The conference was organised by FAO, the Thai Department of Fisheries and NACA and held in the Mövenpick Resort and Spa, Phuket, Thailand, 22-25 September. The conference was the third in a series of aquaculture development conferences, following on from the Conference on Aquaculture in the Third Millennium held in Bangkok 2000, and the FAO Technical Conference on Aquaculture, held in Kyoto 1976.

In this issue:

Rapidly changing aquaculture scene in the Red River Delta, Vietnam. Current situation and challenges for the farming of snakeheads in the Mekong Delta. Is there a business case for small-holders in Vietnamese pangasius? Small scale prawn culture practices towards sustainable development in Chittagong region, Bangladesh. Gloating hapa technology for the mass production of tilapia Oreochromis niloticus in Bangladesh. Management in seed production of golden mahseer Tor putitora in hatchery condictions.

In this issue:

Global Conference on Aquaculture 2010. Reducing the dependence on trash fish as feed for marine finfish. 21st NACA Governing Council & 10th Technical Advisory Committee. Training course on application of business management principles in small-scale aquaculture. Sri Lanka Journal of Aquatic Sciences goes open access. Now we're on Facebook too.

Fisheries and aquaculture contribute significantly to food and nutrition security. About 20 percent per capita intake of animal protein for more than 2.8 billion people is from fish and for over 400 million people fish meets 50% of the requirement for animal protein and minerals. Malnutrition is still the number one killer compared to other diseases. Climate change is likely to increase the frequency and intensity of climate processes.

If the aquaculture sector is to maintain its current average growth rate of 8 to 10 percent per year to 2025, the supply of nutrient and feed inputs will have to grow at a similar rate. Feed-fed aquaculture production is largely dependent upon capture fisheries for dietary protein and lipid. Sustainability of the aquaculture sector is likely to be linked with the supply of animal and plant proteins, oils and carbohydrate sources for aquafeeds.

Fish makes a vital contribution to the survival and health of a significant portion of the world’s population. In some of Asia’s poorest countries, people derive as much as 75 percent of their daily protein from fish. Aquaculture can assist communities in developing countries to address the potential of fish as a ready provider of essential nutrients, a tradable commodity and as such, a contributor to development and social stability.

We are passing through an era of increasing population, food shortages and unsustainable farming practices. We cannot think of food security unless issues connected with poverty and livelihoods are addressed. Since 75 percent of global aquaculture production comes from small-scale farms in developing countries we have to address a number of issues to ensure that the livelihoods and food security of all those involved in the sector are not threatened.

Presentation of the summary, conclusions and recommendations of Thematic Session 6 (Enhancing the contribution of aquaculture to poverty alleviation, food security and rural development).

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.