Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission

Both Penaeus vannamei[6] and P. stylirostris originate on the Western Pacific coast of Latin America from Peru in the south to Mexico in the north.

They were introduced from the early 1970s to the Pacific Islands, where research was conducted into breeding and their potential for aquaculture. During the late 1970s and early 1980s they were introduced to Hawaii and the Eastern Atlantic coast of the Americas from South Carolina and Texas in the North to Central America and as far south as Brazil.

The culture industry for P. stylirostris in Latin America is largely confined to Mexico, but P. vannamei has become the primary cultured species in the Americas from the USA to Brazil over the past 20-25 years. Total production of this species in the American region probably amounted to some 213 800 metric tonnes, worth US$ 1.1 billion[7] in 2002.

P. vannamei was introduced into Asia experimentally from 1978-79, but commercially only since 1996 into Mainland China and Taiwan Province of China, followed by most of the other coastal Asian countries in 2000-01. Experimental introductions of specific pathogen free (SPF) "supershrimp" P. stylirostris have been made into various Asian countries since 2000, but the only country to develop an industry to date has been Brunei.

Beginning in 1996, P. vannamei was introduced into Asia on a commercial scale. This started in Mainland China and Taiwan Province of China and subsequently spread to the Philippines, Indonesia, Viet Nam, Thailand, Malaysia and India. These introductions, their advantages and disadvantages and potential problems are the focus of this report.

China now has a large and flourishing industry for P. vannamei, with Mainland China producing more than 270 000 metric tonnes in 2002 and an estimated 300 000 metric tonnes (71 percent of the country's total shrimp production) in 2003, which is higher than the current production of the whole of the Americas.

Other Asian countries with developing industries for this species include Thailand (120 000 metric tonnes estimated production for 2003), Viet Nam and Indonesia (30 000 metric tonnes estimated for 2003 each), with Taiwan Province of China, the Philippines, Malaysia and India together producing several thousand tonnes.

Total production of P. vannamei in Asia was approximately 316 000 metric tonnes in 2002, and it has been estimated that this has increased to nearly 500 000 metric tonnes in 2003, which is worth approximately US$ 4 billion in terms of export income. However, not all the product is exported and a large local demand exists in some Asian countries.

The main reason behind the importation of P. vannamei to Asia has been the perceived poor performance, slow growth rate and disease susceptibility of the major indigenous cultured shrimp species, P. chinensis in China and P. monodon virtually everywhere else. Shrimp production in Asia has been characterized by serious viral pathogens causing significant losses to the culture industries of most Asian countries over the past decade and slowing down of growth in production. It was not until the late 1990s, spurred by the production of the imported P. vannamei, that Asian (and therefore world) production levels have begun to rapidly increase again. By comparison, P. vannamei production has greatly reduced in Latin America also as a result of disease problems, however, there has so far been little sign of recovery.

In Asia, first Yellow Head Virus (YHV) from 1992 and later White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) from 1994 caused continuing direct losses of approximately US$ 1 billion per year to the native cultured shrimp industry. In Latin America, first Taura Syndrome Virus (TSV) from 1993 and later, particularly, WSSV from 1999 caused direct losses of approximately US$ 0.5 billion per year after WSSV. Ancillary losses involving supporting sectors of the industry, jobs, and market and bank confidence put the final loss much higher.

It is widely believed that these three most economically significant viral pathogens (and a host of other pathogens) have been introduced to the Asian and Latin American countries suffering these losses through the careless introduction of live shrimp stocks. Most Asian countries have legislated against the introduction of P. vannamei due to fears over the possibility of introducing new pathogenic viruses and other diseases from Latin America to Asia. Many governments have allowed importation of supposedly disease free stocks that are available for this species from the USA.

The encouraging trial results, the industry-perceived benefits, including superior disease resistance, growth rate and other advantages, allied with problems in controlling the imports from other countries, have led to the widespread introduction of this species to Asia, primarily by commercial farmers. Unfortunately, importation of cheaper, non-disease free stock has resulted in the introduction of serious viral pathogens (particularly TSV) into a number of Asian countries, including Mainland China, Taiwan Province of China, Thailand and Indonesia, and maybe more.

Although TSV is not reported to have affected indigenous cultured or wild shrimp populations, insufficient time and research have been conducted on this issue and there is a need for caution. TSV is a highly mutable virus, capable of mutating into more virulent strains, which are able to infect other species. In addition, other viruses probably imported with P. vannamei, for example a new LOVV-like virus, have been implicated in actually causing the slow growth problems currently being encountered with the culture of the indigenous P. monodon. There remain many unanswered questions regarding the possible effects of introduced species and associated pathogens on other cultured and wild shrimp populations in Asia.

For such reasons ...

The final synthesis report of the project: "The International Seafood Trade: supporting sustainable livelihoods among poor aquatic resource users in Asia"

The global export value of fisheries products has grown significantly in recent years in response to consumption trends, and is currently around

This document is a report of the proceedings and compilation of the papers presented at the regional consultation on interactive mechanisms for small-scale fisheries management, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand in November 2001. The meeting identifies constraints and responsibilities in decentralized small-scale fisheries management and offers practical solutions to the social, economic, environmental and legal constraints to local fisheries management. The fisheries sector has grown dramatically in Asia over the past three decades and the region is now a main supplier to the global fish market. However, the impressive growth has been accompanied by serious challenges in the form of over-exploitation of coastal resources. Country papers included in the publication examine national experiences in small-scale fisheries management in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. Separate papers provide regional perspectives on the issue while experience papers report on the working of small-scale fisheries management projects in the region

Asia is the world’s foremost capture fishery and aquaculture producer and is home to the majority of the world’s fishers and fishing vessels. Consequently, one would expect this importance to be reflected in the national development discourse of Asian countries.

This review by the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) considers whether this is so by examining the socio-economic importance of fisheries in the region in terms of their contribution to primary exports, domestic protein consumption, employment, and the incidence of poverty within fishing communities.

Furthermore, using a content analysis of key policy documents, the review assesses whether fisheries have been mainstreamed into national development and poverty reduction strategies produced across the APFIC region. The review concludes by offering some recommendations as to how APFIC member countries might strengthen the presence of the sector in the development discourse. This review will be of value to those who seek to understand the direction of fisheries policy in developing countries of Asia and the Pacific region better, particularly for the purpose of strengthening the visibility of fisheries in national development planning.

Miao W., Silva S.D., Davy B. (eds.) (2010) Inland Fisheries Enhancement and conservation in Asia. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP Publication 2010/22, 189 pp.

Inland capture fisheries provide an important source of food and livelihoods for many people in rural areas. In 2008, inland capture fisheries provided 10.2 million tonnes of fish worldwide (FAO, 2010), which was largely used for direct human consumption. Asia has overwhelmingly contributed to the world’s inland capture fisheries production with a reported total production of 6.8 million tonnes in 2008 (FAO, 2010). The actual contribution of inland capture fisheries, however, is far higher than what is reflected in the above official data. Because of the difficulties involved in collecting data from large numbers of small-scale, scattered and often unregistered fishers, official figures for fish catches tend to be vastly underestimated.

Inland fisheries resources provide not only the material basis for maintaining capture fisheries production, but also serve as a reservoir of aquatic biodiversity. However, over the past few decades inland fisheries resources have come under increasing pressure from overfishing, use of destructive fishing gear/methodologies, water engineering projects, pollution and environment changes and have shown a clear declining trend. This has been well demonstrated by the disappearance of some traditionally important fish species and a general reduction in the catch of high valued species.

Fisheries resource enhancement and conservation measures have long been adopted in many Asian countries for sustaining capture fish production, conserving aquatic biodiversity, rescuing endangered species, improving environmental conditions and upgrading recreational fisheries by offsetting the adverse impacts of human activities on inland fisheries resources. The contribution of inland fisheries resource enhancement and conservation to sustained inland capture fisheries and conservation of aquatic biodiversity as well as to nutritional security and improved rural livelihoods has been commonly recognized. On the other hand, external interventions to the aquatic ecosystem from fisheries resource enhancement and conservation activities may have had adverse impacts on the ecosystem and wild fish community, especially when such activities are carried out without a strong scientific basis or adequate evaluation and monitoring mechanisms. There is a general lack of comprehensive understanding as to the effectiveness and impacts of current enhancement and conservation activities in the region.

This publication is the product of a regional review study on inland fisheries resource enhancement and conservation conducted during 2009-2010. It includes ten country review papers and one regional synthesis report generated from a regional expert workshop. The publication provides the most up-to-date, comprehensive information on inland fisheries resources enhancement and conservation in the region, covering practices, methodologies, operational modalities, impacts, constraints and recommendations for the way forward. The synthesis report provides a regional perspective on inland fisheries resources enhancement and conservation practices in Asia, with special focus on identifying common issues and problems, and recommends actions on improved practices for maximizing benefits to the region.
This publication can serve as an important reference for people working in inland fisheries resources management. More importantly, it provides a starting point for anticipated thrusts in promoting better practices of inland fisheries resource enhancement and conservation.

Coates, D. 2002. Inland capture fishery statistics of Southeast Asia: Current status and information needs. Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP Publication No. 2002/11, 114 p.

Inland capture fisheries in Southeast Asia are characterised by great diversity in the range of gears used, types of environments in which they are used and the socially and culturally complex societies within which they operate. This presents unique problems for the collection of inland fisheries statistics. This report assesses the quality and relevance of existing statistics on inland capture fisheries and the extent to which the statistics meet management objectives. The report suggests ways in which the existing statistics might be improved through cost-effective means and explores the information needs for inland capture fisheries. Based upon the statistics currently available, there is no apparent trend of declining production for any country (except possibly for the Philippines, less so for VietNam). This is somewhat at odds with the frequently expressed view that inland capture fisheries are in terminal decline, and illustrates that the perceptions of these fisheries are not influenced by the available statistical information. This seriously questions the purpose and value of inland fishery statistics. Inland capture fisheries are clearly seriously under-reported in all of the countries reviewed. The discrepancy between officially reported catches (where available) and estimates based upon independent scientifically based surveys (i.e. collection of actual data), varies by a factor of between 4.2 and 21.4. Overall, for all the countries combined, the total reported production from inland waters appears to be under-estimated by a factor of between at least 2.5 and 3.6 Participation in inland capture fisheries is very high, but adequate information on this is rarely collected. Most fishers are not licensed and operate on a part-time or seasonal basis. Large numbers of people are also involved in processing, marketing, transportation and other service sectors. Where information exists, it suggests that participation in inland fisheries might equal that in marine fisheries and possibly exceeds that in aquaculture by a factor of at least three times.

In many countries, “statistics” are compiled because they are requested or demanded by central government. The actual purpose of these statistics is often uncertain and countries are reluctant to admit to FAO, and even within or between their own agencies, the true nature of the information reported. Consequently, the “statistics” reported are often taken as factual and are accorded unwarranted authority. A wide variety of methods are used by the countries covered in this review, to estimate inland capture fisheries production. There are also widespread suspected, unofficially recognized or officially confirmed, differences between the official systems in place and actual practice. This report makes recommendations as to what information is appropriate for inland fisheries management and strategies for obtaining the required information.

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 procedures covered include the use of wild, domesticated and specific pathogen free/ specific pathogen resistant (SPF/SPR) broodstock; broodstock landing centres and holding techniques; broodstock selection, transport, utilization, quarantine, health screening, maturation, nutrition and spawning; egg hatching; nauplius selection; egg/ nauplius disinfection and washing and holding, disease testing and transportation of nauplii. Post-spawning procedures covered include: larval-rearing unit preparation, larval rearing/health management, larval nutrition and feed management, important larval diseases, general assessment of larval condition, quality testing/selection of PL for stocking, PL harvest and transportation, nursery rearing, timing of PL stocking, use of multiple species in shrimp hatcheries, and documentation and record keeping. Information on the use of chemicals in shrimp hatcheries and examples of various forms for hatchery record keeping are included as Annexes.