Livelihoods and social issues

Health and safety within the global aquaculture industry is widely overlooked – despite the sector posing a great risk to workers, according to University of Stirling-led research. The project found the world’s estimated 18 million aquaculture workers regularly contend with “highly hazardous” conditions and workplace injury and disease risks are high. While some aquaculture workers are highly trained and in secure jobs globally, most are from vulnerable populations in precarious work, including women, indigenous people, children, seasonal workers, migrant workers, rural and remote workers.

Mahseer in recreational fisheries and ecotourism in India; Small-scale aquaculture of wild fish in Myanmar: A preliminary report from the Bago Region; Current know how and possibility for growout culture of an endangered catfish, Horabagrus brachysoma; Accelerated poverty alleviation of tribal households - cage fish farming by displaced fishers in reservoirs of Jharkhand; Adaptive learning in sustainable aquaculture: Best practices for small-scale shrimp farmers in Thailand; NACA Newsletter.

Early mortality syndrome of the type more accurately known as Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease is causing major losses in marine shrimp in a number of Asian countries. The disease is associated with infection by a strain of the bacteria Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Here we describe a project to reduce the incidence of disease and improve crop outcomes for small-scale farmers in Thailand via an adaptive learning approach, implemented in association with farmer societies and collectives.

Myanmar aquaculture has previously been considered to be medium to large scale with little to no small-scale aquaculture. Here we report on an indigenous small-scale aquaculture system in Myanmar based on natural monsoon stocking of rice fields with wild fish, which are subsequently trapped, fed and grown out, with a portion used as broodstock to supplement the next years production. The practice is widespread and interviews with farmers suggest that it has been in place for at least 40 years.

Mahseer are the most popular game fish amongst anglers in India, with a reputation as one of the toughest fighters amongst freshwater sports fish. In this article, we have made an attempt to compile information on recreational mahseer fisheries in India. The importance of the mighty mahseer as a game fish is told through the perspectives of active anglers and the visions of stakeholders and researchers in conservation and ecotourism are presented.

Jharkhand, India, has a significant population of tribal people, around 28% of the state's 33 million. Agriculture is the main livelihood and subsistence-level farming is predominant, offering limited opportunities for employment to landless people for most of the year. This article documents the experience of the Jharkhand Department of Fisheries in developing cage-based aquaculture as an alternative livelihood for tribal fishers that had been displaced by the construction of reservoirs, working in association with fisher collectives.

The American Fisheries Society and the Environmental and Water Resources Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers are holding this year's annual Fish Passage conference in Australia in December in collaboration with hosts Charles Sturt University and the New South Wales Government. The International Conference on River Connectivity, to be held in Albury from December 10 to 14 includes the First International Symposium on Hydropower and Fish Management.

BRAQCON 2019 wil cover latest research and development in the broader themes of the conference in the form of special sessions, contributed papers, expert group discussions and brainstorming on issues facing aquaculturists and ecosystem managers in India and around the world. The conference themes include: Brackishwater ecosystems, estuarine biodiversity and conservation; aquaculture production systems; larviculture; fish and shellfish nutrition; environment and climate change; aquatic animal health; socio-economic and livelihood issues; and aquaculture genetics and biotechnology.

The practice of collecting penaeid shrimp seed and prawn seed from inundated agricultural fields adjacent to the Rupnarayan River has become a supplementary source of income for local communities. During the wet season each year, the river floods the extended open tract of unsown paddy fields. This article describes the traditional fishing practices, gear and livelihoods associated with capture and grow out of shrimp and prawn seed in this region of West Bengal, India.

In this issue:

Invasive apple snails (Pomacea spp.) in Vietnam: Short review; A review of fresh water integrated multi-trophic aquaculture: Catching up on the dream of a blue revolution in India; Pre-pupae (larvae) of black soldier fly - a potential alternate protein source for aquaculture feeds; Penaeid shrimp and giant prawn seed collection from Rupnarayan River in Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, India; NACA Newsletter; First training course on culture-based fisheries held in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

In this issue:

First training course on culture-based fisheries held in Nha Trang, Vietnam; GAF7: Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries; 3rd International Symposium on Aquaculture and Fisheries Education, India; International Fishing Industry Safety and Health Conference, Canada; WHO: Stop using antibiotics in healthy animals to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance; Register for the 8th International Symposium on Aquatic Animal Health; Quarterly Aquatic Animal Disease Report, July-September 2017; Biology and Management of Invasive Apple Snails; Antimicrobial use in the aquaculture sector.

This collection contains video recordings of the lectures from the Regional Training Course on Culture-based Fisheries in Inland Waters, held at Nha Trang University, Vietnam. The objective of the course was to provide participants with the skills to assist local communities to plan and manage culture-based fisheries; a relatively simple and low cost technology that can deliver nutritional and economic benefits to rural communities with few livelihood options. The course was sponsored by the United Nations University Fisheries Training Programme.

How an entrepreneurship plan facilitated the development of culture-based Fisheries in a Sri Lankan reservoir.

People-oriented approaches for engaging communities in culture-based fisheries development.

A briefing on the context and relevance of culture-based fisheries in rural development.

An art book containing the winners of the Youth and Fish Drawing Competition, which was held during the 6th Global Symposium on Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries (GAF), 4-7 August 2016, Bangkok, Thailand. Ten senior and seven junior high schools participated, with two students (male and female) from each school. The competition ended after three hours of drawing and painting. This was the first activity involving youth in raising awareness of gender to be conducted at a GAF event.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in collaboration with the SafetyNet Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Research (Memorial University) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), will be hosting the 5th International Fishing Industry Safety and Health Conference (IFISH 5) in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada from June 10-13, 2018. Abstracts can be submitted electronically until 31 January, 2018.

The first ever Regional Training Course on Culture-based Fisheries in Inland Waters was held at Nha Trang University from 30 October to 8 November. The objective of the course was to provide participants with the skills to assist local communities to plan and manage culture-based fisheries. These practices are an example of a relatively simple and low cost technology that can deliver nutritional and economic benefits to rural communities, which often have few livelihood options.

Women’s entrepreneurship can be a boon for sustainable utilisation of resources, food security and employment generation. Women entrepreneurship can be defined as the process, in which she thinks to set up a business, gathering all the resources necessary to manage a business venture, provide employment to others and to make a profit along the way while minimising risk while initiating, organising and running a business enterprise.

The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) has a job opening for Fisheries Research Program Manager. The position is based in Australia and reports to the Chief Scientist. The position is responsible for managing a portfolio of fisheries research and development projects commissioned by ACIAR. The projects are typically partnerships between research institutions in Australia and agencies within ACIAR's partner countries in the Indo-Pacific and aim to improve the productivity and sustainability of fisheries.