Hilsa are a highly favoured food fish on the Indian subcontinent, but wild populations have been declining very fast due to over exploitation and disturbance of their riverine spawning grounds. Hilsa have a complex life cycle, migrating from the sea to riverine environments to spawn and are very sensitive to handling, which has complicated efforts to breed them in captivity. The ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture has initiated a programme to domesticate hilsa to reduce dependence on wild catch. This article documents the first successful approaches to rear larvae through to table sized fish and to develop mature hilsa broodstock in a farm environment.

Today, tribal people comprise 8.6 percent of the Indian population and are one of the most disadvantaged sections of society. Many tribal groups in different parts of the country depend on natural resources for their livelihoods, to which their access has been progressively eroded. With financial support from ICAR-CIFT the College of Fisheries, Gumla, undertook seven training programmes for tribal women from economically marginalised tribal communities in the preparation and marketing of value-added fisheries products. The training encouraged women to develop small businesses building on their micro-entrepreneurship.

In this issue:

High-level meeting on aquaculture transformation in the Asia-Pacific region; Developing a regional strategy for aquatic organism health: Progressive management pathways; Job opportunity - health management and husbandry researcher; 2022 China-ASEAN International Forum on Sustainable Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture Under the Blue Transformation Strategy; A new progressive management pathway for improving seaweed biosecurity; Indian delegates visit Thailand for training and industry exposure; PhD scholarships: Shanghai Ocean University PhD Programme 2023; Reported aquatic animal diseases in the Asia-Pacific region during the second quarter of 2022.

With the implementation of the new aquatic animal disease reporting in the Asia Pacific region from January 2021, and in lieu of the published QAAD Reports (last issue published was 4th quarter of 2020), NACA is publishing reported aquatic animal diseases submitted by countries in the Asia-Pacific region.  This report covers the second quarter of 2022 and the original and updated reports can be accessed at the QAAD page. 

NACA welcomed five delegates from India on an aquaculture training and exposure visit from 31 October to 4 November. The visit began with a discussion at the NACA Secretariat on Thai mariculture, the recently established International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium, and better management practices concerning hatchery production and use of live feeds. The delegates left Bangkok the next day to visit seabass cage and pond culture and a shrimp nursery in the Chachengsao area and Bangprakong River. The following day they travelled to the Rayong Coastal Aquaculture Center and visited local farm sites before overnighting in Chantaburi. On the final day they visited the Kung Krabae Bay Royal Development Study Center and mangrove walk; and a freshwater fish farm to observe intensive carp and pangasius culture.

In this issue:

Sustainable livelihood model for coastal families through seabass fingerling production: A success story; A pilot of integrated mangrove-aquaculture as a nature-based solution to mitigate climate change in West Bengal, India; Recreational fisheries in Uttarakhand; Soft-shell mud crab production for export in Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, India; Conducting artificial fertilisation, hatching and spawn development of Indian shad, Tenualosa ilisha: Pathfinding hilsa domestication; NACA Newsletter.

Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) is highly favoured as a food fish by consumers but has a complex life cycle and has proven very difficult to breed. Domestication of hilsa requires extra effort while nurturing the larval stage, which is very sensitive and susceptible to mortality. This article describes standardised protocols developed by the Kalyani Field Station of the ICAR-CIFA Regional Research Centre, Rahara, for artificial fertilisation, incubation and larval rearing of hilsa, as the first steps towards the goal of hilsa domestication and culture.

In West Bengal wild-caught juvenile and sub-adult orange-clawed mud crabs Scylla olivacea are purchased by farms for grow out, fattening, and the production of soft-shell crab for export. This article describes the management practices for producing soft-shell mud crab at National Aqua Farm, using individual box enclosures, and their subsequent processing and packing for export. Details of the crab rearing unit are provided, along with observations of moulting cycles and post-harvest management of soft shell mud crab.

Establishing recreational fisheries in Uttarakhand's highland lakes and river systems offers new opportunities to generate livelihoods and income for hill people. The development of catch-and-release sport fisheries can also contribute to conservation of aquatic biodiversity through development of captive breeding technologies, supportive breeding based stock enhancement, and community participation in management of both fishery and habitat. This article describes established and emerging sport fisheries in the highlands of Uttarakhand including for mahseer, goonch and brown trout. It also addresses as yet unrealised opportunities for establishment of recreational fisheries identified through geoinformatic approaches, and partnerships between local communities and government in natural resource management.

Nature-based solutions are interventions that aim to protect, restore and sustainably manage natural and modified ecosystems to benefit human well-being and biodiversity and address societal concerns. Integrated mangrove-shrimp farming or simply aquaculture is the coexistence of mangroves and shrimp aquaculture in a tide-fed environment. In comparison to other shrimp farming systems, integrated mangrove-shrimp farming can additionally produce timber and supports biodiversity. To understand the possible benefits of mangrove integration, our consortium compared three integrated mangrove-aquaculture systems together with three local farmers in North 24 Parganas. This article describes our findings, and important factors to consider before deploying integrated mangrove-aquaculture systems.