In this issue:

Putting Gender on the Programme of NACA. Proceedings of the Global Conference on Aquaculture 2010 available for download. Peter Edwards to mentor the new Sustainable Farming Systems Programme. International Fisheries Symposium, 6-8 December, Can Tho, Vietnam. Broodstock management training course launched by NACA and UNU-FTP.

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 2011, 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.

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.