NEW FAO PUBLICATIONS

Ziad H. Shehadeh¹ and P. Choudhury²

¹Fishery Resources Division,

²FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

Karim, M. 1997. A Review of Aquaculture Extension Services in Bangladesh. RAP Publication 1997/35. Bangkok, RAP, 1997. 54 p.

Bangladesh, a country of 143,999 sq km and with a population of about 130 million people, lies in the north-eastern part of South Asia. The flat delta is traversed by a network of 230 rivers; their tributaries flood most of the country during the monsoon season (June-September).

It is a country of fish-eating people with very diverse and rich fish faunas. It has vast water resources. The fisheries consist of inland capture, marine capture and inland aquaculture. Aquaculture production of 264,190 mt represents about 24 percent of the total fisheries production of over 1.0 million mt. During the last decade, aquaculture production has increased by over 100 percent. The fisheries sector is very important to the national economy as it generates over US$ 300 million in foreign exchange, mainly through export of cultured shrimp, in addition to its contribution to national food security. The aquaculture sub-sector has very good potential for further development.

Recognising the importance of aquaculture in the national economy, the government of Bangladesh has provided generous funding support for the development of aquaculture. Special emphasis has been given to the establishment of an effective and efficient aquaculture extension services for small fish farmers. The Trickle-Down Extension method introduced by FAO/UNDP projects has proven to be very successfully. Under this system, successful fish farmers act as Result Demonstration Farmers (RDF), serving as

volunteer extension agents, and transfer culture technologies to the neighbouring Fellow Fish Farmers (FFF). The results of the pilot project have been so successful that the Government is now implementing a nation-wide project on aquaculture extension.

Edwards, P. and Demaine, H. 1997. Rural Aquaculture: Overview and Framework for Country Reviews. RAP Publication 1997/36. Bangkok, RAP, 1997. 61 p.

This introductory volume to a series of national reviews on the role of aquaculture in rural development comprises a global overview of rural aquaculture, and guidelines for individual country reviews. Rural aquaculture is defined as the farming of aquatic organisms by small-scale farming households using mainly extensive and semi-intensive husbandry for household consumption and/or income. Aquaculture originated over two millennia ago but it remains a relatively minor agricultural activity globally in comparison to agronomy and animal husbandry. Considerable promotion is required for aquaculture to fulfil its potential to provide significantly increased food, employment and income for the rapidly growing population of developing countries. Contrary to popular belief, this applies to most countries of Asia as well as to Africa and Latin America. A systems approach is required to effectively promote rural aquaculture. Conceptual frameworks are recommended to facilitate understanding of interrelated factors involved in socially and environmentally sustainable aquaculture production systems, outline the means to assess the potential of aquaculture to contribute to rural development, as well as the means to promote it where and when appropriate. The major constraints facing the promotion of aquaculture are often not technical. Rather they are the

imited ability of developing countries to assimilate and adapt existing technology for rural aquaculture where it does occur, and limited local capacity in education, research and development.

Aguilar-Manjarrez, J. and Nath, S. S. 1998. A strategic reassessment of fish farming potential in Africa. CIFA Technical Paper No. 32. Rome, FAO. 170p.

This is an update of an earlier assessment of warm-water fish farming potential in Africa¹. The objective was to assess locations and areal expanses that have potential for warm-water and temperate -water fish farming in continental Africa. A number of refinements have been have been on the earlier study, the most important of which was that new data allowed a sevenfold increase in resolution over that used in the previous Africa study, and a twofold increase on that of the Latin America study² (i.e. to 3 arc minutes, equivalent to 5 km x 5 km grids at the equator), making the present results more usable for assessing fish farming potential at the national level. A bio-energetics model was incorporated into the GIS to predict, for the first time, fish yields across Africa. A gridded water temperature data set was used as input to a bioenergetics model to predict number of crops per year for the following three species: Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Analytical approaches similar to those used in the earlier study were used, but different specifications were employed for small-scale and commercial farming scenarios to reflect the types of culture practices found in Africa. Moreover, the fish growth simulation model used for the Latin America study² was refined to enable consideration of feed quality and high fish biomass in ponds.

The fish farming potential estimates for the three species together show that about 37% of the African surface contains areas with at least some potential for small-scale farming, and 43% for commercial farming. Moreover, 15% of the same areas have the highest suitability score, and suggest that for small-scale fish farming, from 1.3 to 1.7 crops/year of Nile tilapia, 1.9 to 24 crops/year of African catfish and 1.2 to 1.5 crops/year for common carp can be achieved in these areas. Estimates for commercial farming range from 1.6 to 2.0 crops/year of Nile tilapia, 1.3 to 1.7 crops/year of African catfish and 1.2 to 1.5 crops/year of common carp.

From a country viewpoint, the results are generally positive. For small-scale farming of the three species, 11 countries are suitable in 15% or more of their national area. The corresponding results for commercial farming were that 16 countries scored very suitable in 50% or more of their national area.

Farm location data from Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda and Malawi were used to verify the GIS-based predictions of fish farming potential, from the standpoint of the farming system models

combined with fish yields. This verification procedure indicated that the models used in the study are in general fairly accurate for strategic planning of aquaculture development.

¹ Kapetsky, J. M. 1994. A strategic assessment of warm water fish farming potential in Africa. CIFA Technical Paper No. 27. Rome, FAO. 67p.

² Kapetsky, J. M. And S. S. Nath. 1997. A strategic assessment of the potential for freshwater farming in Latin America. FAO COPESCAL Technical Paper No. 16. Rome, FAO. 124p.

Kapetsky, J. M. and Nath, S. S. 1997. Una evaluación estratégica de la potencialidad para la piscicultura dulceacuícola en America Latina. COPESCAL Documento Técnico No. 10. Rome, FAO. 125p.

This is the Spanish version of the document, originally published in English². For a full review, the reader is referred to FAN No. 17, December 1997, p. 26.

² Kapetsky, J. M. And S. S. Nath. 1997. A strategic assessment of the potential for freshwater farming in Latin America. FAO COPESCAL Technical Paper No. 16. Rome, FAO. 124p.

FAO. 1998. Report of the Bangkok FAO Technical Consultation on Policies for Sustainable Shrimp Culture. Bangkok, Thailand, 8-11 December 1997. FAO Fisheries Report No. 572. Rome, FAO. 31p.

The Bangkok FAO Technical Consultation on Policies for Sustainable Shrimp Culture, Bangkok, Thailand, produced a consensus that sustainable shrimp culture is practised and is a desirable and achievable goal which should be pursued. There is ample reason for considering shrimp culture, when practised in a sustainable fashion, as an acceptable means of achieving such varied national goals as food production, employment and generation of foreign exchange. Achievement of sustainable shrimp culture is dependent on effective government policy and regulatory actions, as well as the co-operation of industry in utilizing sound technology in its planning, development and operations. Noting that appropriate government responsibilities regarding aquaculture are outlined in the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF), adopted by the FAO Council in 1995, the Consultation recommended a range of desirable principles to be followed in the establishment of legal, institutional and consultative frameworks and government policies for sustainable shrimp culture. Moreover, it noted that the CCRF provided an appropriate framework for the development of additional codes or guidelines applicable to shrimp culture.

The Consultation recommended a number of specific areas for future research including economic incentives

and carrying capacity of coastal ecosystems for shrimp culture. Further, it recommended that FAO convene expert meetings to elaborate best practices for shrimp culture, desirable elements of the legal and regulatory frameworks for coastal aquaculture and the criteria and indicators for monitoring sustainability of shrimp culture. Regarding the latter, the Consultation recommended that FAO specifically request governments of FAO member countries engaged in shrimp culture to report on progress in implementing the CCRF in relation to shrimp culture activities of the FAO Committee on Fisheries at its next and subsequent sessions. (See also related article in FAN No. 18, April 1998, p.12-15).

FAO. 1998. Report of the Advisory Committee on Fisheries Research. Rome, Italy, 25-28 November 1997. FAO Fisheries Report. No. 571. Rome, FAO. 36p.

The First Session of the Advisory Committee on Fisheries Research (ACFR) was held in Rome from 25-28 November 1997. The ACFR agreed that, in order to promote international applied research in fisheries, FAO should maintain and enhance (a) infrastructure such as data collection, libraries and other information services, (b) a critical mass of expertise on the staff, (c) broad knowledge of fisheries and related disciplines, (d) knowledge of, and good relationships with, potential research partners, and (e) credibility through peer reviewed publications in mainstream scientific literature. The Committee stressed that its primary role would be to deal with general principles while its subsidiary bodies, such as working parties, may consider technical matters referred to them by ACFR. In this regard, the Committee would, in the course of its tenure, undertake a systematic appraisal of FAO's programmes and also promote a strategic planning exercise for research activities. Taking account of the current world fisheries situation, global programmes and issues that affect fisheries and the current FAO programme that relates to fishery research, the ACFR identified research topics that need to be emphasized in the future in order to fill critical gaps. The research topics do not constitute an exhaustive list as it was impractical for the Committee to conduct the systematic review and analysis required to prepare such a list. The Committee also recognized that some of the scientific gaps and changes in emphasis suggested by the Committee are already being addressed by FAO. The Committee's identification of scientific research topics highlighted the need for a shift in emphasis from a programme of research that, in the past, had been predominantly concerned with fishery resources to a future programme with substantial emphasis on the human dimension of fisheries. The ACFR proposed the establishment of three Working Parties to undertake in-depth studies on Implications of Globalization on Trade and Distribution of Benefits, Status Reporting Methodology and Data Needs, and New Research Methods: Traditional Knowledge and Approaches. Six other possible topics, to be

addressed by Working Groups, were also identified. Finally, the ACFR noted that FAO's role as the honest broker, particularly on sensitive issues, and endorsed the Technical Consultations that were planned on sustainable shrimp aquaculture, sustainability indicators, the management of fishing capacity, shark conservation and management, incidental catch of seabirds and gear selectivity.

Petr, T. (Ed.). 1998. Inland fishery enhancements. Papers presented at the FAO/DFID Expert Consultation on Inland Fishery Enhancements. Dhaka, Bangladesh, 7-11 April 1997. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. No. 374. Rome, FAO. 463p.

This document brings together the twenty-eight papers presented at the Expert Consultation on Inland Fishery Enhancements, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 7-11 April 1997. The Expert Consultation was jointly organized by FAO and the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom and hosted by the Government of Bangladesh (see FAN No. 16, p.9, for related article). Those interested in the complete overview of the Expert Consultation are invited to obtain the Report of the Expert Consultation on Inland Fishery Enhancements, FAO Fisheries Report No. 559, published in 1997. For orientation and for the convenience of readers, the Background and Conclusions Sections of the Report are set out in the Appendix of this document.

The major objective of the Expert Consultation was to promote better understanding of how the various factors involved in implementing inland fisheries enhancement programmes must fit together to achieve success. Accordingly, the papers span a broad range of topics including technical, socio-economic, cultural and administrative aspects. Enhancements are addressed globally in terms of techniques, geographic constraints, problems of information gathering and of monitoring, and genetics. Because of its relative importance as an enhancement technique, stocking received much attention, including strategies, modelling and prediction of results, health management and fitness of stocked fish as well as stocking experiences by types of water bodies. Cage culture was dealt with in terms of its importance, promotion through extension, and limitations. Other papers broadly covered social and economic benefits and their distribution, institutions, and self-and participatory management. Country reviews, dealing very broadly with enhancements, are also included.

This Technical Paper is a companion to the Report of the Expert Consultation on Inland Fishery Enhancements, FAO Fisheries Report No. 559, that deals with the administrative aspects of the meeting and sets out the conclusions and recommendations of the participants.