report includes the findings of the missions as well as conclusions and recommendations in support of the long-term sustainability of fishery resources in Myanmar.

The workshop was the second in a series of expert meetings to assist the development of guidelines for aquaculture certification. The workshop gave stakeholders in the Americas a unique opportunity to get together with international stakeholders to discuss certification and in particular the development of the draft FAO/NACA guidelines for aquaculture certification. The workshop identified a strong need for an aquaculture certification guideline document to inform and guide stakeholders towards responsible and sustainable aquaculture. 

This practical manual provides better management practices for the farming of shrimp in tambak systems in Aceh, Indonesia. The manual addresses the formation of farmer groups, crop planning, and specifies better management practices. These include: Location of tambaks, design and construction of tambaks, pond preparation practices, shrimp seed selection and stocking practices, feed management practices, water management practices, health management practices, harvest and post-harvest handling practices, keeping records and improved marketing practices.

The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) and the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA) jointly hosted a special session on Better Management Practices (BMPs) at the 3rd INDAQUA 2007, 11-13 January 2007, Chennai, India. The presentations made in the session include i) International principles for responsible shrimp farming; ii) MPEDA-NACA Village demonstration programme, India; Aquaculture rehabilitation and implementation of BMPs in tsunami affected Aceh, Indonesia; and Markets, certification and traceability and small-scale farmers.

In this issue:

Cage aquaculture of tilapia in Lake Taal, Philippines. Development and adoption of BMPs by farmer groups. Lotus - an aquatic plant of versatile qualities. Integrated aquaculture-agriculture systems in Bangladesh: Potential for sustainable livelihoods and nutrititional security of the rural poor. Spreadsheet model of the market chain for the live reef food fish trade. Regional Grouper Hatchery Production Training Course. Replacing marine fish oil in aquafeeds with tropical palm oil products. NACA Newsletter.