In this issue:

12th Technical Advisory Committee held in Cha-am, Thailand. Audio recordings: WAS special session on regional cooperation for improved biosecurity. AFSPAN Final Technical Report now available! Pillay Aquaculture Foundation Awards for Scientists in Least Developed Countries. Gender seminar conducted and ASEAN Gender Network launched. A two-tube, nested PCR detection method for AHPND bacteria. 9th Regional Grouper Hatchery Production Training Course. Developing an environmental monitoring system to strengthen fisheries and aquaculture in the Lower Mekong Basin. Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop on the Status of Aquatic Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

The objectives of the Aquaculture for Food Security, Poverty Alleviation and Nutrition (AFSPAN) project were to strengthen the knowledge base and develop new and more rigorous methodologies of quantifying the contribution of aquaculture to combat hunger and poverty, thus providing the evidence upon which sound strategies, policies and research programs can be developed to support the sustainable expansion of aquaculture to maximise its impact on food and nutrition security and poverty alleviation.

This report, the 67th in the series, contains information about the aquatic animal health status of fourteen states in the Asia-Pacific region. The foreword discusses the OIE Regional Workshop on Safe International Trade in Aquatic Animals and Aquatic Animal Products.

In this issue:

Regional consultation on culture-based fisheries developments in Asia. Gender Assessment Synthesis Workshop. NACA participation in the 5th Global Symposium on Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries, Lucknow, India. Broodstock Management in Aquaculture: Long term effort required for regional capacity building. Urgent appeal to control spread of the shrimp microsporidian parasite Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP).

Asia produces nearly 90% of world aquaculture output. However, growth of the industry is increasingly constrained by various factors, including poor broodstock quality and genetic deterioration of domesticated stock. This has arisen in part from a general lack of planning, knowledge and skills in broodstock management. Capacity building across the region is urgently required for hatchery operators at different scales through information exchange, experience sharing and training.

A regional consultation was held to discuss culture-based fisheries development in Asia from 21 to 23 October 2014 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The consultation was funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research as part of the project Culture-based fisheries development in Lao PDR and Cambodia. The consultation provided the opportunity to discuss the outcomes of a series successful projects that have been implemented over the past decade in the Asian region.

The NACA/USAID MARKET Gender Project organised a Gender Assessment Synthesis Workshop in Bangkok, Thailand from 29 September to 1 October 2014, which was attended by the MARKET gender project teams from Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. The objectives of the Synthesis Workshop were to assess the status of work on the in-country gender assessment reports and the case studies, including make a start on writing of case studies.

This report, the 66th in the series, contains information about the aquatic animal health status of fourteen states in the Asia-Pacific region. The foreword discusses key activities of the NACA Regional Aquatic Animal Health Programme.

Promising aquaculture practices for sustainable intensification. Culture and breeding of Archcentrus spilurum at Tuticorin District of Tamil Nadu, India. Searching for ecological ways to reduce WSSV impact. Fisheries and aquaculture-based livelihoods prospects in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Linking farms and landscapes in the governance of sustainable Vietnamese shrimp aquaculture. Resilience of shrimp farming based livelihoods in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Farming system affects the virulence of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) in penaeid shrimp.

This report, the 65th in the series, contains information about the aquatic animal health status of thirteen states in the Asia-Pacific region. The foreword discusses the outcomes of the 13th meeting of the Asia Regional Advisory Group on Aquatic Animal Health.