In 1976 the Superintendencia de Desenvolvimento da Pesca (SUDEPE) in Brazil proposed the development of the Experimental Biology and Fishculture Station in Pirassununga as a Regional Centre for aquaculture research, training and information dissemination in Latin America. The Latin American Regional Aquaculture Centre (CERLA) was established under the auspices of the Government of Brazil, with SUDEPE acting as the host government's agent. It is one of the six regional centres that form a network under the coordination of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/FAO Interregional Aquaculture Development and Coordination Programme (ADCP).
The Centre was established to provide the essential support services for the development of aquaculture in Latin American countries. A strategy for the worldwide development of aquaculture adopted in 1965 by the FAO Technical Conference on Aquaculture in Kyoto, Japan identified the following essential regional support services:
As one of the six regional centres in the network established within the framework of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (TCDC), CERLA also facilitates the transfer of technologies and the free exchange of data and information.
The regional project RLA/76/010 envisaged the establishment and initial operation of the Centre as supported by the host government and UNDP/FAO. After this period, it was expected that the operational expenses of the Centre could be shared by the participating governments and interested donor agencies. Also, it was expected that a number of selected national centres in participating countries would be strengthened and linked to it for the testing of technologies under local conditions, the training of technicians and extension workers and the dissemination of information.
Although the project was approved in November 1977, the Centre only began to operate in April 1981. The project RLA/76/010 offered technical advice and support to SUDEPE for the planning, organization and development activities which led to the establishment and development of the Regional Centre.
The main physical facilities of the Centre were constructed in Pirassununga, about 230 km from the city of Saõ Paulo, State of Saõ Paulo, by the Government of Brazil at a cost of about $US 4.5 million. The Centre has two subcentres, one in Cananéia for coastal aquaculture and the other in the Serra de Bocaina for coldwater aquaculture (trout culture), which have also been developed for regional activities by the Government of Brazil.
Although UNDP funding was planned for a four-year period, 1982–86, this funding ended on 28 February 1985. The final total of UNDP funds was $US 926 761 for services of international experts (Appendix 1), provision of specialized equipment (Appendix 2) and other expenses. The Governments of France, Italy and the Netherlands provided funding for Associate Experts. Supportive activities of projects funded by the Inter-American Development Bank, the Canadian International Development Agency and the International Development Research Centre also contributed to the development of the Centre's programme.
CERLA's programme and its accomplishments have been reviewed by three groups, a UNDP Working Group of senior governments experts concerned with the formulation of the regional programme for Latin America for 1982–86, and the First and Second Advisory Committees of CERLA, consisting of representatives of the participating governments and donors. The Centre has continued its activities basically along the lines recommended by the Advisory Committees.
The development objectives of the Centre were designed to increase food production and generate new avenues of employment in rural areas. These could be achieved through technology development and its transfer through applied interdisciplinary research, training of the work-force, information exchange and subsequent promotion of investment in aquaculture.
The specific objectives of CERLA were to:
The immediate objectives of the project were to:
