Nutrient-laden canal water from Kolkata is the lifeline of two communities: Firstly the fish farmers beyond the eastern fringes of Kolkata who depend upon domestic sewage of the dry weather flow channel as a source of nutrients to sustain plankton production in fish ponds/wetlands; and secondly, the semi-poor city people, who harvest the tubifex worms (Tubifex tubifex) as a livelihood, from a stretch of derelict waterway named Adi Ganga. This article describes the practices of tubifex collectors and the market chain for the worms.

Although relatively slow growing, market demand for Clarias magur is sufficient to make it economically attractive for aquaculture. Supply of this species is through a combination of wild caught and cultured fish. However, a drastic reduction in wild populations has led to C. magur being listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Only limited quantities of cultured fish are available. The article communicates the aquaculture practices of C. magur including hatchery, nursery and grow out.

The digestive tract of all vertebrates including fish is known to harbour a complex microbial ecosystem with a large, diverse and dynamic collection of microorganisms. These microbes become an integral component of the host animal with intimate host-microbe associations. In the following study, we employed both bacterial enumeration and culture independent DNA fingerprinting approach to examine the presence of host-specific gut microbiota in Indian major carps related to their occupancy of distinct ecological niches.

Rice-fish farming is a popular activity amongst the Apatani tribe of the Ziro valley, conducted in their wet rice terraces. The strains of fish cultured include mirror carp Cyprinus carpio specularis, scale carp C. carpio communis and leather carp C. carpio nudus, cultivated synchronously with local rice cultivars (Oryza sativa), viz. eamo, ampu, mipya, pyapu, pyaping and eylang. This article describes the integrated farming practices and socio-economic circumstances of the Apatani in the Yachuli, Hapoli, Hong, Hari, Hija, Bula, Dutta and Old Ziro villages.

Fifty fellowships are available for young scientists and researchers under the ASEAN-India Research Training Fellowship Scheme (AIRTF), to study at Indian academic and R&D institutions. The fellowships are for a period of up to six months and include travel and financial support. The fellowships are intended to build capacity among young ASEAN researchers in science and technology and to further strengthen the bond between India and ASEAN member states.

In this issue:

30th NACA Governing Council Meeting, China; Dr Huang Jie elected as the next Director General of NACA; Expert Consultation on Genetically Responsible Aquaculture; Launch of AGRISI: Aquatic Genetic Resource System of India; Aquatic animal epidemiology training course held at NBFGR; Asia-Pacific Laboratory Proficiency Testing Workshop; Proceedings of the FishAdapt Conference; Quarterly Aquatic Animal Disease Report, July-September 2018; Centex Shrimp International Training Course on Biology and Pathology of Penaeid Shrimp; INFOFISH World Shrimp Trade Conference and Exposition.

AGRISI, a new information system on aquatic genetic resources of India, has been launched by the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources. AGRISI is a unique platform presently covering 3138 native fish species of India. The system provides information on systematics, biology, distribution, nutrition, nutrition, and other characteristics. AGRISI includes information on museum specimens, and accessions from different NBFGR repositories. These include data on germplasm, cell lines and links to other molecular resources developed under the National Agricultural Bioinformatics Grid such as the Fish Barcode Information System.

The ICAR-NACA School on Aquatic Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance was held at the ICAR National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR) from 1-6 March. The school was a collaboration between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and NACA. The school covered:

• Concepts and principles of epidemiology.
• Use of epidemiological principles in design and implementation of surveillance programmes.
• Sampling considerations for surveillance programmes.
• Population surveys.
• Estimation of sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic tests.
• Questionnaire design.

A Regional Expert Consultation on Genetically Responsible Aquaculture was convened by the ICAR National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources and NACA, from 26-27 February. The immediate objective of the consultation was to discuss mechanisms for establishing quality seed production systems to improve hatchery and on-farm genetic diversity. A long-range objective is to establish networks of registered broodstock holdings. Linked via IT systems, such networks will form a virtual global aquaculture gene pool that can, collectively, sustain high genetic diversity and adaptive capacity, while checking inbreeding depression.

The 79th edition of the Quarterly Aquatic Animal Disease report contains information from eleven governments. The foreword discusses the outcomes of the 17th Meeting of the Asia Regional Advisory Group on Aquatic Animal Health, held in Bangkok, 13-14 November 2018.