Freshwater aquaculture in Myanmar is dominated by rohu, but other carps, tilapia and giant freshwater prawn are also cultured. At present around 25% of freshwater finish farmers in Myanmar are using commercial feeds from factory mills while the remaining 75% still use locally available rice bran only or rice bran and oil cakes. Soft shell mud crab and marine fish farming are thoroughly dependent on trash fish. A significant local feedmill industry exists, but many ingredients need to be imported.

 Aquaculture production is relatively recent in the Maldives in comparison to the rest of the Asia-Pacific region, with only one hatchery facility currently operational. Small-scale grow out operations for hatchery produced groupers as well as the hatchery production of milkfish as an alternative live feed for the pole-and-line fishery is expected to kick-off in the near future. The availability of by-product from the local tuna fishery has potential to support feed manufacture.

More than 293,000 tonnes of aquaculture feed was produced locally or imported to Malaysia in 2015. By 2020, it is estimated that almost 1.1 million tonnes of aquaculture feed will need to be produced. Discussions have been held with industry to expand capacity. DOF Malaysia is supporting good feed management, forumlation and nutrition practices by providing training courses for stakeholders. Farms and feed mills are audited with regards to feed and feeding processes based on MyGAP and legislative requirements.

Around 73% of total fisheries production originated from aquaculture including fish culture in ponds, community fish culture in oxbow lakes and irrigation weirs, rice-fish culture and cage culture. Commercial feed is typically only used in pond culture. In other production systems some supplementary feeding may be conducted using local materials. Integrated fish farming with livestock is also practiced using various species of carp, barbs, catfish, gourami and snakeheads. Existing local feed factories have considerable spare capacity.

As aquaculture production expands in Indonesia more feed is needed. It was estimated that in 2015 feed usage for main Indonesia’s cultured commodities reached 8.9 million tonnes, raising issues related to the availability of feed raw materials, many of which are imported. The Indonesian government has launched a “self-sufficient fish feed” programme, aimed at reducing the dependence on imported raw materials, especially fishmeal, by using locally available ingredients for feed. The availability of local feed ingredients is discussed.

About 0.75 million tonnes of shrimp feed was produced during 2016, with roughly equal quantities of freshwater fish feed produced. Although shrimp farming is fully dependent on formulated feeds, freshwater finfish farming is still transitioning to use of pelleted feeds. High value coastal carnivorous fin fish continues to be produced via a combination of trash fish and formulated feeds. Fishmeal inclusion in shrimp feed formulations has fallen substantially. The availability of feed ingredients in India is discussed.

The rapid development of the Chinese aquaculture has stimulated the development of a significant feed industry. Fishmeal imports have remained relatively static as formulations have improved and due to substantial culture of filter-feeding species. Representative species have been selected for systematic nutritional studies to determine their requirements and the efficiency of feed ingredients. These studies are being used to develop a database on nutritional requirements and bioavailability of feed ingredients to aid efficient feed formulation design.

Cambodians are among the largest consumers of fish in the world with per capita consumption of 63 kg/person/year. At present 90% of production is from freshwater systems. Low value "trash" fish from both freshwater and marine resources are used as an important feed input to the sector. Both imported pellets and on-farm feeds are of mixed quality, storage protocols inadequate and feeding strategies often wasteful. There is much scope to improve the efficiency of feed use.

Aquaculture production in Bangladesh is growing rapidly, resulting in increasing demand for feeds. In response, the government has formulated the Fishfeed and Animal Feed Act, 2010 and Fishfeed Rules, 2011, to assure the quality of feed inputs. The legislation mandates licenses for the establishment and operation of feed factories, for import/export of feeds and ingredients, and for sale of feed. Minimum minimum standards for feeds have been established and officials are empowered to test feed samples for compliance.

This publication is the major output of a regional programme jointly implemented by FAO and NACA in 2015 to document and disseminate successful practices that contribute to the sustainable intensification of aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region. Twelve practices are described that contribute to at least one of the following: Improved production and resource use efficiency (land, water, feed, energy); improved environmental benefits; strengthened economic viability and farmers' resilience; and improved social acceptance and equity.