This report, the 62nd in the series, contains information about the aquatic animal health status of sixteen states in the Asia-Pacific region. The foreword discusses the outcomes of the 12th meeting of the Asia Regional Advisory Group on Aquatic Animal Health.

This report, the 61st in the series, contains information about the aquatic animal health status of fifteen states in the Asia-Pacific region. The foreword discusses the OIE tool for evaluation of performance of aquatic veterinary services.

In this issue:

Special session on regional cooperation for improved biosecurity. Pond aquaculture taking off in Nepal. Introduction of culture-based fishery practices in small water bodies in Cambodia: Issues and strategies. A case study on polychaete fishery by the Irular tribal fishing community on the Tamil Nadu coast. Use of pangasius pond sediment for rooftop bag gardening: Potential for rural-urban integrated agriculture-horticulture. Culture-based fisheries exchanges between Lao PDR and Cambodia.

In this issue:

Culture-based fisheries development in Lao PDR and Cambodia proceeding well. National aquatic animal disease surveillance programme launched in India. Report on early mortality syndrome / acute hepatopancreatic necrosis syndrome of shrimp. International Symposium on Small-scale Freshwater Aquaculture Extension, 2-5 December, Bangkok. 'Perfect' food for 'perfect' prawns. Aquaculture without Frontiers Special Session. We asked CSIRO: Gold Coast Tiger Prawns. Understanding the sex of salmon. Overcoming smallholder challenges with biotechnology. Coordinated efforts in aquaculture needed to meet global demand. FAO e-book collection for tablets and e-readers.

This report is the proceedings of a workshop held under the FAO technical cooperation project Emergency assistance to control the spread of an unknown disease affecting shrimps held in Hanoi, Viet Nam from 25 to 27 June 2013. The workshop reviewed recent investigations into the cause of acute hepatopancreatic necrosis syndrome, believed to related to a strain of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and drew a number of recommendations on specific and generic actions and measures for reducing the risk of AHPND.

A new FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report, Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) or Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Syndrome (AHPNS) of Cultured Shrimp, focuses on this emerging disease that has devastated the shrimp industry of China, Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam over the last three years.

A special Workshop on Aquaculture Certification was held on 26 June in conjunction with the VIETFISH trade show, which ran from 25-27 June in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. The workshop was organised by the ASEM Aquaculture Platform, with contributions from partners Ghent University, Wageningen University, Can Tho University and NACA. Approximately 60 people attended including farmers, researchers, certification agencies, and regional and international organisations.

Artisanal shrimp aquaculture is in a disease-induced crisis of lost production, into which are falling farms, gene pools adapted to farms, and small-hold farming as a way of life. Rising levels of inbreeding and an exceptionally strong, positive relationship between inbreeding and disease which is described here. The root cause is social: a nexus of human behavior in which breeders protect their intellectual property by generating inbreeding and farmers suffer the consequences.

The Department of Animal Husbandry Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India has approved a national project on aquatic animal disease surveillance for five years and funding of INR 320 million (about US$ 6 million) has been allocated through the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB). A national consultation on aquatic animal disease surveillance held last April 2012, attended by NACA, made a strong recommendation for the need for a national program on surveillance.

Under the ACIAR-funded project Culture-based fisheries development in Lao PDR and Cambodia a team from the Cambodian side of the project travelled to Lao PDR from 8-12 May. The exchange visits between the researchers and selected community leaders of both countries are a major component of the project, expected to facilitate networking and communication between the teams and to bring about an interchange of ideas and lessons learned.