aquaculture

Aquaculture Health International is a new journal, with free .pdf format copies available for download. The publishers are based in New Zealand and so it is no surprise that the journal has a strong New Zealand emphasis, however the view is not limited to the New Zealand perspective.

Here’s the table of contents from the latest edition:
3 EDITORIAL – The European Commission Directive on Fish and Shellfish Health
4 DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORY SERIES – ADL Diagnostic Chile Ltda
7 FOCUS: FISH HEALTH MANAGEMENT EVENT IN POLAND
8 NEWS – Updates from around the globe
10 REPORT: PROBIOTICS IN TROUT FEED – The benefits of probiotics in aquaculture: a two-year study
12 FOCUS ON FINFISH – Diseases of kingfish (Seriola lalandi) in Australasia
15 FOCUS: THE MARINE HARVEST TRIALS UNIT IN SCOTLAND – The Trials Unit broadens its focus from salmonids to other species
16 DISEASE PREVENTION FOCUS – Farm-level biosecurity and white spot disease of shrimp
21 FOCUS: AQUAFIN CRC AND SOUTHERN BLUEFIN TUNA HEALTH – Southern bluefin tuna are Australia’s most valued cultured finfish
23 FOCUS ON RESEARCH – The effects of AquavacTM ErgosanTM on juvenile Chinook salmon

Sena S. De Silva, Rohana P. Subasinghe, Devin M. Bartley, and Alan Lowther; from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) authored a review (FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. No. 453. Rome, FAO. 2004. 65p.) on tilapia as an alien aquatic species, available online.

The abstract:

Tilapias are not native to Asia but have been a significant component of inland fisheries and aquaculture in the region for over half a century. They have been introduced into over 90 countries worldwide, with a global distribution second only to common carp. The contribution of tilapias to global aquaculture production has increased over the past three decades with production in 2002 exceeding 1.5 million tonnes with an estimated value of US$1.8 billion. The average annual growth rate in aquaculture and capture fisheries production of tilapias from 1970 to 2002 has been 13.2 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively. In the present context of development, success of a species is determined not only by its contribution to production per se, but also by its social, cultural, economic and environmental impacts. Although tilapia has been associated with adverse environmental impacts, detailed analysis of the literature suggested that other factors, such as overfishing, environmental degradation from land-based activities, and changes in hydrological regime have probably been more responsible for adverse impacts. It is clear that numerous factors working together can impact biodiversity. It is also clear that tilapias, as a group of alien species, have made a significant contribution to food production, poverty alleviation and livelihoods support in Asia and the Pacific. In spite of the wide-scale introduction into Asian waters, there is scant explicit evidence to indicate that tilapias have been overly destructive environmentally.

APFIC have published a number of reports available as free downloads about the rehabilitation of fisheries and aquaculture in coastal communities in those countries affected by the 1994 tsunami.

Strategic framework – Rehabilitation of fisheries and aquaculture in tsunami affected countries represents a regional strategic framework that has been developed in support of recovery and rehabilitation efforts following the earthquake and subsequent tsunami waves that originated off the west coast of northern Sumatra on the 26 December 2004 and that caused extensive damage to coastal communities in the region.

The framework presented consists of a vision for the rehabilitation of the fishery and aquaculture sectors which reflects an “ideal state” towards which all strategies and activities contribute and which avoids the mistakes of the past.

In response to the disaster, a consortium (CONSRN) of key regional agencies was formed with the objective of supporting coordination and harmonization of rehabilitation efforts in fisheries and aquaculture. In particular, it was agreed that activities were to focus on collating and disseminating information, carrying out assessments and supporting partners and governments to build a common vision for post-tsunami rehabilitation of the sector.

Other documents available as free downloads include: the report of the FAO/MOAC Joint tsunami assessment mission – Thailand. This is a report of a joint FAO/Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) detailed technical damage and needs assessment mission in the fisheries and agriculture sectors.

This is the final report of the Regional Workshop on Rehabilitation of Fisheries and Aquaculture in Coastal Communities of Tsunami Affected Countries in Asia held in Bangkok, Thailand from 28 February to 1 March 2005 is also available as a free download. Major topics discussed were: introduction to workshop and regional strategic framework; country priorities for rehabilitation; the rehabilitation vision and guiding principles; rehabilitation strategies; aligning donors/agencies/ countries to strategies and the workshop recommendations.

APFIC (The Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission) established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations publish a range of research documents, including research into Myanmar aquaculture and inland fisheries (note: 6.84 MB) available as a free download.

This report is the outcome of two concurrent missions, one to coastal areas and one to inland areas, fielded by FAO-RAP, the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA) and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). The purpose was to review the status of aquaculture and small-scale inland fisheries, identify areas for technical assistance related to sustainable development of coastal and inland aquaculture and management of aquatic resources, and identify immediate assistance opportunities. The report includes the findings of the missions as well as conclusions and recommendations in support of the long term sustainability of fishery resources in Myanmar.

Fish and fish products are crucial in the nutrition and livelihoods of the Myanmar people. Whilst it is certainly recognized that fish is second only to rice in the diet of Myanmarians, little information is available on their patterns of consumption, inter-regional differences, availability and types of fish consumed. In this respect Myanmar is similar to many south-east Asian countries where emphasis is paid to rice production as a crucial element of food security, with little or no recognition of the fish component, which gives the rice-based diet much of its nutritional value outside of calories and crude protein.

Myanmar has impressive freshwater capture fisheries. The aquatic resource area of the river systems within Myanmar encompass a total of 8.2 million ha of permanent and seasonal water bodies. There were 29000 ha of freshwater fishponds and a further 40716 ha of shrimp ponds in 2001. These resources support, in many ways, the livelihoods of the people of Myanmar. Myanmar has a long coastline of nearly 3000 km and coastal aquaculture contributes significant export earnings and shows potential for future development and diversification. Of the total aquaculture production, an estimated 18794 tonnes comes from coastal aquaculture. Shrimp farming in particular has grown significantly in the past ten years, and small amounts of marine fish and crabs are also produced.

The FAO have also published this 1997 report on Support to Special Plan for Prawn and Shrimp Farming which gives some interesting insights into backyard scale shrimp hatcheries in Myanmar.

Neither intensive nor semi-intensive culture of shrimps has developed in Myanmar. Farming of marine shrimps has spread rapidly in South-east and South Asia, with exception of a few countries, including Myanmar. Myanmar’s neighbors Bangladesh to the north and Thailand to the south are both major producers of cultured marine shrimps. Culture of marine shrimps is now spreading rapidly in India. In all these countries export of cultured marine shrimps is a major earner of foreign exchange. There are about 30,00 acres (12,000 hectares) of traditional shrimp farms in operation which are mainly located in Rakhine State which borders with Bangladesh. The yield from the ponds are very low – 100 kgs/ha/year.

Dear readers
There has been some interest from people with previously unpublished research that they would like to offer to the aquaculture community.

If you have undertaken some research and would be interested to see it published so that it is accessible easily to the international aquaculture community please contact me directly and we can discuss how that might happen.

Regards
Lynsey