Raising awareness of the link between genetics and disease will be addressed by the global aquaculture community at a special session on regional cooperation for improved biosecurity on 11 June at World Aquaculture Adelaide 2014. Aquatic animal health issues cause massive losses in the aquaculture industry each year. It is estimated that across the global tropical shrimp industry alone around 40% of production is lost to disease.

A Google Group on AHPND detection has been established to promote communication about the two AHPND detection methods (AP1 and AP2) that Dr Chu-Fang Lo and Dr Tim Flegel announced on 24 December 2013. The purpose of the group is to allow people using the methods to send in their comments and experiences about use of these two methods and other methods that might be developed.

The 25th Governing Council Meeting was convened from 25-27 March 2014 in the Mercure Hotel, Vientiane, Lao PDR. The meeting was attended by 17 member governments, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), INFOFISH, the Mekong River Commission (MRC), the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) and the USAID MARKET Project.

NACA wishes to welcome its 19th member government, the Republic of the Maldives, which became a member at the 25th Governing Council Meeting, held in Lao PDR 25-27 March 2014.

The NACA Governing Council elected Dr Cherdsak Virapat as the next Director General of NACA. Dr Virapat will commence duties in June 2014 and will serve a five-year term. Dr Virapat is presently Executive Director of the International Ocean Institute , where he has worked since May 2008. He previously served as an officer of the Royal Thai Government for 27 years, including as a fishery biologist for the Department of Fisheries.

This report, the 64th in the series, contains information about the aquatic animal health status of fourteen states in the Asia-Pacific region. The foreword discusses the 9th Symposium on Diseases in Asian Aquaculture.

In this issue:

Integrated rice/crayfish farming in Hubei Province, China. Improvement of seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii culture production by reducing grazing by rabbit fish (Siganus spp.). Exploring the fisheries of Wular Lake, Kashmir, India. Golden mahseer Tor putitora - a possible candidate species for hill aquaculture. Free primers for specific detection of bacterial isolates that cause acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease. Special session on regional cooperation for improved biosecurity. AHPND detection discussion group established.

In this issue:

25th NACA Governing Council held in Vientiane, Lao PDR. Dr Cherdsak Viripat elected as next Director General of NACA. 9th Symposium on Diseases in Asian Aquaculture 24-28 November 2014, Vietnam. NACA to convene the 11th AFS Asian Fisheries and Aquaculture Forum. Free primers for specific detection of bacterial isolates that cause acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease. World Aquaculture Adelaide 2014: Special session on regional cooperation for improved biosecurity. AHPND detection discussion group established. OIE Regional Workshop on Emerging Aquatic Animal Disease Response, in collaboration with NACA, Bali, Indonesia. United Kingdom - Southeast Asia Workshop on Sustainable Aquaculture.

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 2013, 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.

The workshop was held in Bali, Indonesia from 6 to 8 November 2013. The programme included reports on current aquatic animal disease situations in selected countries and presentations on the national aquatic animal health programmes of China, Japan and Korea. In addition, case studies on the molluscan diseases, shrimp diseases and finfish diseases were presented to facilitate the subsequent discussion on emergency response of those diseases in the national and regional level.