Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission

APFIC (2009). APFIC/FAO Regional consultative workshop Best practices to support and improve the livelihoods of small-scale fisheries and aquaculture households, 13–15 October 2009, Manila, Philippines. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP Publication 2009/01,50 pp.

Ensuring that fisheries and aquaculture are undertaken sustainably and equitably lies at the heart of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF). Although the CCRF offers some suggestions as to the major areas where this should be applied, it does not offer specific guidance on best practice. It is the function of working arrangements such as the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) to develop this sort of guidance, applicable to the local context of the region and, as part of a greater advocacy role of the Commission, to bring to the attention of policy makers, governments, regional organizations and non-governmental organizations, those approaches and practices which offer the best opportunity for really improving livelihoods and building resilience in communities. Too often, well intentioned policies are implemented that result in unintended outcomes such as environmental degradation, marginalization of small-scale producers and their families or see benefits captured by other interest groups or elites. It is through taking stock of such lessons of success and failure that we can offer guidance on future efforts and draw attention to those policies or interventions that may not be achieving their intended outcomes or are even creating more problems than they solve. This report contains a set of recommendations developed from an APFIC Regional Consultative workshop that indicate those areas of best practice and policies that support coastal community livelihoods. It also contains advice on practices and policies that are to be avoided. The purpose of this workshop was to generate a greater sense of where Asia-Pacific ...

Improving Penaeus monodon hatchery practices. Manual based on experience in India.
FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. No. 446. Rome, FAO. 2007.101p.

The successful farming of tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) in India is mainly due to the existence of some 300 hatcheries whose capacity to produce 12 000 million postlarvae (PL) annually has provided an assured supply of seed. However, the sustainability of the sector is still hampered by many problems, foremost among these being a reliance on wild-caught broodstock whose supply is limited both in quantity and in seasonal availability and that are often infected with pathogens. The current low quality of hatchery produced PL due to infection with white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) and other pathogens entering the hatcheries via infected broodstock, contaminated intake water or other sources due to poor hatchery management practices, including inadequate biosecurity, is a major obstacle to achieving sustainable shrimp aquaculture in India and the Asia-Pacific region. Considering the major contribution of the tiger shrimp to global shrimp production and the economic losses resulting from disease outbreaks, it is essential that the shrimp-farming sector invest in good management practices for the production of healthy and quality seed.

This document reviews the current state of the Indian shrimp hatchery industry and provides detailed guidance and protocols for improving the productivity, health management, biosecurity and sustainability of the sector. Following a brief review of shrimp hatchery development in India, the major requirements for hatchery production are discussed under the headings: infrastructure, facility maintenance, inlet water quality and treatment, wastewater treatment, biosecurity, standard operating procedures (SOPS), the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) approach, chemical use during the hatchery production process and health assessment. Pre-spawning ...

Staples, D. & Funge-Smith, S. (2009) Ecosystem approach to fisheries and aquaculture: Implementing the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP Publication 2009/11, 48 pp.

This publication provides guidance on how to implement the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) using an ecosystem approach to fisheries and aquaculture. The CCRF is a voluntary code covering all aspects of the management and development of fisheries and is designed to ensure that they are developed sustainable without adversely affecting the livelihoods of local communities that share the same resources as the fisheries.

The authors outline the basic principles of the CCRF, describe concrete steps to be taken to use the ecosystem approach effectively, and recommend certain institutional changes and reforms that will be necessary in the Asia-Pacific region if the potential of the ecosystem approach is to be realized. The most significant reform that is needed to achieve the potential of the ecosystem approach to fisheries and aquaculture is a paradigm shift in policy from one that is production oriented to one that is benefits oriented (social and economic). There is evidence that this is already happening in the region with efforts being made to limit access, reduce the number of fishing vessels and introduce community-based rights systems. Stakeholder participation is essential and existing legal instruments and practices that interact with or impact fisheries may also need to be reconsidered, and adjustments made where necessary. In the future, it may even be necessary to regulate the inter-sectoral interactions and impacts through primary legislation, e.g. laws controlling coastal development.

To promote broader adoption and implementation of the ecosystem approach by member countries, a wide range of regional activities is suggested by the ...

APFIC. 2009. APFIC/FAO Regional consultative workshop 'Practical implementation of the ecosystem approach to fisheries and aquaculture', 18 - 22 May 2009, Colombo, Sri Lanka. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP Publication 2009/10, 96 pp.

The need to apply an ecosystem approach to fisheries management is now globally accepted and has been endorsed in a range of international decision-making fora. This approach represents a move away from fisheries management systems that focus only on the sustainable harvest of target species towards systems and decision-making processes that balance environmental well-being with human and social well-being within improved governance frameworks.

The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) provides a global framework for responsible fisheries, but member countries, fisheries organizations and fisheries stakeholders require a practical framework to implement the recommendations of the CCRF. The ecosystem approach to
management of fisheries (EAF) and aquaculture (EAA) presents such a practical framework whereby the objectives of responsible and sustainable fisheries and aquaculture can be implemented at national and local levels. Although there is an increasing will to move towards more holistic fisheries and aquaculture management and planning frameworks, the practical approach and application of ecosystem based planning and management remains challenged by a lack of familiarity with EAF and EAA and the need for considerable policy reform.

The 2nd Regional Consultative Forum Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) and the 30th Session of APFIC convened in Manado in 2008, recommended that APFIC promote understanding of how to implement ecosystem approaches to aquaculture and fisheries management.
They noted too that this would effectively contribute to the implementation of the FAO Code of Conduct ...

Maguire, J.-J.; Sissenwine, M.; Csirke, J.; Grainger, R.; Garcia, S.
The state of world highly migratory, straddling and other high seas fishery resources and associated species. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. No. 495. Rome: FAO. 2006. 84p.

This document describes highly migratory fish stocks, straddling fish stocks, and stocks of other high seas fishery resources and the fisheries for them, including information on their state of exploitation. About 200 species have been identified as being fished on the high seas either as highly migratory, straddling or other high seas fishery resources and this paper reports on around 230 species (or species group) statistical area combinations. Fisheries for highly migratory species are important in all oceans and semi-enclosed seas, except for polar regions. Fisheries for straddling fish stocks are much more localized, primarily occurring in a few regions where continental shelves extend beyond the 200 miles exclusive economic zone (EEZ) limit or where the high productivity of the coastal area favor a more expanded distribution of coastal stocks into the high seas, or attracts high seas resources into the EEZ. Most fisheries for other high seas fishery resources are deep-water fisheries (being conducted at depths of the order of 1 000 m, or more).

Formal assessments are lacking for most of the stocks examined. Nevertheless, the compilation of available assessments and FAO's analyses indicate that about 30 percent of the stocks of highly migratory tuna and tuna-like species, more than 50 percent of the highly migratory oceanic sharks and nearly two-thirds of the straddling stocks and the stocks of other high seas fishery resources are overexploited or depleted. The stocks concerned represent only a small fraction of the world fishery resources upon which millions of people are critically dependant for food and livelihood, but these fish stocks are key indicators of the state of an overwhelming ...

Staples, D. (2009). Status and potential of offshore resources in South and Southeast Asia. Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. APFIC ad hoc publication, 29pp.

Fishery development in both South and Southeast Asia can only be categorized as a 'bust and boom' activity, more akin to mining than to the development of a renewable natural resource that, if managed rationally, can provide a very valuable and sustainable contribution to the economy and well-being of countries in the region. In his excellent book 'The closing of the frontier: a history of the marine fisheries in Southeast Asia c. 1850-2000'- John Butcher gives a fascinating account of the rise and fall of industrial fishing in Southeast Asia starting with pearling and then trawling, purse seining, drift netting, trolling and more recently tuna longlining/poling/purse seining. The adoption of these new technologies was associated with a serial depletion of fish stocks forcing fishers to expand their area of fishing and the gears that have been using (often to more destructive methods) just to remain viable.

Many governments maintain that another frontier for this type of development is now emerging in the offshore regions in the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and in the high seas of South and Southeast Asia. However, does this new frontier really exist, and even if it does, what happens if this new resource also becomes overexploited? This paper explores these questions and reviews what is known about the fish resources, current fishing activities, and future plans to expand fishing into offshore areas.

The 30th Session of the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) concluded that cooperation and collaboration among fishery bodies in the region have intensified and that this positive trend should be continued. The Commission recommended that APFIC should continue its role as a regional consultative forum to evaluate progress, monitor and advise member countries on fisheries and aquaculture in the region. Furthermore, APFIC should promote sub-regional management initiatives and facilitate coordination between regional organizations related to fisheries and aquaculture.

To further facilitate the coordination and information exchange work of the forum, the APFIC Secretariat maintains a comprehensive fishery website (www.apfic.org) linking members to other organizations and projects that have an impact on fisheries and aquaculture in the region and is updated regularly and upon request. As an output of this activity, the APFIC Secretariat has now published a second version of the APFIC handbook on regional and sub-regional fishery bodies and arrangements for the benefit of the APFIC Members.

This handbook provides a convenient summary of those bodies and arrangements concerned with sustainable fisheries and aquaculture development relevant to FAO members in the region. Some of the members of these bodies and arrangements are also member of the FAO. This handbook is intended to serve as a useful tool for interested readers as part of the role of APFIC as a regional forum. Indeed, with substantive contributions and inputs from its members, numerous development and technical partners such as regional fishery organizations, NGOs and other segments of civil society, the Commission offers a unique forum for an Asia-Pacific regional perspective on the outlook and policy implications of fisheries and aquaculture in the years to come.

Lymer D., Funge-Smith S., and Greboval D. (2009). The fishing fleet in Aceh Province, Indonesia. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP Publication 2009/09, 39 pp.

The fishing fleet of Aceh Province (Provinsi Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam) in Indonesia has been subject to much scrutiny over the last five years. In response to the impact of the tsunami in 2004 a considerable national and international effort has been directed to restoring the fishing fleet to pre-tsunami levels through a variety of fishing vessel building schemes. Furthermore, there have been complementary activities to assess the success of this fleet rehabilitation and development activity and associated issues.

The main characteristics of the fleet in Aceh Province, as found in the census, are that it comprises relatively newly built and highly motorized vessels, most of which have inboard engines. The fleet is largely privately owned and the vessels were acquired by private funding, although in 2005 and 2006 a large proportion of the new boats were provided by donors. The vessels mainly operate nearshore, between 0 and 3 nautical miles offshore, and are not usually equipped with navigation or communication equipment, although a large share of the larger vessels carry both. There are also minor differences between the east and west coast fleets. The fishing fleet in Aceh Province can be summarized as comprising largely small boats (average 3.2 GT) with relatively small motors (average 16 Hp). There is a general trend of these small boats being replaced by larger vessels and hence the fleet tonnage has increased in recent years.

This document provides an overview of the status of the fishing fleet in Aceh Province at the end of 2006 based on a fishing vessel census that was carried out in the province. It is hoped that this can be used as a reference in the sustainable restoration of the small-scale fisheries subsector in the province of ...

Report of the Sixty-seventh session of the APF1C Executive Committee,
Bangkok. Thailand. 10-12 June 1998. FAO Regional 0fflCe!or Asia and the Pacific. Bangkok. 1998. 32 p.

This document presents the final report of the Sixty-seventh session of the ExecutiveCommittee of the Asia~Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) which was held at the FAORegional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand, from 10-12 June 1998. Major topics discussed were: progress reports on the intersessional activities of APFIC; current issues on fisheries and aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region; review of the achievements and future direction of APFIC, including the merger of APFIC and the IOFC Bay of Bengal Committee and possible contributions by Member States to support the activities of APFIC; progress report on preparations for the Twenty-sixth Session of the Commission and the technical Symposium. on Fish Utilization in the Asia-Pacific Region, The summary of the main recommendations/decisions is shown in AppendiX H.

Report of the Sixty-sixth session of the APF1C Executive Committee,
Bangkok, Thailand, 12-14 March 1996, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, 1996, 51 p,

This document presents the final report of the Sixty»sixth Session of the Executive Committee of the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) which was held at the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok. Thailand. from 12 to 14 March 1996. Major topics discussed were: progress reports on the activities of APFIC; review of the functions and responsibilities of APFIC itt fisheries management and aquaculture development in the Asia Pacific region; proposals for reinforcing the structure and functions of the Executive Committee and proposed amendments to the APFIC Agreement and Rule, of Procedure; progress report on preparations for the Twenty-fifth SessIon of the Commission and the technical Symposiium on Environmental Aspects of Responsible Fisheries; and the Kyoto Declaration and Plan of Action on the Sustainable Contribution of Fisheries to Food Security, The summary of the main recommendations/decisions is shown in Appendix G.

This step-by-step manual contains information on the construction of small multi-purpose boats typical of those found in the Ayeyarwaddy Delta in Myanmar. Its purpose is to give organizations access to detailed information on boatbuilding, which will allow the production of small boats appropriate to the Delta. The manual is also intended to assist organizations in their understanding of the boatbuilding process and to provide guidelines on good practice. It should assist in the review of contracts and quality control in boatbuilding.

The manual provides information on two boat designs: 12 ft and 18 ft boats. It also gives the scantlings and material requirements as well as the guidelines for selecting and using timber for the boat construction. The largest part of the manual describes how to build the boats step-by-step. Finally, the manual contains boatbuilding guidelines for wooden boats of less than 7 m in length and operating at speeds of less than 12 knots.


Project: "Immediate Rehabilitation of Subsistence Fisheries Livelihoods in Areas Affected by Cyclone Nargis (OSRO/MYA/805/SWE)" Funded by the Government of Sweden

FAO. Report of the FAO/APFIC Regional Workshop on Port State Measures to Combat Illegal,Unreported and Unregulated Fishing for the South Asian Subregion. Bangkok,10–13 February 2009.FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report. No. 896. Rome, FAO. 2009. 43p.


This document contains the report of the FAO/APFIC Regional Workshop on Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing for the South Asian Subregion, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 10 to 13 February 2009. The objective of the Workshop was to develop national capacity and promote bilateral, subregional and/or regional coordination so that countries would be better placed to strengthen and harmonize port State measures and, as a result, implement further the 2001 FAO International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, the 2005 FAO Model Scheme on Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and the Chairperson’s Draft Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, if and when it enters into force. The Workshop addressed: the background and framework for port State measures; subregional and regional approaches to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and the implementation of port State measures; the Chairperson’s Draft Agreement and the role of the Asia Pacific Fishery Commission; national coordination and implementation of port State measures, and perspectives on port State measures, including responses to the FAO questionnaire that was circulated prior to the Workshop to collect information relating to port State measures in the South Asian subregion. Working groups were formed to enhance the participatory nature of the Workshop and as a means of engendering broader and deeper discussion on concepts and issues relating to port State measures. In the first exercise, participants addressed multidisciplinary aspects of ...

This Final Report on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia draws primarily upon secondary sources, supplemented with field interviews. The report provides:
• a description of the Malaysian fisheries industry with detailed discussion on the States of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, and eastern Johor; • analysis of demographics for the fishing sector in east coast States; • a summary of the nature and extent of IUU fishing in the east coast region; • an overview of the drivers and impacts of IUU fishing; • a description of monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) arrangements for east coast Peninsular Malaysian fisheries; and • a summary of relevant laws and regulations for the fisheries industry in Malaysia.

The study of demographics indicates that east coast Peninsular Malaysian States are less wealthy than the more industrialised States in the west, and that northern east coast States are poorer than the southern States. Fishing families in the east coast region appear to be amongst the less wealthy segment of society,with the lowest levels of education and few opportunities for employment diversity.

The drivers, pressures and impacts of IUU fishing are summarised in the form of a ‘Driver- Pressure-State-Impact-Response’ (DPSIR) model. The use of the DPSIR tool demonstrates well the complexity of the problem, including subtle influences such as cultural tolerance forrule bending; a highly developed respect for hierarchy, even in the context of evident corruption; the role of ethnicity in market behaviour, and much more. However, some aspects of IUU fishing in the area are far from subtle, such as the smuggling of subsidised diesel fuel and fish, and possibly the trafficking of persons as forced labour on fishing boats.
The financial loss to local communities from IUU fishing in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia is difficult to calculate, but can reasonably be

Cacaud, P. & Latdavong, P., (2009). Fisheries and aquaculture in the Lao PDR � a legislative review. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP Publication 2009/05, 71 pp.

The importance of living aquatic resources to the people of Lao PDR is increasingly well understood. Their role is woven into the culture food and tradition of Loa people from every part of the country and each of its eco-regions. Lao PDR�s fisheries resources are an important source of nutritional quality in the diet as well as providing an important element of food security and source of income to the Lao People. The effective management of both fisheries and aquaculture is a critical need, as Lao PDR is rapidly changing its agriculture and water control systems. Declining fisheries resources as a result of increasing population pressures and environmental change are an increasing feature of the Lao landscape.

The Government of Lao PDR has recognized the need for a national legal framework to be developed to enable the effective management of fisheries and aquaculture and requested the Department of Livestock and Fisheries to undertake this task. This review forms a background document to a legal review process for fisheries and aquaculture in Lao PDR. The output of this process has been the development of a draft framework for fisheries and aquaculture for further development into national legislation.

Ebbers, T. & Gregory, R. (2008). Capacity development for improving the knowledge base for fisheries management in Southeast Asia – a regional initiative, implemented locally. Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. APFIC ad hoc publication. 68 pp.

Small-scale fisheries are typically considered to be a significant component of the marine capture fisheries sector in Southeast Asia because of their importance in terms of income generation, contribution to food production and to coastal livelihoods. This importance, however, is not well reflected in the decision-making and policy formulation processes affecting the fisheries sector. Fishing operations, particularly in small-scale fisheries, remain largely unregulated and usually the sector as a whole and the role it plays in the livelihoods of coastal dwellers remain poorly understood. General knowledge about the extent to which fisheries and coastal resources are used by people living in coastal areas to strengthen their livelihoods is poor, and often decisions affecting the fisheries are made without consideration of the potential impacts on the livelihoods of small-scale fishers and other resource users.

Institutions with a mandate to oversee the management of capture fisheries and the marine environment are establishing policies and making decisions largely in the absence of reliable information on key indicators such as the numbers of fishers involved and the number of boats and gears being used, and without an understanding of the perspectives or priorities of fisher communities. As a result, public sector interventions are often misguided and in some cases can exacerbate the very problems that they are intended to solve.

The very nature of small-scale coastal fisheries in the region renders conventional approaches to fisheries management and their respective information needs ineffective. National fisheries information ...

This document presents a Strategy and Outline Plan for Improving Information on Status and Trends of Aquaculture. The Strategy-STA is a voluntary instrument that applies to all States and entities. Its overall objective is to provide a framework, strategy and plan for the improvement of knowledge and understanding of status and trends of aquaculture as a basis for policy-making and management. Required actions are specified, with a primary emphasis on the need for capacity building in developing countries. It is similar to that developed for capture fisheries and approved by the FAO Council in 2003. The basic structure and guiding principles of the strategy for capture fisheries are retained and adjustments are made as necessary to meet the specific needs of aquaculture.

This report examines the current status of production and participation in large-scale and small-scale fisheries in Thailand. It also looks at both the marine and inland capture fisheries of the country and capture fisheries out of Thai waters by Thai fishing boats.

The main conclusion of this report is that inland capture fisheries are considered to be underestimated by a factor of at least five, suggesting considerable undervaluation of this resource. Furthermore, a large proportion of Thailand’s marine capture production comes from outside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and is estimated at around 41 percent. Inland capture fisheries are possibly overlooked in terms of food security and probably make a larger contribution to food security than the marine capture fisheries, especially as a significant proportion of the latter is targeted at the production of fish feed and animal feed.


Note: In this version an error in table 17 has been corrected, the production figures earlier read (1000 x tonnes) but that has now been changed to (tonnes).

A number of sector reviews, project documents and proposed development initiatives have suggested the feasibility of aquaculture in Afghanistan. There are however, relatively few concrete examples of sustainable aquaculture to be found in the country and therefore the technical and economic feasibility of aquaculture remains uncertain. There is limited documented information available although there have been a number of FAO reviews and some documents relating to previous aquaculture initiatives.

The purpose of this discussion paper is to identify some of the key constraints and actions needed to initiate aquaculture development in Afghanistan. The paper will also propose some immediate initiatives which could lay the groundwork for such a development. It is not intended to answer all the questions, but rather to raise issues and initiate a debate that could encourage potential stakeholders to agree and act on the next steps to expand aquaculture in the country.

This review was requested as part of an ongoing activity of the two FAO projects “Alternative Agricultural livelihoods Programme” (AALP - GCP/AFG/036/UK) and “Development of sustainable agricultural livelihoods in Eastern Hazarajat” (SALEH - GCP/AFG/029/UK).

This APEC fisheries working group report provides an analysis of the nature and extent of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Sulawesi Sea, including their economic, social and environmental impacts and the factors contributing to IUU fishing in the area. The report also examines the efforts being made by the states bordering the Sulawesi Sea at the national, bilateral and regional levels to combat IUU fishing

Assessment of Impacts of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing in the Asia-Pacific.
Frank Meere and Mary Lack, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Fisheries Working Group, November 2008

The Pacific Ocean is a source of more than 60% of global marine capture production (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2008a) and fishing makes a significant economic and social contribution to many economies in the Asia-Pacific region. However, the status of a number of economically important fish stocks in the Pacific Ocean is of concern. Overfishing has caused significant declines of some stocks in waters under national jurisdiction and of some migratory and straddling stocks. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is one of a range of interrelated factors that is putting these stocks at risk. It is estimated that 3.4 – 8.1 million t of fish is taken by IUU fishing each year in the Asia-Pacific region (Marine Resources Assessment Group and University of British Columbia, 2008).

This represents between 8 and 16% of the reported 51 million t of catch from the Pacific Ocean in recent years.
There is, therefore, both a regional and global imperative to address IUU fishing in the Asia-Pacific region. APEC Ministers recognised this need through elements of the 2005 Bali Plan of Action and through their 2006 direction to the APEC Fisheries Working Group to develop programs: to assess the impacts of IUU fishing; to enforce management measures; and to reduce excess fishing capacity. This report responds to that direction by reviewing the impacts of IUU fishing with reference to published literature, responses to questionnaires and four case studies. The report aims to provide APEC economies with a better understanding of the scope of the IUU fishing problem in the region and to provide a basis for action to minimize IUU fishing and mitigate its impacts. The analysis has focused on IUU fishing by foreign vessels ...

Aquaculture growth worldwide involves the expansion of cultivated areas, a higher density of aquaculture installations and farmed individuals and greater use of feed resources produced outside of the immediate culture area. Such evolution of the sector could carry negative impacts on the environment and on portions of the society when unregulated and badly managed. In response to the explicit request of the Third Session of the Committee of Fisheries (COFI) Sub-Committee on Aquaculture to improve the management and enhance the socio-economic impacts of aquaculture, the Aquaculture Management and Conservation Service (FIMA) of the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department initiated in 2006 an effort to look into the development and application of the ecosystem approach to aquaculture.

This activity is funded under a Japanese Trust Fund Project (Towards Sustainable Aquaculture: Selected Issues and Guidelines) and conducted in collaboration with the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and Planning Service (FIEP).Several activities have taken place to support sustainable aquaculture, including the workshop coorganized with the Universitat de les Illes Balears that took place from 7–11 May 2007 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain on “Building and ecosystem approach to aquaculture”. The workshop participants, a multidisciplinary and multinational group of experts, agreed that: “An ecosystem approach for aquaculture (EAA) is a strategy for the integration of the activity within the wider ecosystem in such a way that it promotes sustainable development, equity, and resilience of interlinked social and ecological systems”. Such strategy should be guided by three main principles that should ensure the contribution of aquaculture to sustainable development: i) aquaculture should be developed in the context of ecosystem functions and services with no degradation of these beyond their resilience capacity; ii) aquaculture should improve human wellbeing and equity for ...

The Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) is committed to acting as a regional consultative forum, providing its member countries, regional organizations and fisheries professionals in the region with the opportunity to review, discuss and decide on actions and challenges facing the region's fisheries sector. As part of this function, APFIC has prepared the Status and potential of fisheries and aquaculture in Asia and the Pacific 2008. This is the latest in a series of biennial reviews provided for the deliberations of the biennial APFIC regional consultative forum meeting and the regular sessions of the commission.

The current volume provides short reviews of some current issues facing fisheries and aquaculture in the region that are likely to challenge the sector as it adapts to the continuously changing production and market environments.
Two key areas have also been identified by the commission for its biennial work programme, namely livelihoods in fisheries and the ecosystem approach to fisheries, and they are reviewed here to help members prepare for the commission's programme of regional consultative workshops to be convened during the coming biennium.

This document also contains a regional review of the FAO statistics supported with other information from regional partner organizations of the commission as well as trade, environmental and other arrangements. This information is organized around key resources and attempts to show the trends in the production of these resources. Future volumes will aim to provide more information regarding the management status of these stocks and species groupings.

This document was prepared for the thirtieth session of the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC), which was held in Sulawesi, Indonesia from 11 to 13 August 2008. APFIC has continued to implement its new role as a regional consultative forum and is endeavouring to respond effectively to the changing requirements ...

FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific was requested to conduct a review of the development potential for fisheries and aquaculture in Nepal. This document is the output of this mission. The document provides a brief status of the sector in Nepal based on a literature review and interviews with main stakeholders in the sector. The document also list of number of priority areas where the Government of Nepal and FAO potentially can follow up with smaller projects to facilitate the development of aquaculture and fisheries in Nepal.

The review concludes that there are plenty of good smaller case studies in Nepal which could be built upon into larger scale initiatives if funding was available. It is clear that there is a considerable potential to develop both fishery and aquaculture further in Nepal and some discussions have already taken place on how to potentially link fishery and aquaculture components to other FAO activities in Nepal.

This review was prepared by the national consultant and technical backstopping officer from the fisheries group (RAPI) of the FAO regional office. All findings in this report are based on interviews, field visits and review of literature conducted during a field visit in Nepal from 28 Oct – 10 Nov 2007.

Lao PDR is a land locked country located within Southeast Asia and has a wide range of climatic environments. The country is composed of mountainous upland regions and lowland plains with a total area of approximately 236,800 km2. Upland areas constitute approximately 75% of the total area of the country, with the lowlands occupying approximately 60,000 km2. The country has 57 major rivers mainly running from the north to the south of the country. The lowland areas of Lao PDR are suitable for aquaculture, although aquaculture is practised in some of the upland areas.

Lao PDR has a monsoon season that lasts between May to October allowing rice cultivation in rainfed or irrigated paddies. Upland hill rice cultivation is also widely practised. During the monsoon season the Lao people obtain a significant amount of their nutrition from aquatic animals and fish. These are hunted in paddy fields and water bodies created by the monsoon rains. After the monsoon, the topography of the country is such that waters recede rapidly into the main river bodies and there is an extended dry season where many water bodies dry up completely. During this period there is a shortage of fish and aquatic products, although the Lao tradition of preserving fish in times of abundance compensates for this to some extent. Fish preservation techniques include: fermenting, drying, smoking and salting. Since fish is popular to the Lao people, it often commands a high market price, which makes the capture and culture of fish economically attractive.

Fish fry demand in the Lao PDR is high for stocking into both ponds and rice-fish systems, however fry/fingerling production is low. Most fry produced in Lao PDR originate from the Provincial government hatcheries, which have an overall production level of less than 15 million.

The species currently produced by Lao hatcheries include Common carp, Tilapia, Common silver Barb, Rohu, Mrigal, Bighead carp, Silver carp and ...

This is the final report of the Thirtieth Session of APFIC that was held in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia from 11 to 13 August 2008. major topics discussed were: Overview of the Status and Potential of Fisheries and Aquaculture in Asia and the Pacific; APFIC's strategy and promotion of regional initiatives for more effective fisheries management; Regional themes on: Certification in Fisheries and Aquaculture & Capacity management and combating IUU fishing: Policy, Emerging Issues and Impmelentation of CCRF and the APFIC work plan for the next bienniu (2009 - 2010).

This is the report of the second APFIC regional consultative forum meeting “Adapting to emerging challenges: promotion of arrangements for the management of fisheries and aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region”, Manado, Indonesia, 6–9 August 2008. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, RAP Publication 2008/12, 69 p.

The purpose of an Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission regional consultative forum meeting (APFIC RCFM) is to strengthen the role of APFIC as a coordinating body in transferring and exchanging information and experiences to assist APFIC member countries and the regional organizations to which they belong to address emerging issues in fisheries and aquaculture in the region. The RCFM precedes the main APFIC session and aims to provide Members with a neutral forum to discuss issues and develop recommendations for the commission to consider and act on. This has involved forging better links with member country technical agencies, regional partner organizations and relevant non-governmental organizations across the region, many of which contributed to the second APFIC RCFM.

The theme of the second APFIC RCFM was “Adapting to emerging challenges: promotion of effective arrangements for the management of fisheries and aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region”. This built on the theme of the first APFIC RCFM that was held in Kuala Lumpur in 2006, “Reforming fisheries and aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region”, which recognised the need for improved management of the region’s natural resources and a move towards more sustainable development. The forum was requested to develop and agree on ways of implementing policies and action plans developed to address these major issues.

Human dimensions of the ecosystem approach to fisheries: an overview of context, concepts, tools and methods

This document aims to provide a better understanding of the role of the economic, institutional and sociocultural components within the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) process and to examine some potential methods and approaches that may facilitate the adoption of EAF management. It explores both the human context for the ecosystem approach to fisheries and the human dimensions involved in implementing the EAF. For the former, the report provides background material essential to understand prior to embarking on EAF initiatives, including an understanding of key concepts and issues, of the valuation of aquatic ecosystems socially, culturally and economically, and of the many policy, legal, institutional, social and economic considerations relevant to the EAF. With respect to facilitating EAF implementation, the report deals with a series of specific aspects: (1) determining the boundaries, scale and scope of the EAF; (2) assessing the various benefits and costs involved, seen from social, economic, ecological and management perspectives; (3) utilizing appropriate decision-making tools in EAF; (4) creating and/or adopting internal incentives and institutional arrangements to promote, facilitate and fund the adoption of EAF management; and (5) finding suitable external (non-fisheries) approaches for financing EAF implementation.

Cochrane, K.L. (ed.)
A fishery manager's guidebook. Management measures and their application.
FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. No. 424. Rome, FAO. 2002. 231p.

This publication was prepared to promote and to provide support in the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, especially Article 7: Fisheries Management. As such it is also intended to supplement the FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries No. 4: Fisheries Management. It is intended primarily for the practising fishery manager and decision-maker, with particular emphasis on developing countries, although it is hoped that the volume will also be of interest to managers in developed countries.

Fisheries management is a complex and evolving discipline and much is still being learnt about what it involves, what works and what doesn’t. The problem is compounded by the fact that fisheries management as a coherent discipline is still poorly defined and frequently equally poorly understood. This publication strives to identify the primary tasks in management of capture fisheries, with particular emphasis on sustainable utilization of the biological resources, and to demonstrate how these tasks should be undertaken in an integrated and coordinated manner to obtain the desired benefits from the biological resources in a sustainable and responsible manner.

The Guidebook is divided into nine different chapters, individually authored by experts in the field from around the world.

Chapter 1 provides an introduction to fisheries management, discussing what it is and who or what is the fishery manager. It discusses the inter-relationships between goals and objectives and management plans, measures and strategies, and examines some of the primary issues which need to be considered by the managers in executing their task.

Chapter 2 provides an overview of the different types of fishing gear used in fisheries and the ...

This is the final report of the Twenty-sixth Session of the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC), held in Beijing, PR China from 24-30 September, 1998. Major topics discussed were : fish utilization in the Asia-Pacific region; current issues on capture fisheries in Asia and the Pacific; issues related to the development of sustainable aquaculture; achievement of APFIC and its future direction; merger of the BOBC and APFIC; the restructuring of APFIC subsidiary bodies and regional fishery cooperative projects.

This document presents the final report of the Seventy-first session of the Executive Committee of the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) which was held in Jakarta, Indonesia from 20 to 22 August 2007. Major topics discussed were: APFIC's geographical coverage and mandate and related membership issues; APFIC's budget and finance; progress reports on the intersessional activities of APFIC; outcomes of the Fishing capacity management and IUU fishing and Certification of fishery and aquaculture production workshops; and preparations for the Regional Consultative Forum Meeting and the Thirtieth Session of APFIC to be held in August 2008.