In this issue:
In this issue:
Saudi Arabia’s coastal communities are opening new pathways for women in aquaculture and fisheries. Under the REEF programme led by MEWA, recent pilots have shifted participation from office-based roles toward hands-on production and processing. Seaweed farming trials of Gracilaria multipartita in Jeddah and the Farasan Islands show why: accessible tasks, modest equipment needs, and suitability for community-run operations. In parallel, a women-led seafood processing initiative in the Farasan Islands has provided training, essential tools, and branding skills, improving hygiene and product quality and motivating participants to form cooperatives; a tuna-canning exercise highlighted the potential for higher value capture.
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Shrimp aquaculture in Saudi Arabia has evolved significantly since its inception in the 1990s, transitioning from freshwater tilapia farming to large-scale marine shrimp production, primarily focused on Penaeus vannamei. This shift was driven by market demand, environmental suitability, and the impact of disease outbreaks such as white spot syndrome. However, early development faced major biosecurity challenges, including inadequate regulation, limited local hatchery capacity, insufficient disease monitoring, and a lack of trained personnel.
In recent years, the Ministry of Environment, Water & Agriculture (MEWA) has undertaken a comprehensive reform of shrimp farm biosecurity, aligned with the country’s Vision 2030 objectives. This includes regulatory controls on live shrimp imports, development of disease monitoring infrastructure, biosecurity training, and enhanced collaboration with private sector and academic institutions. MEWA has also promoted technology transfer, workforce development, and sustainable hatchery expansion. While progress is evident, future priorities include improving local broodstock availability, expanding real-time disease diagnostics, and strengthening biosecurity human resource capacity to ensure long-term industry stability and resilience.
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The National Fisheries Development Program will organise an event to highlight the importance and sustainability of the fisheries sector, and how to leverage and fully exploit these untapped resources to advance the associated economic sectors. The event will further underline numerous advantages of the Saudi Arabia’s strategic location by organising a major exhibition that will bring to together various sectors and activities in one place, will be held with aim attracting international best experience and global expertise to discuss new developments and emerging issues in the international arena. It will mainly focus on aquaculture, marine fisheries and other significant topics. The exhibition will include several specialised workshops in the field of fisheries, aquaculture, seafood and algae, along with Master Class cooking activities, business to business (B2B) and business to government (B2G) meetings. No other national event or gathering has ever brought together all sectors and activities associated to marine fisheries and aquaculture sector in one place.
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Kingdom of Saudi Arabia joins NACA; Applications for the position of Director General, NACA; NACA awarded the Aziz-Ul Haq Rural Development Medal; Training Course on Risk Analysis in the Aquaculture Value Chain held in Bangkok; Free FAO publication: Genetic management of Indian major carps; 7th International Symposium on Cage Aquaculture in Asia; PhD scholarships: Shanghai Ocean University PhD Programme 2024; WAS Journal Special Issue: Global Conference on Aquaculture Millennium +20 Thematic Reviews; Seminar on Artemia Research and Production: Videos; Reported aquatic animal diseases in the Asia-Pacific Region during the first quarter of 2023.
]]>Risk analysis is an essential component of a national aquatic organism health strategy. Now widely applied in many fields, risk analysis provides a science-based framework for evaluating hazards, determining the likelihood and extent of potential harms, mitigating risks and guiding policy decisions. Combining risk and value chain analysis provides a risk-based and people-centred approach to managing disease risks and planning control measures for aquaculture systems. FAO organised a training course on Risk Analysis in the Value Chain from 3-5 September in Bangkok, Thailand, in partnership with NACA, INFOFISH, Thailand Department of Fisheries and the ASEAN Network of Aquatic Animal Health Centres. Financial support was provided by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation and Thailand Department of Fisheries.
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