4.1 Aquaculture Statistics
4.2 Bibliographic Information
4.3 Production Methods and Data
The Group was of the view that the collection of aquaculture statistics should receive high priority attention of the Fishery Information Data and Statistics Service of FAO Fisheries Department. The decennial agricultural censuses could be used to collect at least certain types of statistical information. The inclusion of aquaculture in the census is not expected to add significantly to the financial or other burdens of national institutions responsible for holding the agricultural censuses. The Group was informed that the Statistical Advisory Committee of FAO has discussed this possibility during the session that was underway in FAO at the time of this meeting.
The Group recommended that the next Agricultural census should attempt to obtain the following aquaculture data:
(i) annual production through aquaculture in all types of waters - quantities and values by species(ii) types of production systems adopted
(iii) labour force employed in aquaculture - full-time, part-time
(iv) the size of water areas exploited and the number of production units such as ponds, cages, pens and enclosures, etc.
While the census data will undoubtedly be valuable, it would not fill the need for more frequent evaluations of the industry. National sampling surveys may have to be resorted to for this purpose in countries where total enumeration is not practicable.
The Group noted that ASFIS provides a satisfactory base to develop a comprehensive literature information service and the expansion of the system will be the most efficient and economic means of meeting the requirements. AGRIS/CARIS programmes of FAO have approximately 100 national and regional centres, many of which provide some coverage of literature information of relevance to aquaculture development and so ASFIS should establish a close working relationship with this programme. ASFIS should expand its coverage of aquaculture information to cover:
(i) periodicals and non-conventional documents, especially those produced in developing countries which are presently not covered by ASFIS centres(ii) theses and dissertations from all geographic areas, and
(iii) literature in languages not covered at all, or not adequately covered at present.
The ASFIS "tools", especially the thesaurus, require augmentation if the needs of aqua-culture have to be met adequately and it is recommended that this should be done as soon as possible. The NAIS thesaurus could be used as an additional source of aquaculture terms.
The regional aquaculture centres being established through ADCP should have ready access to and be able to respond to requests for original documents or other information. It is therefore necessary to establish a document delivery service, e.g. through microfiche or coupon schemes. Such service should be available both within and between regions. As the use of modern data processing and communication technology can greatly facilitate flow of information, the regional centres should be provided with appropriate equipment for the purpose and the staff should be given necessary training in its use.
The-Group recalled that the regional aquaculture planning workshops organized by ADCP in Accra 1/, Bangkok 2/ and Caracas 3/ had proposed that the regional networks of aquaculture centres to be established as support services to development programmes, should undertake, besides research and training, the collection, processing and dissemination of information. The Group noted that the regional centres for Africa and Latin America are expected to become operational by the end of 1979 and the Lead Centres for Asia in early 1980. After these Centres become fully established, a number of selected national centres in each region will be strengthened and linked to the regional centres to form regional networks which are expected to be operational by 1981-82. As mentioned earlier, it was recognized that the regional networks would be the logical focal points for collection and dissemination of aquaculture information.
1/ UNDP/FAO, 1975, Aquaculture Planning in Africa - Report of the First Regional Workshop on Aquaculture Planning in Africa, Accra, Ghana, 2-17 July 1975. ADCP/REP/75/I: 114 p.2/ UNDP/FAO, 1976 ,Aquaculture Planning in Asia - Report of the Regional Workshop on Aquaculture Planning in Asia, Bangkok, Thailand, 1-17 October 1975. ADCP/REP/76/2:154 p.
3/ UNDP/FAO, 1976a, Aquaculture Planning in Latin America - Report of the Regional Workshop on Aquaculture Planning in Latin America, Caracas, Venezuela, 24 November-10 December 1975. ADCP/REP/76/3:173 p.
The Group took note of the information requirements of also developed countries in respect of aquaculture. For a developing science like aquaculture, free worldwide exchange of information is of special importance. Special efforts have therefore to be made to obtain the cooperation of institutions and agencies concerned in developed countries, to enable the establishment of appropriate data-gathering and processing arrangements.
The Group recommended that the aquaculture information system should be developed as a cooperative effort of the FAO/UNDP Aquaculture Development and Coordination Programme and its regional networks and the Fishery Information Data and Statistics Service of FAO Fisheries Department. The system should develop an adequate number of input stations, which could also serve as dissemination points.
The first step would be the development of an appropriate format for data input forms and refinement and finalization of data requirements based on the preliminary list in Annexure III. This has to be done in Rome headquarters, with due consideration of the types of outputs required, both routine in tabular form and occasional in response to special requests.
The regional aquaculture centres should function as input stations in the system and the staff assigned for information work should be given special training in data collection, recording, coding and data submission procedures to ensure that uniform procedures are used by all the centres. The Fishery Information Data and Statistics Service (FIDI) would arrange for centralized storage of computerized information according to an appropriate format. The input stations would carry out the coding and processing of data into a form suitable for direct entry into the central computer. The Centre staff has to be trained in processing methods, and the hardware required, such as data recorders and word processors, has to be purchased or rented. The various Centres should use compatible hardware. The Group considered the need to verify the accuracy of processed data and felt that this should be the responsibility of the regional centres, although occasional checking of data by the headquarters staff at Rome will be desirable.
The data should be stored in a standardized form in FAO's central computer facilities. At regular intervals, as for example every six months, the printout of data collected could be made available to the regional centres. If a Centre finds information of interest to the region in the printouts, it may disseminate it through occasional bulletins or news-sheets for the benefit of interested users. It was suggested that all external requests for information from the developing countries covered by the regional centres should be through those centres only and the dissemination of information should also follow the same channels. Standardized outputs in tabular form should also be made available to the regional centres at regular intervals.
The Group made the following rough estimates of the cost involved in developing and maintaining an aquaculture information system of the type proposed:
Input Centres - For each Centre:
|
U.S. $ |
||
|
Staff |
||
|
|
Professional 1) Already provided |
|
|
Clerical 2) by host governments |
|
|
|
Equipment |
||
|
(i) |
Data recorders, word processors |
30 000 |
|
(ii) |
Telex or computer terminal |
5 000 |
|
(iii) |
Forms, punch cards, tapes, and floppy discs, etc. |
2 000 |
|
(iv) |
Microfiche duplicator, reader-printer |
7 000 |
|
Total: |
44 000 |
|
|
Headquarters |
||
|
Staff |
Professional - 1 |
45 000 per yr |
|
|
(For initial training of input station staff, data storage and retrieval, checking of data, coordination with other information systems and institutions/agencies concerned in developed countries, etc.) |
|
|
Miscellaneous |
||
|
|
Key punch costs |
5 000 per yr |
|
Computer expenses/printout |
15 000 per yr |
|
|
Total: |
65 000 per yr |
|
