A technical mission to Myanmar was undertaken to support development and implementation of national aquatic animal health strategies from 3 - 9 September 2006. The mission was part of the AADCP-RPS project "Strengthening Aquatic Animal Health Capacity and Biosecurity in ASEAN". The mission was coordinated by NACA and worked with stakeholders to develop simple and practical approaches to implement national aquatic animal health strategies in Myanmar.

This is the report of a technical mission to Vietnam from 3 - 9 December 2006, as a part of the project “Strengthening Aquatic Animal Health Capacity and Biosecurity in ASEAN” to assist national authorities in the development and implementation of simple and practical national aquatic animal health management strategies. The objective of the mission was to assist the government to support development of national strategies on aquatic animal health management and develop short and long term plans.

This report, the 36th in the series, contains information about the aquatic animal health status of fifteen states in the Asia-Pacific region. The foreword discusses recent activities in support of aquatic animal health in the region.

In this issue:

Sustainable black tiger shrimp farming in Sri Lanka. An economic analysis of Persian sturgeon stock enhancement. Aquaculture and environmental sustainability in Thailand: Food or financial security? Cage fish culture - successful income generation in manmade reservoir Kulekhani, Nepal. Diversification of rice farming alleviates poverty in a Bangladesh village. Sea-pineapple aquaculture in Japan. Green mussel cultivation in Thailand. Selective breeding for growh and fillet yield in Vietnamese catfish. Producing quality fish seed in rural Asia.

This manual provides a comprehensive practical tool for the generation and analysis of genetic data for subsequent application in aquatic resources management in relation to genetic stock identification in inland fisheries and aquaculture. The material only covers general background on genetics in relation to aquaculture and fisheries resource management, the techniques and relevant methods of data analysis that are commonly used to address questions relating to genetic resource characterisation and population genetic analyses.

This is the second part of the manual Application of molecular genetic techniques in aquaculture and inland fisheries management. It provides a step-by-step laboratory protocols and methodologies for data analysis and a guidelines to design a population genetic study. The scope covers most commonly used techniques for screening genetic variation, general background on the methodologies for estimation of important parameters in population genetic studies for different forms of molecular genetic markers.

The aim of this manual is to provide a comprehensive practical tool for the generation and analysis of genetic data for subsequent application in aquatic resources management in relation to genetic stock identification in inland fisheries and aquaculture. Part 1: Conceptual basis of population genetic approaches provides a basic foundation on genetics in general, and concepts of population genetics. Issues on the choices of molecular markers and project design are also discussed.

This report describes a training course on grouper hatchery protocols that was held in Indonesia in 2006. A total of 20 participants from 13 countries attended the training course which was hosted by the Brackishwater Aquaculture Development Centre, Situbondo. Participants came from Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) and the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA) jointly hosted a special session on Better Management Practices (BMPs) at the 3rd INDAQUA 2007, 11-13 January 2007, Chennai, India. The presentations made in the session include i) International principles for responsible shrimp farming; ii) MPEDA-NACA Village demonstration programme, India; Aquaculture rehabilitation and implementation of BMPs in tsunami affected Aceh, Indonesia; and Markets, certification and traceability and small-scale farmers.

This report, the 35th in the series, contains information about the aquatic animal health status of fifteen states in the Asia-Pacific region. The foreword discusses mechanisms for recognition of emerging diseases in the Asia-Pacific region.