In this issue:

Integrated rice/crayfish farming in Hubei Province, China. Improvement of seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii culture production by reducing grazing by rabbit fish (Siganus spp.). Exploring the fisheries of Wular Lake, Kashmir, India. Golden mahseer Tor putitora - a possible candidate species for hill aquaculture. Free primers for specific detection of bacterial isolates that cause acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease. Special session on regional cooperation for improved biosecurity. AHPND detection discussion group established.

Shrimp aquaculture in tropical regions is facing a disease-induced catastrophe of lost production. There is reason to believe that current broodstock management practices may induce genetic erosion that increases susceptibility to disease and vulnerability to epizootics. The basic tenet for this Expert Consultation is that an important aggravating factor in the disease crisis is an agro-economic system that locks shrimp breeders, hatcheries and farmers into behaviour that induces high levels of inbreeding.

Summary of discussion group 1 findings.

Summary of discussion group 2's findings.

In this issue:

Special session on regional cooperation for improved biosecurity. Pond aquaculture taking off in Nepal. Introduction of culture-based fishery practices in small water bodies in Cambodia: Issues and strategies. A case study on polychaete fishery by the Irular tribal fishing community on the Tamil Nadu coast. Use of pangasius pond sediment for rooftop bag gardening: Potential for rural-urban integrated agriculture-horticulture. Culture-based fisheries exchanges between Lao PDR and Cambodia.

NACA was selected by the World Bank to implement a 6 day training program on "Good Aquaculture Practices" in Surabaya, Indonesia from 17-22 June 2013 under the on-going World Bank Global Food Safety Partnership initiative. The objective of this training was to deliver a certificate level food safety and supply chain management training program on design and implementation of good aquaculture practices through the supply chain including food safety management systems and HACCP.

This manual provides practical guidelines for those engaged in the nursery culture of groupers in Indonesia as well as elsewhere in the tropics. It provides information on husbandry of groupers in the nursery phase, to reduce losses due to disease and cannibalism, and thus to increase the profitability of grouper nursing. The guidelines are derived from outcomes of ACIAR-funded research as well as other published information on grouper nursery management.

This document presents a tool in the form of an audit table that can be used to broadly screen and identify gaps in the management systems of government agencies responsible for regulating aquaculture. These gaps, once identified, can be a first step toward building regulatory frameworks that can better deliver on jurisdictional ecologically sustainable development and ecosystems approach to aquaculture objectives. The end product of an assessment is a report for consideration by decision makers.

To provide food to the world’s population in 2050, it has been estimated that agricultural output, primarily from crops, livestock and fisheries, including aquaculture, must increase by 60 percent. Intensification of aquaculture is inevitable in the face of increasing demand, limited land areas, and improved technology. Whether we are able to accomplish this in a sustainable manner will depend on global governance and stewardship as much as on technological progress.

Improved feed management represents a critical component in the sustainability equation, and the industry’s responses, particularly in respect to the use of fish meal and fish oil, will determine whether feeds are likely to become a limiting factor in attaining sustainability. In order to continue to contribute to global food fish supply, the sector will have to intensify. The presentation discusses plausible means of reducing dependence on these commodities as well.