This report summarises the proceedings of the 19th meeting of the Advisory Group, held 26-27 November 2020 via video conference. The group's role includes reviewing disease trends and emerging threats in the region, identifying developments in global aquatic disease issues and standards, evaluating the Quarterly Aquatic Animal Disease Reporting Programme and providing guidance on regional strategies to improve aquatic animal health management.

In this issue:

Registrations open for the Global Conference on Aquaculture Millennium +20; Presentation of the State of World Aquaculture and the Regional Aquaculture Reviews 2020; Webinar: International Forum of Aquaculture in Silk Road Countries; Quarterly Aquatic Animal Disease Report, April-June 2020; World Fisheries Day Lecture Series, 20 December: Biosecurity - the concept to guarantee sustainable development of aquaculture; Webinar: Beauty and the Beast: Important Parasites of Fish; Second Online Training on Mariculture Technology for the Asia-Pacific Region: Aquaculture Biosecurity.

We are pleased to announce that registration for the Global Conference on Aquaculture Millennium +20 (GCA +20) is now open. Interested participants are invited to complete the application form and the conference Secretariat will inform registrants as to the status of their application in due course. The GCA +20 will be a hybrid conference; registration will allow attendance of conference in-person or virtually, with the indicated preference taken into account to the extent possible. The maximum number of in-person participants will have to be capped, in close consultation with the host and in line with the latest advice from health authorities. The GCA is open to all interested stakeholders, including from government, academia, private sector and civil society. Women and youth (35 years of age or younger) are strongly encouraged to apply. Kindly note that registration is free.

As a follow on from the first course, the Second Online Training Program of Mariculture Technology for the Asia-Pacific Region will be held from 15 to 20 December 2020 via Zoom. The course will focus on aquaculture biosecurity and related technologies at the international, national, and on-farm levels. Lectures will be given by experts from FAO, OIE, NACA, YSFRI, and industry. Participation is free but pre-registration is required.

A free webinar on aquaculture in silk road countries will be held from 24-25 November, from 10:00 to 17:00 Beijing time (UTC +8). The theme of the forum is Sustainable Aquaculture Development: Response Strategies Towards Post-pandemic. Participation is free for all but registration is required. The webinar will be held via Zoom.

In this issue:

13th Technical Advisory Committee; Presentation of the State of World Aquaculture and Regional Aquaculture Reviews 2020; Online training course on mariculture technologies for the Asia-Pacific region; Quarterly Aquatic Animal Disease Report, January-March 2020; Regional Webinar on Infection with Decapod Iridescent Virus 1 (DIV1) and Preparedness for Emerging Shrimp Diseases; China announces import measures to respond to nucleic acid positives of COVID-19 detected from the outer packaging of frozen white leg shrimp from Ecuador.

The Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fisheries Sciences and NACA are organising a free online training course on mariculture technologies, to be held from 21-25 September 2020. The programme will cover breeding, disease control and prevention, nutrition and feed research, breeding model construction, farm technology development, engineering, quality, safety and inspection technology for aquatic products. The course is open to government officials, researchers, enterprise managers and technicians from developing countries. The deadline for applications is 19 September 2020.

Chinese Customs detected nucleic acid positives of COVID-19 on packaging containing frozen white leg shrimp produced in Ecuador on 3 July. Experts believe that the positive results do not represent infectious virus. However, in order to protect the health of consumers, the General Administration of Customs decided to suspend the registration of the relevant enterprises, suspend the import and export of the products of the relevant enterprises, and take measures such as the return of goods and destruction of goods temporarily detained.

In this issue:

Potential new species in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Sabaki tilapia (Oreochromis spilurus); Role of fish & fisheries in national nutrition of Pakistan; Success story of first fish farmer in India to be awarded ‘Padma Shri’; Insights into the fishing gear and ichthyofauna of major lentic water bodies of Kashmir Valley; NACA Newsletter.

In this issue:

Urgent warning: Positive PCR detection results for infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV) and decapod iridescent virus 1 (DIV1) in captured Penaeus monodon from the Indian Ocean; COVID-19 news; Urgent announcement on usefulness of the lymphoid organ (LO) as an additional prime target for diagnosis of decapod iridescent virus 1 (DIV1) in diseased P. vannamei; Fresh or frozen seafood?; Report of the Eighteenth Meeting of the Asia Regional Advisory Group on Aquatic Animal Health; COVID-19 fallout could push half a billion people into poverty in developing countries; Simple techniques double crablet production.