The establishment of the National Fisheries Institute and regional collaboration through the MRC will provide a solid foundation for developing institutional capability in fishery resource management. Resource managers require solid academic training to at least the Master of Science level and it is recommended that technical staff be selected with this in mind.
Support for overseas studies should be sought through scholarship funds offered by foreign governments and universities. With the establishment of the Institute, students will be able to do their thesis research in country.
Importers of aquatic organisms should be required to present a certificate of origin and health certificate issued by a competent authority in the country of origin. A quarantine facility should be established so that the health of imported fish fry, fingerlings, brood stock, eggs, etc. can be ascertained before their introduction into water bodies or incorporation in aquaculture systems.
The importation of fish from areas with endemic or epizootic fish disease should be prohibited.
Exotic species are used for stocking reservoirs and wetlands in part due to the as yet limited development of fry production of indigenous species. Brood stock culture and fry production should be promoted to the point of sufficient supply for stocking reservoirs, communal ponds and other wetlands is sufficient.
The emphasis on decentralized fisheries management and aquaculture extension requires sound analysis of communities' needs and capacities for accepting new technologies. Effective communication methods have to be developed which require understanding of the dynamics of village society. Sound economic data needs to be collected and analyzed to evaluate the success of new aquaculture technology and to assess the effects of fisheries management policies on village economies. Involving women in aquaculture will require organizational and communication skills as well as technical ability.
With the declining availability of funds for development projects on the part of the traditional donor countries and agencies, competition for limited funds will increase.
The DLF can promote fish culture as a component of rural development programs implemented by NGO's and donor funded projects. This can be done through information dissemination via the NGO Forum for Laos. The staffs of these projects can be trained at provincial fish farms, which can also supply fry for their projects.
Fisheries Division staff could go beyond the PIN and prepare project proposals for presentation to various donor agencies, tailoring the proposals to the type of projects funded by the particular agency. There may be better opportunities for incorporating fish culture in rural development projects, as opposed to trying to fund aquaculture projects per se.
The technical cooperation program (TCP) of the FAO offers opportunities for solutions to limited technical problems. Examples include induced breeding of indigenous species, upgrading of provincial fish farms, short studies to identify marketing problems, etc.
Policy should be changed to allow provincial fish seed farms to retain the revenue they generate from the sale of fry and fingerlings. Production incentives can be given to the staff of the farms. The reatined revenues could be used for maintenance, production costs and extension activities.
