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.
Anti-microbial resistance in aquaculture; participatory market chain approaches to boost fish nurseries; traditional community fishing practices of rural Assam; practical significance of restricted feeding regimes in aquaculture; Bangana dero: A potential indigenous fish species for diversification of carp culture; shell colour variation in farmed Litopenaeus vannamei: Comparison of white- and brown-shelled shrimp; culture-based fisheries: A low-tech, greenhouse friendly approach to improving food and income for Cambodian families.
The 15th meeting of the Asia Regional Advisory Group on Aquatic Animal Health; a regional consultation on responsible production and use of feed in aquaculture; a report on the Giant Prawn 2017 conference; a preview of the new NACA website; and new initiatives on a very serious emerging issue - reducing the human and animal health risks from development of anti-microbial resistance in the aquaculture industry.
Tilapia lake virus (TiLV) is an emerging virus that causes syncytial hepatitis of tilapia with mortalities of up to 90%. Recent disease outbreaks in Thai tilapia farms have been associated with high cumulative mortalities and histopathological features typical of SHT. Infection has now been confirmed. The semi-nested RT-PCR protocol described here may be used freely for non-commercial applications to detect TiLV. The authors urge laboratories in Asia to test for TiLV when abnormal tilapia mortality occurs.
The fourth major international event on giant freshwater prawns was organised by the Asian Institute of Technology from 20-24 March 2007. The conference, organised by Salin Krishna and Michael New, built on a series of highly successful events that trace back to the very beginnings of the industry. The first conference, Giant Prawn 1980 brought together all those involved in freshwater prawn research and farming for the first time and set many priorities for future research and development.
FAO, NACA and the Thai Department of Fisheries convened a Regional Consultation Responsible Production and Use of Feed and Feed Ingredients for Sustainable Growth of Aquaculture in Asia-Pacific in Bangkok, 7-9 March 2017. The objective of the consultation was to review the current status of aquaculture feed production and use, demand and supply, sourcing of ingredients, government policies and institutional support, ongoing progress and development gaps. The meeting brought together government and private sector representatives.
Over the years, there have been two growing sustainability concerns with shrimp supply chain, namely human trafficking and environmental impacts. Solving these two issues can sometime result in conflicting agendas. This summary outlines CPF’s approach and experience in dealing with the two issues. The most difficult challenge in our experience is in building trust and understanding between the stakeholders, including governments and regulators, fisherfolk, commercial fishermen, suppliers and buyers. However, we feel that CPF is now a pioneer in our programs.
The Department of Fisheries is responsible for aquaculture sustainability, including food safety, animal health and welfare, environmental integrity, social and community welfare and regulation of fishing activities across the whole aquaculture supply chain. The Feed Quality Control and Development Division is responsible for registration and certification of feed formulas and monitoring of feed quality. In addition to input controls, end products are also subject to inspection and monitoring, certification and traceability systems.
Approximately 90% of aquaculture produce in Thailand are fed with a complete commercial feed. The Department of Fisheries is responsible for the licensing and registration of feed to be sold for commercial purposes. High quality fishmeal is a priority for aquaculture feed production especially for shrimp and marine fish and this has significantly affected feed cost. Most agricultural by-products are already utilised for purposes such as livestock, pet foods, fertilisers and biofuels, so competition for alternative ingredients is high.
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 2016, 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.
