This report, the eighteenth in the series, contains information about the aquatic animal health status of fifteen states in the Asia-Pacific region. The foreword discusses changes to the list of diseases covered in the report by the Asia Regional Advisory Group on Aquatic Animal Health.

In this issue:

Outcomes of Advisory Group on Health. New FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific. Chinese Regional Lead Centre provides training in Rice-Fish farming under China-ASEAN Agriculture Cooperation. Development of Second Phase of APARIS. Building the leading source of global information on aquaculture. AFS/Fish Health Section 5th Symposium on Diseases in Asian Aquaculture. Upcoming training courses.

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.