The Asia Regional Advisory Group on Aquatic Animal Health meets annually to discuss regional health issues including emerging disease threats. This report includes a review of regional disease status circa 2003, global and regional disease reporting arrangements, global issues and standards, progress in implementation of the the Regional Technical Guidelines on Health management for the Responsible Movement of Live Aquatic Animals, identification and designation of regional aquatic animal health resources and regional and international cooperation.

The present case studies concentrated on three sites, Kandaleru in Andhra Pradesh, Dhigirpar in West Bengal and Brahmagiri in Orissa. The three sites are markedly differentbut have a common feature that all three mainly are concerned with small farmers groupings. Earlier shrimp farming failures owing to the overexploitation of the ecosystem, by overstocking and consequent high inputs, resulting in degradation of the environment, diseases and eventual collapse, have alerted all shrimp farm groups to be wary.

This collection of publications originates from the International Consortium Program on Shrimp Farming and the Environment, which was implemented by the World Bank, the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The consortium supported 35 complementary case studies prepared by more than 100 researchers in more than 20 shrimp farming countries.

The Expert Consultation on Aquaculture Education in the Asia-Pacific was held in, Vietnam, 2000. The consultation was the final activity of APEC project FWG/02/99 “Collaborative Aquaculture Education Program”. This report gives the findings and papers presented to the Expert Consultation, including the follow-up recommendations for establishing an Aquaculture Educational Consortium, in the form of a network, comprising academic and training institutions in the Asia and Oceania regions.

The sixteen papers in this volume were largely based on the data from a survey of more than 5,000 shrimp and close to 6,000 carp farms in sixteen countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region. They provide an economic and technical efficiency of production analysis for Asian shrimp and carp farming systems. This survey was conducted under the ADB/NACA regional study and workshop on aquaculture sustainability and the environment (RETA 5534).

In this issue: An experience with group formation in Jabarrah, West Bengal. Aquaculture self-help groups in rural West Bengal. Lessons learned for Fulwar Toli from an exposure visit to Jabarrah. Livelihood intervention by Fish Farmers Development Agency - a success story from Mayurbhanj, Orissa. Understanding of assets-based livelihoods through participatory rural appraisal to eliminate hunger. Poverty ranking tools in PRA - experiences of EIRFP in addressing vulnerability. This edition is also available in Vietnamese, Khmer, Ilonggo and Oriya.

This report, the 22nd in the series, contains information about the aquatic animal health status of seventeen states in the Asia-Pacific region. The foreword discusses the role of disease surveillance programmes and issues realted to the OIE Aquatic Animal Health Standards Commission.

In this issue:

Freshwater prawn Macrobrachium nobilii for rural nutrition. Snapshots of a socially responsible farm in Sri Lanka. Introduction of rainbow trout in Nepal. Tilapia seed production in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Seaweed mariculture - scope and potential in India. Growth enhancement of carp and prawn through dietary suppliementation with salt. Fertilisation and water quality management in small ponds. The "Gher Revolution". Exercising responsibilities to tackle aquatic animal disease. Immunostimulants in aquaculture.

This report, the 21st in the series, contains information about the aquatic animal health status of sixteen states in the Asia-Pacific region. The foreword discusses the outcomes of the second meeting of the Asia Regional Advisory Group on Aquatic Animal Health.

In this issue:

Ornamental fish farming in India. Tilapia for Indian aquaculture? Peri-urban food production in southeast Asia. Socio-economic consequences of shrimp farming in Andhra Pradesh. Breeding techniques for golden arowana Scleropages formosus. Captive breeding of peacock eel Macrognathus aculeatus. Substrate-based aquaculture systems. Extension in shrimp health management - experiences from India. Treatment of disease in freshwater shrimps and crabs in China. Larval rearing techniques for humpback grouper Cromileptes altivelis.

In this issue:

Health Advisory Group urges vigilance and preparedness against emerging disease. New Zealand farmer helps train Asian aquaculturists. Mr Junaidi Che Ayub. Global Aquaculture Discussion Forum, Dhaka, Bangladesh. STREAM Conducts Livelihood Capacity-building in the Philippines, India. MPEDA/NACA shrimp farmer workshop held in Andhra Pradesh, India. Learning by Doing - Fisheries and Adaptive Learning. NACA cooperation expanded to shrimp health management in Vietnam. 150 people trained in Q3-Q4, 2003. International Symposium on Freshwater Prawns Held at Kochi, India. Developing an online aquaculture community for NACA.

The Second STREAM Regional Conference was held in Tagaytay City, Philippines, from 8-10 June 2003 with the participation of 23 people from Australia, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Yunnan Province of China. Following a regional overview of STREAM’s themes, country partners, donors and funding, and activities, participants visited four “stations” on the themes of livelihoods, institutions, policy development, and communications, working in groups representing National Coordinators, Communications Hub Managers, and Partners. STREAM operations were discussed.

This report documents a training course that was held at the Research Institute for Mariculture, Bali, Indonesia in May 2003. The course covered both theoretical aspects of grouper husbandry via lectures and practical hands-on work in a grouper hatchery, including broodstock management, tank preparation egg collection, live feed production, health management, harvesting and transport and visits to commmercial grouper and milkfish hatcheries, grow-out facilities, markets and exporters.

This report, the twentieth in the series, contains information about the aquatic animal health status of nineteen states in the Asia-Pacific region. The editorial discusses health risks associated with trans-boundary movement of live aquatic animals and the role of risk analyses.

In this issue:

Peri-urban aquaculture in Kolkata. Diffusion and adoption of shrimp farming technologies. Aquaculture education in India. Information system on fish germplasm resources in China. Freshwater crustacean aquaculture in China. The role of macronutrients. Innovations by Bengal farmers. Scientific guidelines for freshwater prawn farmers in India. Status of mariculture in Indonesia. Use of probiotics in larval rearing. Problems in shrimp culture during the wet season.

In this issue:

Recommendations of the Aquamarkets Consultation 2003. EC-funded project targets seafood trade and poverty. Shrimp disease control and coastal management. Fisheries and Adaptive Learning project. Shrimp aquaculture certification: Request for information & advice on a new web site. Workshop on control and responsible use of alien species. MPEDA/NACA Technical Assistance on Shrimp Health and Coastal Management. Changes to the regional list of aquatic animal diseases. STREAM SAPA Stakeholder Workshop in Hanoi. Regional Training Course on Grouper Hatchery Production. Review on low food chain species for marine fish culture. NACA/Deakin University to visit Indonesia 2-7 April 2003.

In this issue: Learning insights from the Fisheries Resource Management Project. An orientation on the SIAD approach and participatory local development planning. Group-building, production success and the struggle to prevent capture of the resource. Urban agriculture, water reuse and local economies: Case study of coastal riverine settlements of Ondo State, Nigeria. Livelihoods analysis: Actual experience from using PRA. A sustainable livelihoods approach to fisheries development for poverty alleviation in southeastern Vietnam. About the STREAM Journal. About STREAM.

This report, the nineteenth in the series, contains information about the aquatic animal health status of sixteen states in the Asia-Pacific region. The editorial discusses the role of the Quarterly Aquatic Animal Disease Reporting System.

In this issue:

Fertilisation, soil and water quality management. Commercialisation of giant freshwater prawn culture in India. Aquaculture in reservoir-fed canal systems. Production of black-lip pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera. Hybridisation hassles. Breeding sea cucumber Holothuria scabra in Vietnam. Use of palm kernel meal in feeds. Getting the most out of your feed. Marine finfish aquaculture in Myanmar. Penaeus monodon culture in low-salinity areas. Fisheries and aquaculture in Nepal.

The Asia Regional Advisory Group on Aquatic Animal Health meets annually to discuss regional health issues including emerging disease threats. This report includes a review of regional disease status circa 2002, global and regional disease reporting arrangements, global issues and standards, progress in implementation of the Regional Technical Guidelines on Health management for the Responsible Movement of Live Aquatic Animals, identification and designation of regional aquatic animal health resources and regional and international cooperation.