This practical manual "Guide to establishment of community-based aquaculture management groups" was prepared by the national team of Vietnam under the ASEAN Foundation supported project "Strengthening capacity of small holder ASEAN aquaculture farmers for competitive and sustainable aquaculture".

This manual is intended for the use by the current and prospective small-scale farmer groups who are interested in obtaining accreditation for their production process. The objective is to provide them an easy-to-follow, stepwise guide that can be used as a practical tool in their venture of attaining group certification. However, this can be used by the field extension officers and certifiers who are directly involved in the process or other interested parties.

This practical manual covers key aspects for successful grouper farming including formation of farmer groups, cage crop planning, crop calendar and better management practices for cage aquaculture of grouper. These include site selection, design, cage preparation, seed selection and stocking practices, feed, water and health management, harvest and post-harvest, record keeping, marketing and capital strengthening. It is designed for use by small-scale farmers.

This practical manual "Better management practices for seaweed farming" is produced by the Philippines national team under the ASEAN Foundation supported project "Strengthening capacity of small holder ASEAN aquaculture farmers for competitive and sustainable aquaculture" implemented by NACA in five ASEAN countries. The long-term objective of the project was to assist ASEAN small- scale aquaculture farmers improve their livelihoods by being competitive in markets and improving farm management practices to deliver quality and sustainably produced aquaculture products.

This report, the 55th in the series, contains information about the aquatic animal health status of fourteen states in the Asia-Pacific region. The foreword discusses acute hepatopancreatic necrosis syndrome ("early mortality syndrome") in cultured shrimp in Asia.

In this issue:

Reflections on small-scale aquaculture. Azolla - an aquatic fern of significance to small-scale aquaculture. Monitoring quantity and quality of striped catfish pond effluent. Feeding strategies adopted by fish farmers in Andhra Pradesh, India. Hatchery techniques applied for the artificiant production of snout otter clam (Lutraria rhynchaeria) in small scale farms in Nha Trang City, Vietnam. Crude palm oil is a sustainable alternative to the growing fish oil scarcity, particularly for the aquaculture of warm freshwater fish species.

In this issue:

10th Meeting of the Asia Regional Advisory Group on Aquatic Animal Health. Flood. Shrimp Price Study, Phase III: Case studies in Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh. The Sultanate of Oman Embarks on Aquaculture Development. FAO Technical Guidelines on Use of Wild Fish as Feed in Aquaculture. New issue of Asian Fisheries Science and Asian Fisheries Society on Facebook.

This study is a continuation of “Evaluation of the impact of the Indian Ocean tsunami and US antidumping duties on the shrimp farming sector of South and South-East Asia” with the aim of assessing the impact of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the introduction of anti-dumping duties on shrimp farming in the Asian region, with special focus on the effect that these unforeseen events had on shrimp prices and livelihoods of the stakeholders.

This report, the 54th in the series, contains information about the aquatic animal health status of fourteen states in the Asia-Pacific region. The foreword discusses emerging aquatic animal diseases in the region, including acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease and scale-drop syndrome.

In this issue:

Visit to the AwF funded small-scale aquaculture project in Nepal. Success story of the Barakhandapat Ornamental Fish Breeding Unit, India. From Kyoto 1976 to Bangkok 2000 and Phuket 2010: Aquaculture development and personal transitions. Embryonic and larval development of Waigieu seaperch Psammoperca waigiensis. Culture feasibility of freshwater mullet Rhinomugil corsula in ponds in India. Management in seed production of an endangered catfish Horabagrus brachysoma during its hatchery phase.