NACA member governments are: Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, I.R. Iran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Korea (DPR), Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
5 October 2026 | Sourindam Paul, Suman Kumari and Basanta Kumar Das | .pdf | 5.32 MB
Ornamental fish can sell for up to 100 times the price of food fish, yet farming them needs little land, money or labour. This makes the sector well suited to landless households, small-scale farmers and women in developing countries. In West Bengal, India, families breed species such as Betta splendens in reused glass bottles and raise exotic species in backyard cement cisterns. ICAR-CIFRI research programmes also help Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe women run their own farms
This article explores how ornamental fish culture supports the Sustainable Development Goals, from reducing poverty and promoting gender equality to protecting aquatic life. With around 95% of Indian ornamental fish exports still collected from the wild, captive breeding offers a way to ease pressure on wild stocks. The article also looks at water-saving technologies, certification, and the barriers small producers face, including poor market access, weak logistics and climate change.
Over the past century, a generation of Indian scientists, educators and administrators laid the foundations of the country's modern fisheries and aquaculture sectors. This tribute remembers 65 of them, all of whom have since passed away. Their work covered inland and marine fisheries, freshwater and brackishwater aquaculture, fish breeding and hatchery technology, fish health, genetics, nutrition, post-harvest technology and fisheries education. Many led national research institutes, universities and state fisheries departments, while others served with international organisations such as FAO. Their research and leadership helped increase fish production in India and expanded knowledge of fish biology and aquatic ecology. The article brings together, in a single table, the dates of birth and death of each person, along with their main fields of work and the institutions they served. It is offered as a source of inspiration for students and young researchers in fisheries science.
Small-scale fishing communities in Gujarat depend heavily on marine resources, yet many live with uncertain incomes, declining catches and months without earnings during the annual fishing ban. A socio-economic survey of fishing villages around Veraval Harbour found that many artisanal fishers miss out on available assistance because they do not know it exists or how to apply. Awareness of assistance schemes is low, and paperwork, online application systems and language barriers make access harder for families with limited education. Where cooperatives are active, communities are better organised and better informed.
Closing the awareness gap through local-language outreach and closer contact with extension services would help support reach those it is meant for. The survey also shows the responsibilities of field researchers: explaining their role and limits from the start, using the local language and sharing practical information on available support, so that research does not raise expectations it cannot meet.
The Gangetic swamp eel, Ophichtys cuchia, is one of the highest-value indigenous freshwater fish in Northeast India, yet almost all of it still comes from the wild. A 2025 market survey in Manipur recorded it selling at Rs. 800/kg against Rs. 150 to 200/kg for common carp. Wild stocks are falling as wetlands are drained, paddy fields are sprayed with pesticides and capture continues unregulated. This review brings together what is known about the biology, nutrition and culture potential of the species, with particular reference to the eight northeastern states. It covers the eel's air-breathing adaptations and tolerance of low oxygen, its protandrous sex change and the breeding problems this creates, nutritional composition, and pond and rice-field trials from Bangladesh reporting yields up to 2,506 kg/ha. Seed supply remains the main obstacle, as no hatchery network produces fingerlings in India.
22 September 2026 | Deepjyoti Baruah, A.K. Balange, L.K. Baishya, K. Saikia, Da u ruhi Pde, A. Baruah, M. Pandey, A.K. Srivastava, B. Handique, Azhaguraja, M., M.B. Chaudhary and Ch Srinivasa Rao | 116 Downloads | .pdf | 5.14 MB
The floodplains of the Brahmaputra valley in northeast India hold an abundance of waters, but lowland fish productivity there has received far less study than in western and central India. An assessment at the Gerua Centre of ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Assam, has identified ten aquaculture-based development options for the campus and the surrounding lowlands. Integrated farming combines rice with fish in trenches and dugouts, horticultural crops on the embankments and duck, pig or poultry components. Existing carp-based polyculture ponds yield 3,500 to 4,500 kg per hectare and can be improved, with the low output attributed to imbalanced stocking densities, poor-quality seed, insufficient supplementary feeding and poor water management. Other options include monoculture of climbing perch, nursery rearing of spawn to fingerlings, ornamental fish production, biofloc technology, recirculating systems and freshwater pearl culture. In the wetlands, which make up 50% of India's total and where catches have fallen, culture-based fisheries with cage and pen culture are preferred.
27 June 2026 | R.N. Mandal, S. Adhikari, A. Das, F. Hoque, A. Hussan, S. Sarkar, H.K. De and P.K. Sahoo | 352 Downloads | .pdf | 9.88 MB
In Assam and across north-eastern India, the NGO Kalong-Kapili is helping rural families turn unused ponds, wetlands and beels into a source of food and income. Working with ICAR-CIFA, the organisation began in 2007 at Bagibari village and now runs a Field Laboratory and an Aquaculture Field School that train farmers in scientific fish farming, disease management, climate-resilient practices and integrated farming. This article describes how the model has spread to tribal clusters in Borbeel, Lohit and Lower Siang, benefiting hundreds of families through fish farming combined with horticulture, piggery and kitchen gardens.
It also covers Kalong-Kapili's work to empower women through self-help groups, its production of fish seed, and CIFA's outreach scheme reaching forest-dependent communities in West Karbi Anglong. Together these efforts show how aquaculture extension can reduce poverty and malnutrition while building lasting skills in remote regions.
26 June 2026 | S.K. Sahoo and S.S. Giri | 419 Downloads | .pdf | 4.37 MB
For decades, catfish farming in India stayed marginal for one reason: seed. Consumers preferred catfish and paid more for it, yet most indigenous species depended on wild fry collected from rivers and floodplains. Supply was seasonal and unpredictable, so farmers kept returning to reliable carp.
This article traces how ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture worked over nearly five decades to remove that constraint. Rather than treating breeding as a single step, scientists tackled the whole production system: broodstock nutrition, induced spawning, hatchery design, larval feeding and nursery management. Progress came across species from small bagrid Mystus spp., Rita chrysea, the pabda group Ompok species, the yellow catfish Horabagrus brachysoma, magur Clarias batrachus, singhi Heteropneustes fossilis, Clarias dussumieri, Pangasius pangasius and the predatory, cannibalistic Wallago attu.
The result includes low-cost FRP hatchery units, stage-specific formulated feeds and dependable seed for farmers across many states. It also describes how captive breeding eases pressure on threatened wild stocks and supports conservation alongside aquaculture.
The melon barb (Haludaria fasciata) is a lemon-striped freshwater fish found only in the hill streams of the Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Prized by the global ornamental fish trade, its wild populations are falling as deforestation, sand mining, and pollution degrade its habitat. This article sets out a science-based method for breeding the species in captivity, from conditioning broodstock on protein-rich diets to managing spawning tanks, larval feeding, and water quality. It also covers the economics: a small hatchery can be set up for a modest sum and produce thousands of juveniles per cycle, giving rural households a supplementary income. By supplying farmed fish to domestic and export markets, hatcheries ease pressure on wild stocks and support brood banks for conservation. The melon barb shows how ornamental aquaculture can link rural livelihoods with the protection of freshwater biodiversity in the Western Ghats.
26 June 2026 | Abhilash C.P., Saikrishnan K.R., Sarath Varghese, Charan Ravi and V.S. Basheer | 361 Downloads | .pdf | 3.32 MB
The Western Ghats are home to a distinctive group of small, bottom-dwelling fish: the loaches. Adapted to fast-flowing hill streams, they have elongated bodies, sensitive barbels around the mouth, and cryptic patterns that blend into rock and gravel. The region holds at least 43 loach species across 12 genera, 39 of them endemic, the result of long evolutionary isolation in mountain streams. This article describes their body forms, habitats, feeding habits, and behaviour, and profiles well-known species such as the Zebra loach (Botia striata) and the Zodiac loach (Mesonoemacheilus triangularis), both popular in the global ornamental fish trade. It also outlines the pressures these fish face, including habitat degradation, dam construction, pollution, and unregulated collection. Most Western Ghats loaches still lack legal protection, and the article reviews their conservation status and the measures needed to safeguard them.
25 June 2026 | Aravind R., P. Nila Rekha, R. Jayakumar, J.A.J. Raymond, P.S. Shyne Anand, N.S. Sudheer, R. Saraswathy, S. Aravind Kumar, M. Jayanthi and Kuldeep K. Lal | 282 Downloads | .pdf | 5.38 MB
Seaweed farming in India has long been confined to open coastal waters. But researchers are now proving that commercially valuable species can thrive in brackishwater ponds, lagoons, and tanks, especially when grown alongside shrimp, mud crab, and finfish. This article from ICAR-Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture explains how integrating fast-growing Gracilaria and Ulva species into existing farms turns waste nutrients into a second cash crop, improves water quality, and raises the survival and quality of the animals farmed with them. It covers the most promising species, practical cultivation methods, and real field results: more than a three-fold increase in seaweed biomass, shrimp survival above 95%, and reduced feed conversion ratios. It also looks honestly at the hurdles - seed supply, salinity swings, disease, and pricing - that must be solved to scale up.
Along the coast of Purba Medinipur in West Bengal, sun-dried marine fish - known locally as 'Shutki machh' - has grown from a traditional way of saving surplus catch into a thriving regional business. At the Matsya Khoti of Junput-Biramput village, where commercial drying began some 70-75 years ago, around 550-600 producers now sort, salt, and dry fish on raised bamboo platforms before sending it to markets across north-east India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh.
This article takes a close look at how the dried fish trade works: the species and methods, the road transport network, the food culture and recipes carried into West Bengal by refugees, the women whose labour underpins much of the work, and asks what is needed to keep this tradition healthy and sustainable.
On 28 April 2026, the NACA Secretariat was privileged to welcome Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, Secretary of the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (MOFAHD), Government of India. Dr. Likhi, who led a high-level delegation from the Indian Embassy, visited NACA’s Bangkok headquarters to engage in discussions aimed at deepening the collaborative bonds between India and the regional aquaculture community.
The visit underscored India’s pivotal role as a founding member of NACA. For decades, India has remained a cornerstone of the organisation, contributing significantly through the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). During the meeting with NACA Director General Dr. Eduardo Leano, the delegation discussed advancing regional aquaculture development with a specific focus on aquatic disease surveillance and transboundary knowledge exchange, sharing insights on how innovation can further modernise the sector.
AquaInnovate 2 brought together 12 startups, scientists, and industry leaders in Bangkok from 23-27 March 2026, continuing the momentum to accelerate nature-based solutions and climate innovation across the Asia-Pacific, with financial from Canada's International Development Research Centre.
The week blended intensive learning with practical experience. Entrepreneurs pitched breakthrough ideas in biotechnology, community enterprise, and regional scaling, then refined their business models through expert coaching circles. Field visits to innovative Thai aquaculture sites connected theory with real-world practice, while a high-stakes "Shark Tank" session challenged innovators to defend their ideas before experienced investors and business leaders. A culinary showcase highlighted the importance of engaging buyers and chefs as essential partners in market success - not just scientists and farmers.
The week concluded with the unveiling of the AquaHub Vision, a roadmap for a permanent digital platform to sustain and grow the pan-regional network of aquaculture innovators into 2026 and beyond.
Videos of workshop presentations will be available on this page and NACA's YouTube channel shortly.
Reports received in 2025 only came from few member governments including: Australia, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia. Listed below are the reported aquatic animal diseases covering the third and fourth quarters of 2025 (with first and second quarter reports from Chinese Taipei). The original and updated reports can be accessed at the QAAD page.
22 January 2026 | Babita Mandal, Dani Thomas, Raymond J. Angel, Sandeep K.P., Sagar Bag, M. Kailasam, Debasis De, Kuldeep K. Lal | 837 Downloads | .pdf | 5.56 MB
Small-scale farmers in the Indian Sundarbans are transforming their livelihoods through brackishwater ornamental fish farming. The region's estuaries and mangrove forests provide natural habitat for commercially valuable species like spotted scat, green puffer, pearlspot, and orange chromide. With training from ICAR-Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture's Kakdwip Research Centre, local entrepreneurs have developed successful hatchery and grow-out operations.
Three farmers from Kakdwip Block demonstrate the sector's potential. Mr Tapan Maity produces 1,000-3,000 fingerlings monthly from his integrated facility. Mr Mahendra Dului operates a 32-tank hatchery using cost-effective farm-made feeds. Mr Aurobindo Haldar cleared his debts within three years of starting pearlspot production. These farmers combine scientific broodstock management with local knowledge to rear juveniles for urban pet markets in Kolkata and Howrah. The expanding domestic and export demand for brackishwater ornamental species offers sustainable income opportunities for coastal communities facing challenges from climate vulnerability and limited livelihood options.
India's inland waters produce 70% of the nation's fish, yet up to 20% spoils before reaching consumers due to poor post-harvest handling. In Tripura, where people consume fish at four times the national average, a surprising entrepreneurial story is emerging from this challenge.
At Agartala's Durga Chowmuhani market, 22 young people have turned fish dressing into profitable businesses. Working four-hour morning shifts, these mostly unemployed youth earn Rs. 530-680 daily, incomes exceeding the state average, by cleaning small indigenous fish that retailers refuse to process. Their startup cost was just Rs. 500 for a specialised knife and Rs. 50 daily for market space.
This informal sector reveals strong market demand and employment potential. However, challenges remain: inadequate hygiene facilities, limited cold storage, and variable food safety standards. The path forward involves supporting what works - strengthening informal businesses with training, better tools, and gradual infrastructure improvements rather than waiting for large-scale formal facilities.
21 January 2026 | S.K. Sahoo, A.K. Sahu, A. Das, B.C. Mohapatra, P.P. Chakraborty, N.K. Barik, A.K. Chaudhari, S.N. Sahoo, S.S. Giri, and P.K. Sahoo | 755 Downloads | .pdf | 1.67 MB
Access to quality seed has long constrained aquaculture of magur, a high-value indigenous catfish prized across north-eastern India. Wild stocks have declined, yet demand continues to rise. In Nalbari district of Assam, scientists and farmers have created a solution. ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture worked with local farmers to establish more than 25 magur hatcheries using innovative fibreglass-reinforced plastic designs suited to flood-prone conditions. Farmers received training in captive breeding, hormone-induced spawning, and larval rearing using specialised feeds. Individual farmers now produce 300,000-500,000 fry per season, earning substantial income while supplying seed across multiple districts. The model shows how targeted capacity building, appropriate technology, and farmer-centred interventions can transform indigenous fish seed production from a critical bottleneck into a thriving regional enterprise. Approximately 70 farmers now actively supply magur seed where scarcity once limited aquaculture expansion.
