ASEM Aquaculture Platform- AqASEM

PROJECT SUMMARY

Project number: INCO-CT-2004-5025056th Framework Programme

Duration: 15/05/2004 – 14/05/2006 (24 months)Special Support Action

Coordinator:Prof. Patrick Sorgeloos, Laboratory of Aquaculture & ArtemiaReferenceCenter, Ghent University, Belgium

Project Website:

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVES

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In 1996, a new Asia-Europe political consultation and coordination mechanism was set up by governments from ten Asian nations and then fifteen European nations with the objective of strengthening the relationship between the two regions. These Asia-Europe Meetings (ASEM) exist in different configurations. In 1999, the ASEM Ministers for Science and Technology emphasized the key role of intensified science and technology cooperation in strengthening economic links between Asia and Europe. They identifiedspecific areas of common interests and priorities for future S&T cooperation: forestry, water management, clean production technologies and sustainable aquaculture.

Following up on this decision, the first AquaChallenge workshop was organised in Beijing, April 2002( under the auspices of EU INCO and through the partnership of Greece’s General Secretariat for Research and Technology and the Chinese Society of Fisheries. The AquaChallenge workshop brought together participants from ASEM partner countries, scientists, technologists and industrialists of differing experiences, but with similar understanding of needs. The main aim was to work out an action-oriented agenda for ASEM scientific co-operation and to develop a platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue, networking and continued coordination concerning sustainable aquaculture in both regions.

To follow up on its outcomes and in order to keep the momentum of the AquaChallenge initiative, the ASEM Aquaculture Platform was launched in May 2004. Through its different stakeholders, the platform aimed to reconcile ecological and socio-economic demands and introduce or consolidate concepts of sustainability in aquaculture development in both regions. It wished to contribute to aquatic food safety by providing sound research results, creating a forum for experts and policy-makers, and by disseminating knowledge up to policy levels as well as down to aquafarmers.

All activities have catered to three societal concerns: a) fair trade, food security & safety; b) environmental sustainability; and c) social equitability.

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ACTIVITIES

The ASEM Aquaculture Platform is to achieve its objectives through following activities:

1. Build & manage a platform

2. Thematic workshops

3. Dissemination within & beyond the platform

4. Facilitate partnerships & source funding for new projects.

RESULTS AND OUTCOMES

The Platform

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To build the platform a simple management structure was put in place. A management committee of 2 European and 3 Asian partners was established. They were committed to the day to day organisation and saw to the smooth operation of the platform thus enabling the progress of planned activities and the timely production of the deliverables. Communication flows mainly through e-mail; management committee meetings are held whenever members meet each other at major aquaculture events. This offers sufficient opportunities for face-to-face discussions which ensurethe proper management of the project.

A steering committeewas established consisting of 8 highly respected persons who have been carefully selected to represent all areas (geographic, thematic, gender and functional) relevant to the platform activities. As a group they are not involved in the daily management but assist in elaborating the concepts and strategies of the platform.

At present, the platform consist of about 60 individuals, institutes, networks and companies from across the ASEM countries. Regularly, new members are welcomed upon suggestions or personal meetings with steering or management committee members. The platform is an open-ended mechanism meaning that membership is not subjected to any formal prerequisite or firm commitment further than a genuine involvement in sustainable aquaculture and a keen interest in contributing to its development with special reference to the links between European and Asian partnerships. Workshop participants are recruited among the platform members.

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Thematic Workshops

Through the AquaChallenge initiative six areas were identified as being instrumental in the further development of sustainable aquaculture:

1.Diseases, health treatment husbandry: including problems of dissemination to the farmer.

2.Environment ecosystem preservation (biodiversity, sustainable production, genetic pollution & preservation, fish meal issue, habitat conversion/loss, wild fry/spawner by-catch) and how to combine these with social equitability.

3.Domestication & Breeding: strain improvement through classical breeding techniques, role of biotechnology.

4.Education training: regional variations, strengths & weaknesses; European Master /ERASMUS MUNDUS; gender balance; formal education (curricula, etc.) versus informal venues; online & ODL provision: certification/accreditation issues.

5.Food safety, Trade & Regulatory aspects: national and international trade issues, certification, traceability and labelling issues as related to export/import problems between the regions.

6.Food security: socio-economics, exports, investment issues, urbanisation processes, particularly as they affect Asian partners.

These areas constituted the subject of a series of thematic workshops organised within the ASEM Aquaculture Platform. The objectives of the workshops were:

1)to formulate recommendations on future directions in research, trade and production between the two regions;

2)to forge new alliances or reinforce existing ones between EU and Asia partners for joint research, trade policies and production methods.

To do so, each2 ½ day workshop brought together 25-30 key players from both regions and from the different sectors involved to think together and reach consensus on tangible action points.

In order to maximise the efficiency of the discussion within the short time of the workshops, the organizers prepared the main issues to be discussed in accordance with the participants via online discussion lists ( Discussions at all workshops were very targeted and dynamic. Distinct differences in vision frequently occurred,but the final recommendations always succeeded to reconcile the different opinions. These key recommendations are available on the project website. In the table below an attempt is done to highlight the major issues drawn from the workshop outcomes.

DISEASES &HEALTHMANAGEMENT (Oct 24-26, 2004 - Barcelona, Spain)
  • Diagnostics, intercalibration and certification of labs: this area of research and development should be approached from the position of need or demand from the end user. There is a demonstrable demand for identification of diseases and advice on their control and these two aspects must be linked.
  • Epidemiology, health management and extension: Europe and Asia will benefit from the development of aquatic animal health services and capability in Asia to ensure both compatibility and equivalent standards between both regions. Early warning, control and containment of aquatic animal diseases require development of skills in epidemiology including risk (hazard) identification, assessment, communication and management. It is important that these skills be developed at the farm and extension levels and that they support investigative and research needs.

ENVIRONMENT & ECOSYSTEM PRESERVATION (April 23-26, 2005 - Qingdao, PR China)
  • Management of the outside farm environment is often more difficult than other aquaculture management as there is less incentives for farmers and the aquaculture industry to manage, unless it hits back on the activity itself. Local impacts are more likely to be managed as they are more easily perceived and the risk of hitting back is greater, whereas regional and global impacts are usually not taken into account by the industry. More focus needs to be put on such regional and global issues.
  • Aquaculture is often regarded as any industrial enterprise. Whereas direct impacts on the socio-economics of local communities are sometimes taken into account, indirect effects, such as environmental degradation, reduced coastal fisheries are usually less understood and not internalized.

DOMESTICATION & BREEDING (May 16-18, 2005 - Bangkok, Thailand)
Problems and priorities proved to be different depending on the scale of the breeding operation and the stage of maturation of the industry. The prioritization of problems was divided into three categories:
  • Natural populations (restocking programs, impact of aquaculture and use of wild caught seed)
For many new species there are still reproductive bottlenecks which inhibit successful domestication. In other cases, cultural preferences and the scale of the market (local, regional) constrain the development of an aquaculture industry and dictate that animals are to be harvested from the wild. In both cases sustainable aquaculture relies on the appropriate utilization of wild caught broodstock or seed. In some cases there is also a need to restock hatchery reared animals back into the natural environment. Where domesticated stocks are used for this purpose there are important issues relating to the genetic pollution of wild stocks and potential loss of genetic diversity in the wild. Escapes from aquaculture, which can occur in large numbers, can have similar effects on natural populations.
  • Small scale breeding operations
The majority of aquatic species in S-E Asia are farmed on a regional or national scale, and production levels are typically small. For these species there is little or no capital investment available to set up large scale sophisticated breeding programs and genetic management and improvement will thus rely on tailor made small-scale breeding programs.
  • Large scale breeding operations
For global commodity species, such as shrimp and tilapia, breeding is or is likely to be in the hands of a few specialized large companies. A large number of farmers directly or indirectly will rely on the success of these companies in genetically improving their seed stock in terms of growth rate, disease resistance and other economically relevant traits.
EDUCATION & TRAINING (September 24-27, 2005 - Iloilo, The Philippines)
Following steps towards the achievement of quality education and its mutual recognition were identified:
  • To inventorize the strengths, deficiencies, variations, and opportunities in aquaculture education and training in Asia and Europe
  • To identify the special topics of common concern that should be incorporated in formal academic courses and informal training courses in Asia and Europe to make them more relevant and effective to the aquaculture industry
  • To formulate plans and methods to upgrade and fine-tune the aquaculture curriculum and syllabus in formal education and informal training courses in Asia and Europe
  • To support or reinforce networks of universities, training centres, government agencies, and international organizations in Asia and Europe.

FOOD SAFETY, TRADE & REGULATORY ASPECTS (March 22-24, 2006 - Athens, Greece)
  • As compared to the conditions in Europe, the numerous small farms in Asia, mostly artisanal family operations, present a much bigger challenge to introduce uniformity in application of good aquaculture practices, traceability and HACCP. Producers in Asia need to be informed that several potential hazards exist in aquaculture and that if they are not cautious or meticulous in following good aquaculture practices, their produce might be rejected.
  • The difficult task of informing and training of thousands of small-scale aquaculture producers might become easier if there were active Farmer’s Organisations to work hand-in hand with the national Governments towards aspects of food safety in production, adaptation of HACCP and traceability. Any possible support from Europe to facilitate this process and share experiences is highly recommended.

FOOD SECURITY (May 7-9,2006 - Firenze, Italy)
  • Aquaculture will increasingly contribute to aquatic product supply and will specifically support food security through a) direct production of aquaculture products which can be consumed or marketed, b) employment generation and c) supply of widely affordable aquatic products. These should be reflected in government policies and implementation.
  • There is a strong link between poverty, vulnerability and food security, thus poverty reduction strategies should assign a stronger role to aquaculture for its importance in achieving food security. There are also important gender issues to be addressed.
  • Approaches should be developed at the national level. Policy should ideally be formed by multi-stakeholder participation. The policies should balance export and domestically oriented aquaculture.

Dissemination

Dissemination of results is mainly accomplished via the project website ( The website has a big public section trying to make research results and relevant knowledge accessible to all interested citizens. It also allows differentiated access as a convenient tool for internal communication and project management.

New Partnerships

It is the ambition of the ASEM Aquaculture Platform to eventually become the reference and focal point of interregional initiatives regarding sustainable aquaculture. Obviously this cannot be achieved within the timeframe of the SSA but at least it should lay the foundation for instance by generating some new initiatives. Although much effort can be (and has been) done to initiate new initiatives before any tangible outcome is perceptible, a couple of achievements are noteworthy.

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VIFINET (Vietnam Fisheries Aquaculture Network)

Under the impulse of European partners (Ghent, Trondheim & Wageningenuniversities), four major Vietnamese universities and 3 research centres decided in May 2005 to establish a network for closer cooperation. All Network’s members agreed to:

-Collaborate in training and research;

-Share relevant information and existing resources;

-Organise the Network’s capacity forcentralised communication with the Ministries of Fisheries, Science & Technology and Education & Training on sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture;

-Seek possible financial support in order to improve training and research capacity of all Network members; and

-Conduct other activities of mutual interest to the Network members.

Under the umbrella of the new network a couple of workshops have been organised (on use of ICT in aquaculture education; on shrimp health) and opportunities for joint research or education efforts have been explored.

CONSORTIUM OF MAJOR CHINESE AQUACULTURE INSTITUTIONS

Inspired by the concept of the European Masters in Aquaculture( - coordinated by Ghent University) four major Chinese universities have invited European partners to support the development of a network for improved aquaculture (and fisheries) education in China. After a couple of preparatory meetings in 2005 and 2006 a formal meeting was held in Shanghai in July 2006. Concrete intentions were formulated to establish a Chinese network of Fisheries & Aquaculture institutes.

VALORISATION OF THE AQASEM WORKSHOP OUTCOMES THROUGH NEW SSA
(proposal submitted march 6, 2006)

Thesubmitted proposal builds on the outcomes of the thematic workshops. Though valuable in mobilising professional expertise, the platform needs to be extended to create an inclusive development dialogue, benefiting poorer and vulnerable groups. This requires a well-structured value chain approach, raising awareness, interaction and negotiation amongst social actors, setting sectoral change in a strong context for sustainable development. The extended platform aims to:

1)develop outcomes of AqASEM thematic workshops into a broader development context;

2)consolidate and test this framework as a basis for constructive and goal-defined dialogue for knowledge transfer, adaptation and development between regions and among diverse social actors.

The extended platform should be built around regional workshops in three Asian countries, each on a major theme in sustainable aquaculture:

-China → creating new prospects for low food-chain aquaculture;

-Vietnam → bringing integrated polyculture into modernising economies;

-Thailand → designing social and environmental welfare into intensive shrimp farming.

A cross-cutting workshop will also specifically engage with poor farmers and women. Workshops would apply an interactive knowledge-building approach working at system, development and policy levels, with end-users including producers, consumers, traders, investors, regulators and policy makers, negotiating across what may be complex and conflicting interests to develop robust bases for policies, investment, management approaches and sector structure. The workshop, negotiation and communication process will itself be examined, tested and promoted as a means to establish shared-knowledge-frameworks and Private-Public-Partnerships in regional development.

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COORDINATOR

Laboratory of Aquaculture & ArtemiaReferenceCenter
Department Animal Production, Faculty for Bioengineering Sciences
GhentUniversity
Rozier 44, 9000 Gent
Belgium / Patrick Sorgeloos
e-mail:
Tel: +32 9 2643754
Fax: +32 9 2644193

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

University of Crete
Heraklion
Greece / Anastasios & Margaret Eleftheriou
e-mail:
Tel: +302810 337750
Fax: +302810 337822
Laboratory of Aquaculture and Stock Enhancement
Department of Marine Biotechnology
Faculty of Life Science and Biotechnology
FukuyamaUniversity
Ohama, Innoshima
Hiroshima 722-2108
Japan / Hiroshi Fushimi
e-mail:
Tel: +81845242933
Fax: +8184524344
Faculty of Science
MahidolUniversity
Rama 6 Road
Bangkok 10400
Thailand / Tim Flegel
e-mail:
Tel: +6622015870 to 5873
Fax: +6622477051
Faculty of Natural Resources
Prince of SongklaUniversity
Had Yai
Songkhla 90112
Thailand / Kidchakan Supamattaya
e-mail:
Tel: +66 74 286226
Fax: +66 74 429865

STEERING COMMITEE

  • James Muir()
  • Professor of Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources Development
  • Assistant Director, Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, Scotland
  • Manager DFID Aquaculture and Fish Genetics Research Programme
  • Courtney Hough()
  • General Secretary of the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP)
  • Maria Teresa Dinis()
  • Professor at the University of Algarve, Portugal
  • Portugal Member of the Directive Committee of the Center of Marine Sciences (CCMAR)
  • Michael New()
  • Past-President of the European Aquaculture Society & the World Aquaculture Society
  • Chairman of Aquaculture without Frontiers
  • QI-SHENG Tang()
  • Professor and Director General of Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, ChineseAcademy of Fishery Sciences(Qingdao, P.R.China)
  • Mohamed Shariff()
  • Professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia
  • Former president of the Asian Fisheries Society
  • Jurgenne Primavera()
  • Senior scientist of the Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC AQD, The Philippines)
  • Pedro B. Bueno()
  • Director General, Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA,Thailand)

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