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.
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.
Brackish waters offer good prospects for future aquaculture development, as there are fewer competing uses for these resources. Kilarkollai Village (Tamil Nadu, India) has brackish waters on the village periphery, which are under utilised. The majority of the population are landless poor, economically and socially marginalised, and live below the poverty line. A team from the ICAR-Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture demonstrated nursery rearing technologies in partnership with four Scheduled Caste families from the village, with a view to providing supplementary livelihoods and income. The team provided training, initial inputs and technical support.
Training Course on Mariculture Technologies in Asia-Pacific; FAO/NACA Virtual Workshop on Aquaculture Transformation in Asia and the Pacific Region; Belt & Road Forum for International Freshwater Fishery Industry Innovation; 8th Global Conference on Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries, 21-23 November; Reported Aquatic Animal Diseases in the Asia-Pacific Region during the First Quarter of 2022; International Training Course on Biology and Pathology of the Penaeid Shrimp 2022; Angkasa Putra inaugurated as first President of the South-East Asian Fisheries and Aquaculture Student Association; Artemia webinars: Video recordings of technical presentations available.
GAF-8, the 8th Global Symposium on Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries – will be held from 21-23 November, 2022, hosted by the Society of Fisheries Technologists (India) (SOFTI), Kochi and the ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Kochi. GAF-8 is a stand-alone event, that will be packed with a variety of different activities and sessions covering all aspects. The GAF8 session and event themes, call for abstracts and other information will be available shortly. Please see the GAF website for registration and other details.
Dynamics of small-scale aquaculture development in India: A review; Green water technology as an essential support to larval rearing of hilsa shad; Collection of freshwater molluscs and sale of meat by women in Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, India; A success story of ornamental fish farming as a tool for alternative livelihood of tribal women in Keonjhar District, Odisha, India; Recent trends in seed production of stinging catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis, in India; NACA Newsletter.
Hatchery production of stinging catfish (Heteropneustes fossilis) seed is increasing as it is a good fish species favoured by consumers due to its high protein and lower fat content. Stinging catfish naturally breeds in the monsoon season, and is found gravid in the wild during July-September. In captivity it can be successfully produced using either induced or natural breeding techniques. This article summarises what is known about stinging catfish biology, and methods for its captive breeding, rearing of larvae and fry, feeding strategies and health concerns, to aid production of seed of this valuable catfish.
In Odisha, India, ornamental fish farming, culture and seed production are being utilised by self help groups to provide livelihoods for poor people in rural communities. The objective of self help groups is to sustainably increase the income of poor families to bring them above the poverty line. This is being achieved through a process of social mobilisation, training and capacity building, and provision of some necessary facilities. This article documents the evolution of ornamental fish farming by the Pragati Self Help Group in Bhatunia Village.
The common freshwater snail Bellamya bengalensis, golden apple snail Pila globosa and freshwater pearl mussel Lamellidens marginalis are naturally found in West Bengal. These molluscs are also an important source of protein for poor rural communities, and are also gaining popularity in middle and high income suburban areas for their nutritional and traditional medicinal values. They also represent a significant source of employment and income generation for women from Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes. This article documents the collection, preparation, trade and use of freshwater molluscs in Paschim Medinipur and Purba Medinipur districts of West Bengal.
Green water technology is a technique that promotes phytoplankton to grow profusely, and includes several methods by which desirable microalgae are produced for the purpose of rearing larval fish and crustaceans. Naturally occurring phytoplankton, which serve as feed for fish and crustacean larvae, are grown and proliferate under a controlled system. This article describes the use of greenwater and co-feeding techniques in the rearing of hilsa, Tenualosa ilisha, principally making use of Chlorella and rotifers.
Development of small-scale aquaculture has dominated development discourse because of its potential to fight malnutrition and poverty, to ensure food security and enhance the socio-economic condition of people living at the bottom of the pyramid. Aquaculture has contributed to strengthening livelihoods and food security in southeast Asian countries, contributing to the livelihood of the poor farmers through improved food supply, income and employment.
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 fourth quarter of 2021 and the original and updated reports can be accessed from the QAAD page.
The aquatic environment contains many opportunistic pathogens and fish are frequently infected by a range of parasites, bacteria, viruses, and fungi. In most incidences of disease, the involvement of two or more pathogens are often seen, which in turn complicates diagnosis and treatment. Here we present a few case studies on mixed infections in aquaculture systems, which may become more common in future due to changing climatic patterns and associated adverse impacts on water quality. Mixed infections seem to be a big challenge to diagnostic laboratories and health specialists in terms of providing a correct diagnosis and treatment.
Seahorses are charismatic livebearers that come under the genus Hippocampus spp. Seahorses are widely distributed in tropical and temperate waters (mostly in the Indo-Pacific region) and different species can tolerate a salinity range of 6-35 ppt.
Seahorses are highly in demand for traditional medicines and curio trade purposes in the dried form and live ones are popular in the marine ornamental aquarium trade. As a result, they are vulnerable to overfishing. Since over-exploitation of these charismatic species has resulted in a drastic reduction in their natural populations, aquaculture of seahorses on a commercial scale may help to reduce pressure on wild stocks. This article provides an overview of seahorse aquaculture in India including research, the production cycle, production systems, and disease issues.
For the last five decades or so, West Bengal has been the leading state in India for the production of production and supply of major carp fry, underpinning the success of freshwater fish culture. This article describes the structure of the hatchery industry in Ramsagar, West Bengal, production practices and systems, packing, transport and links to major seed markets both within the state and elsewhere in India. Market price, broodstock management and natural breeding methods are also discussed.
The Farmer Field School approach is promoted by FAO as an alternative technology dissemination mechanism to the top-down extension methods in south-east Asian countries. In order to utilise the potential of the farmer field school approach for aquaculture, ICAR-CIFA has piloted Aquaculture Field Schools (AFS) in several states in India. AFS are schools without walls to improve the decision-making capacity of the farmers and facilitate cross-learning opportunities. It is a participatory extension methodology whereby fish farmers are allowed to choose the methods of aquaculture production through discovery-based approaches.
This report summaries the proceedings of the 20th meeting of the Regional Advisory Group on Aquatic Animal Health, held 4-5 November 2021. The meeting discussed: Progress on NACA’s Asia Regional Aquatic Animal Health Program; updates from the OIE Aquatic Animal Health Standards Commission; aquaculture biosecurity; Progressive Management Pathway for Improving Aquaculture Biosecurity activities relevant to Asia; a systematic approach for quantifying biosecurity measures in aquaculture; aquatic animal health strategy; updates on the OIE Regional Collaboration Framework on Aquatic Animal Health; and updates on the QAAD Reporting and Disease List.
New reviews of aquaculture now available online; Post-doctoral scholarships for women in STEM at the University of Stirling; Research breakthrough seen to curb shortage of "poor man's fish"; Free online aquaculture courses; Fishing for life 2022: South and South-East Asian Conference on Small Scale Fisheries and Aquaculture; Reported Aquatic Animal Diseases in the Asia-Pacific Region during the Third Quarter of 2021; Shrimp 2022: INFOFISH World Shrimp Trade Conference and Exhibition; Tuskfish CMS v2.0.3 available.
The University of Stirling has been awarded funds by the British Council to provide funding for four Early Academic Fellowships for Women in STEM. These fellowships will be 6-12 months in duration. The scholarships are available to women who are passport holders and permanent residents of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. For further information please visit the University of Stirling website. The deadline for submissions is 31 March 2022.
