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.

Various measures for resource enhancement, conservation and management have been tried in Bangladesh in order to prevent the decline of fisheries resources. The needs of Bangladesh’s poor fisher community to eat what they catch and lack of a legal legislative framework means this situation can only worsen. Hope is offered by new conservation initiatives including habitat restoration, enhancement of depleting fish stocks, transferral of fishing rights and establishment of fish sanctuaries at strategic points.

India produces 4.6 million tonnes of fish annually from its inland water bodies, of which 1 million tonnes originates from enhancement and capture fisheries of open waters. Reservoirs of all categories together produce 94,000 tonnes of fish against a potential of nearly 1 million tonnes. Ownership of inland water bodies vests with the government and the fishing rights of reservoirs and beels are given to individuals, groups and communities according to norms that vary across the states.

Fisheries resources conservation development in Indonesia is based on the protection of endangered and vulnerable freshwater species and maintaining biodiversity integrity, and has been developed with community participation. In order to increase the population and diversification of fish species in inland waters stock enhancement has been carried out since the Dutch occupation when more than 17 species were stocked in inland waters in Indonesia.

Early attempts of fisheries enhancement in Sri Lankan freshwaters were aimed at establishing commercial fisheries. A fisheries enhancement strategy was introduced to village reservoirs of the country in 1980s on a trial basis. Presently, inland fisheries enhancement strategies in Sri Lanka are practiced in seasonal reservoirs and minor perennial reservoirs. The annual CBF production from these reservoirs is about 6 600 tonnes, accounting for about 17 percent of the inland fisheries production.

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. 

In this issue:

The Dedanaw Project, Myanmar. The changing face of women for small-scale aquaculture in Bangladesh. Strengthening capacity of small holders in ASEAN. Carp seed production in Orissa, India. Sustainable mountain paddy-fish farming of the Apatani tribes. The economic impacts of whitespot virus on shrimp production in Iran. Current practices of marine finfish cage culture in China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. Effects of trash fish on growth and body composition of cobia.

In this issue:

Expert Workshop on Inland Fisheries Resource Enhancement and Conservation in Asia. Reviews in Aquaculture: Special issue on the Use and Exchange of Aquatic Genetic Resources. Dr Ayyappan becomes the Director General of ICAR. CIBA training course - capacity building on entrepreneurship development in coastal aquaculture. Success Stories in Asian Aquaculture - now available for free download! Giant Prawn 2011. Peer reviewed publications. Meetings address climate change impacts on small scale milkfish farmers in the Philippines.

Inland aquatic ecosystems in China have been largely influenced by the large-scale economic activities and over-exploitation of aquatic resources. A wide range of fisheries resource enhancement and conservation activities have been carried out throughout China. This presentation reviews the history and practices and analyses the problems and insufficient in inland fisheries resource enhancement and conservation in China, and finally recommends some suggestions on technology and operation in order to sustain inland fisheries resources.

The beginning of inland fisheries resource stock enhancement in the Republic of Korea dates back to the early 1970’s, when fishing pressure was relatively low, and its development was closely related to the overall trends in the inland fisheries production. The release of hatchery reared juveniles of inland fisheries resources has become an increasingly common practice for stock enhancement and conservation over the last three decades.

Myanmar's inland water resources are still largely in a pristine condition. Fish, consumed in fresh and many processed forms is an important component of the protein intake of the population; consumption is estimated at 43 kg capita per year in 2008-2009. Stock enhancement of inland waters in Myanmar has been conducted since 1967, initiated through a seed replenishing program to the natural water, such rivers, lake, dams even rice fields.

The ecological and biophysical diversity existing in Nepal offers comparative advantages and opportunities to develop and restore inland fishery resources for livelihood enhancement and poverty alleviation of rural communities. Through good governance and proper legislative measures it is required to establish improved environmental protection. Efforts need to target beneficiaries such as disadvantaged and marginalized ethnic communities with training and awareness raising, appropriate legal instruments and infrastructure development needs proper mitigation in hydropower generation/irrigation projects.

The production from inland capture fisheries in Thailand is about 1 million tonnes per annum. Engineering the environment and fish stocking are the two major practices adopted, and closed-season fishing as well as control of fishing gears are used for conservation purposes. Fish stocking programs date back to the 1950s have been continuously conducted. This presentation provides a historical perspective on stock enhancement practices in Thailand since the 1950s.

Inland fisheries resource enhancement has been considered a major component of reservoir fisheries management since 1962. Multipurpose reservoir construction commenced about the 1960s for irrigation, hydropower generation and flood control. Reservoir fisheries are always a secondary or tertiary activity and are given low priority; however stocking has been considered a major component of reservoir fisheries management. This presentation reviews the history of and changes to stock enhancement practices in Vietnamese reservoirs since the 1960s.

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:

Mussel farming initiatives in North Kerala, India. Selective study on availability of indigenous fish with ornamental value in West Bengal. Aquaculture livelihoods centre in Aceh, Indonesia. e-Sagu Aqua - an innovative information and communication technology model for transfer of technology for aquaculture. Freshwater pearl crop: An emerging enterprise in the Indian subcontinent. Preliminary risk assessment of Pacific white shrimp (P. vannamei) introduced to Thailand for aquaculture. Black gill disease of lobster and more.

In this issue:

Success Stories in Asian Aquaculture. Twelfth Regular Session of Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Training of trainers programme will strengthen small scale farmer competitiveness in ASEAN. Workshop on development of better management practices for catfish farming in the Mekong Delta organised in Vietnam. Vulnerability & adaption of climate change impacts on catfish farming - case study Can Tho, Vietnam. NACA welcomes Dr Nigel Abery, Coordinator of the Adaption of aquaculture to climate change project. EU supports better management practices for responsible aquaculture. Myanmar delegation visits CIFA to study aquaculture.

The vegetation in Mahakam Delta is predominantly mangrove forest that consists of a pedada zone, Rizophora zone, transition zone, Nipa zone and nibung zone. Prior to 1980, mangrove vegetation in Mahakam Delta was pristine. Considerable changes in the extent of mangrove ecosystem occurred between 1990-2002 until 2001 when about 63% mangrove areas was deforested mainly due to conversion for shrimp ponds. Since 2002, partial efforts for restoration had been taken in mangrove replanting at some sites.

In this issue:

Community management and revenue sharing practices of culture-based fisheries in Lao PDR. Floodplain aquaculture in Bangladesh. Promoting small-scale inland aquaculture in Papua New Guinea. Group approaches to shrimp farming: The key to sustainability. Native catfish culture - a technology package for farmers. Influence of salinity in the growth of the black clam Villorita cyprinoides. EUS in Asia and Africa. Offshore opportunities for artisinal aquaculture. Grouper aquaculture in Brazil. NACA Newsletter.

In this issue:

Lao PDR becomes the 18th member of NACA at the 20th GCM. Vietnamese catfish farmers visit Andhra Pradesh, India. Global Conference on Aquaculture 2010. Expert Meeting on the Use and Exchange of Aquatic Genetic Resources. Culture, capture conflicts: sustaining fish production and livelihoods in Indonesian reservoirs. Regional Grouper Hatchery Training Course, 11 - 31 October 2009. Sri Lankan group trained in cage culture in Thailand. First step towards the creation of a network of aquaculture centres in the Americas.