Technical publications

The goal of this project was to optimise the economic yield from mixed shrimp aquaculture-mangrove forestry farming systems in Ca Mau Province, Vietnam, in a sustainable manner. Specific objectives were to investigate factors controlling the yields of shrimp and wood from shrimp farming-mangrove systems, experiment with shrimp pond and mangrove forest management to evaluate different culture options, identify improved practices and assist government to transfer the results of the project to the wider coastal farming community.

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 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).

Knowledge of community fisheries and their capacity is a pre-requisite for co-management. This report illustrates the development of a pilot data collection, sharing and interrogation mechanisms for key information in support of co-management, identifying information requirements and procedures for the transmission and sharing of information between relevant stakeholders. A combination of focus group interviews with the community committee and village leaders, and participatory rural appraisal was used as a means of information compilation.

The NACA STREAM Initiative has been working with issues relating to livelihoods, policy and institutional development and communications throughout Asia-Pacific. Recently this has included work in India with indigenous communities supporting people to have a voice in policy making processes. There appear to be some parallels between this work and the objectives of Kimberley Aquaculture Aboriginal Corporation and also the Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry Australia Indigenous Aquaculture Unit, National Aquaculture Development Strategy for Indigenous Communities in Australia.

The aim of this report is to identify and recommend methods of communication that are appropriate to aquatic resources management stakeholders, focusing in particular on poor rural communities in Cambodia. As the Cambodian government begins to work more closely with local aquatic resources managers from poor rural communities, increased attention is being paid to the use of communication strategies and tools, in particular by the newly established Community Fisheries Development Office of the Department of Fisheries.

Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world; much of its population live in rural areas and many live below the local poverty line. The management of common property aquatic resources is of over-riding importance to food security and sustainable rural development in Cambodia. The key groups of poor people who use aquatic resources as part of their diverse livelihoods portfolios are subsistence fishers, small-scale aquaculture practitioners and aquatic resources collectors.

This paper examines farming practices in marine fish cage aquaculture in southeast Asia with reference to feed and feeding. It proposes a range of reforms to improve the economic performance of the sector, including selective breeding, use of hatchery-reared fingerings, modernisation of cage systems, improved feed management and use of dry pelleted feeds, relocation of cages to better quality sites and a greater degree of government and private sector co-operation in research and development.

This study of the livelihood of farmers and fishermen is based on the information provided by the villagers representing 142 households in the village. There had been some changes that impacted on the livelihood of villagers, especially in natural resources. The population is constantly growing which leads to an increase in natural resource utilisation and ultimately their degradation. The villagers usually suffer from diseases such as malaria, fever and dengue fever.

This is the report of a livelihoods study team working together with villagers from Saob Leu Village in Kratie Province, Cambodia from 10-15 July 2002. The team worked with 1530 villagers who volunteered to participate and represented the 177 households in the village. The villagers rely mainly on farming, with dry season rice being the most important crop. Most villagers are involved in small-scale fishing, with some having other skills.

This is the report of a livelihoods study team working together with villagers from Trorbek Pork in Kandal Province, Cambodia. In Trorbek Pork Village there are 140 families and a total population of 700 persons. The primary occupation of villagers was farming dry season rice on 47 ha, and in addition cultivating vegetables such as corn, mung bean, wax gourd, chilli and sesame on 15 ha. Secondary occupations included fishing, garment making, singing, laboring and repairing machines.

This study was based on the population census (1998) and key informant interviews (10 to 50 villagers voluntarily represented the 253 families of Dong Kom Village). There were 253 families with a total population of 1,192 persons. The primary occupation of villagers was farming, growing dry season rice on 1,900 ha, besides that they grow other vegetables such as corn, pumpkin and other vegetables on 200 ha. Secondary occupations were fisher, teachers, traditional medical practitioner, barber and other services.

This is the report of a livelihoods study team working together with villagers from Dang Tong Village in Kampong Chhnang Province, Cambodia. In general, villagers are skilled in farming and mat weaving, but some villagers also have individual skills such as carpentry, boat making, hairdressing and fixing machines. Although this village is in the Tonle Sap (Great Lake) area, which has the most plentiful supply of fresh fish in the country, the villagers are subsistence fishers.

The main objective of the study is to understand the villagers’ standard of living, hardship, external impact, present and future demand. The team interviewed with 15 to 60 villagers including men, women, young and old villagers, represented 135 families in the village. The main occupations of the villagers are farmers cultivating rice on 299 hectares of seasonal rice and 61.8 hectares dry season rice and fishers. Beside that, they have other occupations such as repairers, making thatch.

This study examines the development of the Community Fisheries Sub-Decree. From its promulgation in late 2000 through its draft form in June 2002, this sub-decree has gone through over 25 drafts. Initially, the writing process involved the public intimately: community meetings were conducted, NGOs contributed their knowledge and expertise, and then, with these consultations in mind, the newly-formed Community Fisheries Development Office (CFDO) in the Department of Fisheries (DoF) drafted the sub-decree.

This document is the Inception Report of the DFID NRSP Research Project R8100 (March 2002 – May 2003), managed by the NACA. The purpose of the project is to identify, test and promote mechanisms for the delivery of improved rural services critical to the development of rural livelihoods, with emphasis on services in support of aquaculture objectives, strengths and constraints of marginalised groups and their complex diverse livelihoods. An inception visit was made from 17-24 March 2002. 

This article discusses a process for transacting pro-poor policy change is discussed drawing on examples in aquaculture from India. Based on research and development experience in Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa, and some further work in the western and central regions covering tribal populations, the Fisheries Development Commissioner encouraged the NACA-STREAM Initiative to recommend reforms under the FFDA scheme or even suggest a new “tribal” rainfed farming component that could be launched in the next year.

STREAM is a regional initiative that will support capacity building among local government institutions, NGOs, and community groups involved in aquatic resources management. It will support community-based learning initiatives, develop a regional communications and learning strategy and support on-going policy and institutional changes in the region to enable aquatic resources users to participate more effectively in policy-making processes, and encouraging the development of more responsive government institutions.

This paper reports on the development of a communication dissemination strategy for aquaculture recommendations resulting from participatory research in eastern India. It focuses on the rural poor who have limited access to resources and no effective aquaculture extension support. Important matters in relation to access to extension messages include socio-economic issues, access to TV and radio receivers, literacy levels and language. The paper shows the relative accessibility of different types of extension media for the different stakeholders.

An investigation on the effect of application of livestock manure, the biomass of aerobic heterotrophic bacteria and Colicin population and distribution of Aeromonas, Pseudomonas and pathogenic bacteria of the human digestive tract which are also present in the body mucus of black carp, grass carp, silver carp and bighead carp as well as in pond water (on the application of manure of chicken, duck, cow and pig) was conducted in the fish farming areas in Wuxi, China.