The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the international seafood trade and poverty, with special reference to the trade in some selected marine products between Asia and the European Union. It represents Output 1 of the project “The International Seafood Trade: supporting sustainable livelihoods among poor aquatic resource users in Asia”, which was funded by the European Community's Poverty Reduction Effectiveness Programme (EC-PREP).

This report presents an overview of the state of aquatic resources in the Philippines, its performance and importance in the Philippine economy, and explores the situation of poverty in the "aquatic resources sector." The report describes the policy environment that guides the action of key actors in the sector. A general analysis of some trends in relation to factors that keep the poor from participating and benefiting from aquatic resource management is also provided.

Small-scale and subsistence fisheries, and aquaculture, play important roles in the livelihoods of many rural people throughout the region, although the significance is often hidden in national, regional and international statistics. With the fishery sector as an important sector for human development in Asia, an understanding of the array of stakeholders involved, and indeed ensuring their better participation in policy setting processes and trade discussions, is necessary to bring a more human development-oriented dimension to trade policy.

These are the proceedings of a workshop focussed on grouper culture, but also explored management strategies required to support the sustainable development of seafarming in the Asian region. The emphasis was on technology transfer and management strategies for the benefit of farmers and coastal communities. The workshop included special sessions on diversification of seafarming systems and culture species, the role of seafarming in the livelihoods of coastal communities.

In this issue:

Chemical residues. Live reef fish trade in Hong Kong. Barramundi farming in Australia. Freshwater pearl and prawn production in China. Status of common carp varieties under culture in China. Induced spawning of Pangasius sutchi. Cambodian farmers innovate cost-effective variations on Chinese hatcheries. Genes and fish. Improving rural livelihoods in Cambodia, Vietnam, Nepal and the Philippines through the STREAM Initiative. Marine finfish news, book reviews and more.