FAO Fisheries Circular No. 930 FIRI/C930

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

ROME, November 1997

PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT

This document is the final version of the main discussion paper at the Regional Workshop on Aquaculture Development Research Priorities and Capacities held in Bangkok, Thailand, on 20-23 May 1997, and the report of the workshop. The workshop, and the preceding regional survey on which the discussion paper was based, were collaborative activities of the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA) and the Fisheries Department of FAO. The document was finalized into its present form and content after its validation of the discussion paper by the participants of the workshop, and approval of the workshop report by participating countries.

Part I of this document was prepared by Pedro Bueno, Information Specialist and designated NACA project leader for this activity; in collaboration with other NACA staff and Dr. Ziad Shehadeh of the FAO Fisheries Department. The development of the data gathering instrument, the analysis of the survey results and the drafting of Part II of this document, including its post-workshop revision, were largely the responsibility of the consultant of the project, Ms Yong-ja Cho, with the guidance and supervision of the FAO Fisheries Department particularly Ziad Shehadeh and the supervision and collaboration of the NACA Secretariat staff, in particular, Pedro Bueno. The National Coordinators for the Aquaculture Research Survey (NCARS), who were designated by their respective governments, facilitated information collection, supplied, in most cases, the required national and institutional information, and drafted the country reports. A selection of the country reports will be published under separate cover to illustrate in greater detail and provide the local context to the range of issues highlighted by this regional synthesis.

Abbreviations and Acronyms

FAO and NACA are pleased to present herewith the result of a regional study on the aquaculture development research priorities and capacities of the region. The purpose of the study was to seek ways to increase the contribution of research to the sustainable development of aquaculture so that the sector can better fulfill its roles of ensuring food security, particularly filling the growing demand for foodfish, generating productive employment and improving the income of rural people, and earning foreign exchange. An important objective was to identify key regional issues and opportunities for research collaboration among countries. An assessment and matching of national aquaculture development priorities with aquaculture research priorities, capacities and strategies gives a comprehensive overview and a fairly sharp detail of the needs of and constraints to the research sector, which in effect are opportunities for its strengthening.

The study consisted of two major activities: (i) a one-year survey, to which fourteen countries/region that include the major aquaculture producers in Asia and a number of national, regional and international organizations and programmes in Asia-Pacific had responded, and (ii) a regional workshop attended by representatives of these developing countries and organizations and programmes.

The findings confirm the primary role that governments in the region, as well as donor assistance agencies, have accorded to production-oriented research in supporting national aquaculture development. This has been accomplished largely by an overwhelming concentration and support of research effort, and necessarily of trained research manpower and other resources, in the biological and technical areas. To illustrate, over 80 per cent of the 330 aquaculture projects reported in the survey are concerned with development and research on aquaculture technologies and systems; health and environmental management; production of seed and improvement of feed and nutrition; genetic improvement and species diversification. Less than 3 per cent are concerned with the socio-economic and management aspects. Moreover, multidisciplinary studies and approaches to problem solving are rare.

The positive result of this strategy may be reflected partly by the high overall growth of aquaculture production in the region during the past fifteen years. But as the study has also noted, the task of aquaculture development research has become more challenging with the increasing number and complexity of issues attendant to national aquaculture development. As the study states, management of aquaculture has become a complex undertaking, involving all levels of governments and many disciplines, and having to also ensure harmony with other sectors that utilize the same resources.

The synopsis of national aquaculture development objectives and priorities highlighted by the survey clearly indicates that governments, while retaining their high priority on productivity, are also facing up to the need to sustain productivity gains and economic growth and to balance the emphasis on more production with more environmentally and socially responsible solutions. In retrospect, the productivity increases could have masked the weaknesses of the aquaculture research sector now being exposed by the intensifying pressure from problems other than low yield. The study lists these problems as follows: weak institutional linkages; uncoordinated planning and programming; lack of skilled human resources; ineffective technology transfer and under-utilization of information; lack of inputs and appropriate technologies for environmental and health management; pollution of the aquatic environment; and inadequate or inadequately enforced aquaculture legislation, regulations and policies. Additionally, the study notes that many of problems confronting aquaculture development have resulted from its rapid and unplanned growth, implying that the sector has not had time to build up an adequate information and knowledge base that can reliably support management decisions.

The findings provide a strong argument for research to address, along with the technical, the economic, development, environmental, legal and social issues, and for an emphasis on intersectoral, multidisciplinary and precautionary approach to the management and development of aquaculture. Lessons from the aquaculture industry in general and from some aquaculture commodity industries in particular, have made it clear that the application of technological innovations must take into account environmental and socio-economic impacts and implications. And that appropriate policies and institutional arrangements must be in place to facilitate the development and proper application of technological innovations.

In line with its objective and findings, the study outlines a strategy for tackling the common regional issues and constraints to aquaculture research. Central to this strategy is the list of research opportunities that address the issues. Of the seven research opportunities identified, three target the institutional issues, four deal with biological/technological problems. The common regional problems present an excellent scope for regional cooperation.

The study is a contribution of FAO and NACA to the follow-up of the Study on International Fisheries Research (SIFR). This presentation of its results is addressed to all the stakeholders in national aquaculture development, who have to be closely involved in the overall effort to enhance the contribution of research to development. It is principally addressed to governments and to regional and international agencies and organizations providing collaborative assistance to governments. It also makes significant references to some of the critical roles of the private and non-government sectors in improving the aquaculture research system and processes. This report updates national information on the aquaculture development objectives and priorities and the aquaculture research priorities, capacities and needs. Obviously not evenly distributed, the countries nevertheless have considerable aquaculture research capacities and resources among them that a regional cooperative activity could utilize. This regional sharing of resources to solve common problems has been effectively demonstrated by the TCDC activities of NACA which FAO and UNDP have fostered.

FAO and NACA, in line with their mandates and within the limits of their resources, will help to facilitate action on the recommendations. We envision a strategy in which governments play the central role in carrying out and managing the cooperative regional research, and sustaining the collaboration based on national research programmes rather than on the presence or absence of external support. We strongly adhere to the idea that external assistance be sought only as a means to strengthen regional cooperation and complement national efforts. In this light, regional and international organizations, including funding agencies, will appropriately act as catalyst and facilitator to regional collaborative efforts. In the ultimate, success of the total effort will depend solely on the commitment of the governments.

Part I. Report of the Regional Workshop

List of Tables

List of Tables

Section 2. Summary of the Survey Returns