NEWSLETTER OF THE P OND D YNAMICS/A QUACULTURE C OLLABORATIVE R ESEARCH S UPPORT P ROGRAM

Volume 11, Number 2/Spring 1996 Oregon State University ISSN 1062-4996

1996-2001Continuation PlanGets Thumbs Up

The 1996 CRSP Extension Pro-posal Review Panel recommended toUSAID that the Pond Dynamics/Aquaculture CRSP be granted a five-year extension. Specifically, the panelconcluded its written review with therecommendation that “USAIDextend this extremely productiveCRSP for a five-year period as re-quested in the proposal.”

USAID invited the PD/A CRSP toWashington, D.C. on 29 February todefend the program’s 1996-2001Continuation Plan. Bryan Duncanand Raul Piedrahita, TechnicalCommittee Co-Chairs, Gary Jensen,External Evaluation Committee (EEP)member, and Brigitte Goetze, DeputyDirector, represented the CRSP at theproposal defense. After a briefing byHarvey Hortik, Division Chief, Officeof Agriculture and Food Security atUSAID, Duncan summarized theCRSPs proposed research activities ina twenty-minute presentation. Jensenbriefly presented the views of the EEPrelating to CRSP strengths andchallenges and demonstrated how theproposal addresses these points.

The review panel used a questionand answer session to get more detailon some points of interest. After-wards, they convened in private todiscuss the Continuation Plan andsummarize their findings in a report.That report highlighted programstrengths which the panel foundespecially noteworthy and includedrecommendations on how tostrengthen the proposal.

In addition to the PD/A CRSP,several other CRSPs are slated for

PD/A CRSP to Co-Sponsor 4th ISTAThe Fourth International Sympo-

sium for Tilapia in Aquaculture(ISTA) will be held 9-12 November1997 in Orlando, Florida, and theCRSP will be a co-sponsor, along withthe Israeli Aquafarmers Association,and the Mexican fisheries groupSEPESCA. The American TilapiaAssociation and the InternationalCentre for Living Aquatic ResourcesManagement will be main sponsors ofthe three-day conference. Israel,Thailand, and Côte d’Ivoire were sitesfor ISTAs in 1983, 1987, 1991, respec-tively.

Hard on the heels of the CRSPsAnnual Meeting and the WorldAquaculture Society Meeting andExposition in Bangkok, Thailand,CRSP Deputy Director Brigitte Goetzewas in Arlington, Texas, to attendAquaculture America ‘96 and the

Annual Meeting of the AmericanTilapia Association (ATA). There shemet with ATA President RayDeWandel and Vice-President KevinFitzsimmons as part of the CRSPsefforts to establish closer linkageswith organizations involved in tilapiaresearch and cultivation.

ATA is a non-profit organizationwith goals in education, memberinformation and networking, govern-ment interactions, and support forresearch within the U.S. Recognizingthat the fundamentals of tilapiaculture have worldwide implications,the ATA is also interested in encour-aging international participation.

Readers may want to check outthe ATA’s Internet homepage at:http://ag.arizona.edu/azaqua/ata.html.

(Please see p. 3)

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In this issue . . .From the Director’s Desk ....................................................... 2PD/A Central Data Base Moves to OSU

An interview with John Bolte ........................................... 3French Version of POND© Software..................................... 5Thailand Visit: CRSP & WAS Annual Meetings................... 6The Aquaculture World According to Lester Brown............. 7Extension Service Meeting in Southern Africa ....................... 7Fishellaneous Items................................................................. 8Upcoming Conferences and Meetings.................................. 10Workshops and Short Courses ............................................ 11PD/A CRSP Milestones....................................................... 11New Publications ....................................................Back cover1997 WAS Meeting..................................................Back cover

From the

D I R E C T O R ' S D E S K

April 30th, 1996, was an important date for our CRSP. It was the date we had expected to receive authorization fromUSAID to embark on our five-year extension. It was also the date that many of our long-time participants had markeddown for their retirement from the CRSP, and for new participants to join us. But the US government furlough this pastwinter and delays associated with the FY1996 federal budget turned the 30th of April into really just another day.

Fortunately for us, USAID Contracts came through at the last minute with authorization for a three-month extensionfor our program. This extension allows time for USAID to determine its internal FY1996 allocations, and to prepare thelegal paperwork for our new grant. The intention is to have the new grant begin on August 1, 1996.

With new regulations for accountability, USAID and university contracts officers are requiring a more rigorousprocess for subcontracting, including the filing of animal use forms, human subjects forms, detailed budgets, and othercertifications and assurances.

To ensure that collaboration is well thought out before projects begin, we, too, will be implementing a more detailedprocess to evaluate workplans and projects. Once the Technical Committee has signed off on the technical soundness ofeach workplan and project, Principal Investigators will be asked to prepare more detailed descriptions of intendedbenefits, and to identify beneficiaries and indicators for measuring impact. These descriptions will become part of theattachments for each subcontract.

The goal is to have as much information assembled beforehand, so as to be able to hit the ground running on specificprojects as soon as the next grant is approved and we know our level of funding.

You may notice a change in format in this issue of Aquanews. MarionMcNamara, who edited the newsletter for many years, gracefully pawned(pardon the homonym...) this project off on me, a relative newcomer to theCRSP. Marion will be focusing on other projects.

As the new editor of Aquanews, I’m eager to hear your comments, contro-versial commentaries, constructive criticism, and, of course, compliments.Send them to: Danielle Clair

PD/A CRSP400 Snell Hall, OSUCorvallis OR 97331-6441 USAPhone: 541-737-6416Fax: 541-737-3447Email: crspmail@ccmail.orst.edu

The PD/A Internet Web Site is:http://www.orst.edu/Dept/crsp/homepage.html

Also, an apology to those who receive CRSP mailings: If you sent in achange of address or requested to be added or deleted from the CRSP maillist within the last six months, chances are that information was lost in aFebruary “negative computer event. ” We regret this inconvenience andhope you won’t mind repeating your instructions one more time, for therecord.

This issue of Aquanews is dedicated to Mia.

CRSP Rwanda RefugeeRelief Update

The Rwanda Refugee Relief effortis still operating though at a reducedlevel. Patricie Nyirahabinka (wife ofJean-Damascene Bucyanayandi) andher three children are still in Nairobi,where they have been waiting forvisas to emigrate to Canada foralmost 2 years. Patricie has thepromise of a position at SherbrookeUniversity in Canada, where she andJean-Damascene did their graduatework. Born in Canada, their middleson Jean-Fidele is a Canadian citizen.Patricie sent 6-year-old Jean-Fidele toMontreal last month to stay withfriends and hopes to join him withher two other children as soon aspossible. (J-J Newman, AuburnUniversity)

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Ponder Writing to the CRSP . . .

CLOSE SHOT OFSITE SEL

(From p. 1)

Continuation Planextension in the near future. Theseinclude INTSORMIL, Peanuts, SoilManagement, and Bean/Cowpea.

Previously, the Board for Interna-tional Food and Agricultural Develop-ment (BIFAD) reviewed CRSP exten-sion proposals. BIFAD, which wasreconstituted in 1995, decided duringits first 1995 meeting to no longerconduct CRSP extension proposalreviews. In response to this decision,USAID appointed a proposal reviewpanel.

Dan Drga, USAID/LAC/RSDClarence Gray, Retired, Professor,

Virginia Polytechnic and StateUniversity, Former Soil Scientistand Administrator, RockefellerFoundation

Don Islieb, Director, InternationalPrograms, Michigan StateUniversity

Mort Neufville, Professor and FormerDean of Agriculture, Universityof Maryland, Eastern Shore

Mark Smith, USAID/ENI/ED/AGLamarr Trott, USAID/ENV/ENRRudy Vigil, USAID/AFR/SD/PSGE

Chair:Anson Bertrand, Retired, Former

Director of Science and Education,USDA and former Director of theOffice of Food Security, USAID

Members:Martin Billings, USAID/ENI/ED/AGMelvin Blase, Professor, Agricultural

Economics, University ofMissouri

Meryl Broussard, Principal Aquacul-ture Scientist, USDA CooperativeState Research, Education andExtension Service, and Presidentof the World Aquaculture Society

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1996 CRSP Extension Proposal Review Panel Members

The PD/A CRSP Central Data Base is the largeststandardized aquaculture data base in the world,housing data gleaned from all CRSP global and site-specific experiments. It has been housed at the Univer-sity of Hawaii at Hilo since 1993 and managed by KevinHopkins. When Hopkins announced his resignationfrom the CRSP late last year, the Management Officeissued a Request for Proposals (to CRSP participants) fortaking over the management of the Central Data Base.Two proposals came forward. At the CRSP AnnualMeeting in February, the Technical Committee voted infavor of the proposal submitted by John Bolte, AssociateProfessor in the Department of Bioresource Engineeringat Oregon State University.

The following interview with Bolte took place in hisoffice in Gilmore Hall, OSU, in late April.

What is physically involved in moving the Central DataBase? It is not a Univac, right?It does not take up a room?

These are things that fit on disks. It is a prettysimple process – Kevin Hopkins and I have alreadystarted. The Central Data Base in Hawaii basically saton a hard disk on a computer. Kevin sent me one stackof Bernoulli disks, which are 20 megabyte floppy disks,last week. This week we are going to try to get thedatasets off them, make sure everything is there, andput it on our machines here.

The data will be housed on a network file serverthat is connected to the Internet, and is part of ournetwork in the [Bioresource Engineering] Department,which is part of the larger campus network. We havelots of resources in terms of automating backups tothose systems, and in providing a broad level of access.There is going to be some work in getting it so that it is

accessible on the Internet. But once it is there sitting onthe hard disk, and there is an interface into it, it can liveforever as long as we can maintain the capacity of themachine to support it.

Getting the data published on the Internet will in-crease the visibility of the PD/A CRSP as well as make theresults of CRSP research more readily available. The firstinvolves providing Internet linkages to the data via theWeb, and providing appropriate security measures tomonitor access and prevent misuse of the data. We have acouple of steps in mind beyond that, too...

(Please see p. 4)

John Bolte has conducted research and taught inthe area of Biosystems Modeling and Analysis forthe past 11 years. His research activities includedeveloping mathematical models for warm andcool water aquaculture, agricultural crop pro-duction, climate change impacts on agriculture,and water and wastewater treatment systems.He received his Ph.D. in agricultural engineeringfrom Auburn University, Alabama, in 1987.

An Interview with John BolteCRSP Central Data Base Relocates to Oregon State University

“Applets” are either stand-alone programs which can be executed over theWorld Wide Web or they exist embedded in HTML (hyper text mark-up lan-guage) pages. Sun Microsystems’ language “Java” can be used to developan applet – a cross-platform tool for providing executable content on theWeb. In terms of the CRSP, an applet might allow the user to do cross-sitecomparisons, present summary datasets and corresponding statistics, or plotand graph particular datasets.

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Like applets?(See sidebar)

Applets. They will show up in aweb browser. They will let you doqueries on the data, generate plotsand other types of synthesis of thedata in a live sense so that you can geta quick understanding of relation-ships imbedded in those datasets, butalso be selective in terms of under-standing what you are seeing beforeyou go through the process of down-loading data. People with aquacul-ture backgrounds or non-aquaculturebackgrounds will get the benefit of alot of aquaculture experience thatwent into determining how these dataought to be presented.

How regularly do new data come in?

Basically they come in at the endof an experiment. The details dependon the particular experiments that arebeing done, within the context of theworkplans. We require that essen-tially all experiments conductedunder CRSP workplans submitresults.

Do they need to be submitted in astandardized format? I was wonderingabout the workload, especially in terms ofbudgeting. Is that front-end work done bythe Principal Investigators (PIs)?

PIs are responsible for initial datapreparation and submission. ThePD/A CRSP has historically tried toprovide PIs with flexibility in submis-sion formats, and we will continue toprovide that flexibility. We havestandardized procedures, and we willgo through the datasets as they comein, consulting the PIs if irregularitiesare found. Once everyone is happywith the data, then they go into theCentral Data Base.

Is there an interest in restricting access?

There are a several security issueswe will be addressing through theTechnical Committee (TC). Becausedata are subject to so much interpreta-tion, we need to decide on whatrestrictions are appropriate. Optionsrange from restricting access to CRSPpersonnel only, to providing com-plete, unmonitored access. I think we

will end up somewhere in the middle,providing different levels of access fordifferent users, and monitoring dataaccess.

Is the question whether the quality of thedata would be compromised by anybodybeing able to get at it?

No . . . really it is a question ofwanting to have assurances that thedata going out have had qualityassurance (QA) procedures run onthem, that is, that the PI who gener-ated them has had a chance to look atthem, and that they are in fact whatwas sent in. Once the PIs have signedoff, my own feeling is that they oughtto be available to anyone.

Would access be granted on a subscriptionbasis?

That is something that still needsto be worked out; the TC needs to talkabout it and reach consensus. Wemay propose that after data come in,we house them for a year, run ourown QA procedures on them, makethem available to the CRSP folks for ayear to be able to use for publications.After a one-year period we mightrequest the PIs to sign off, and we willlet people download them at no costbut require that they fill out a form toget them so that we have a way ofmonitoring who has got the data.

Do you see the Central Data Base as read-only type material?

That is another thing we canprovide flexibility on. My sense isthat we want to make it available in aread-only mode for everybody, butthe timing of that may vary. But itwould also be nice to provide the PIswith the capability to edit data on-line, so that if they detect problemswith them, they do not have to go

through us and can do it themselves.I think that is a more efficient processfor everybody. I can very easilyimagine a situation where PIs havewrite capabilities on their own dataand everybody else has only read-only capabilities.

Who will make the decisions about theseoutstanding details?

The voting members of the TCwill ultimately make those decisionsbased on recommendations from ourgroup.

What are “metadata”?

Metadata are data about data.One of the concerns expressed aboutdatasets is that there is informationabout the raw data that is not part ofthe raw data, things like changes tothe experimental protocol that mayhave occurred, unusual weatherconditions, unusual managementconditions. These are things that donot manifest themselves in raw databut are important to have in terms ofunderstanding the implications of thedata.

So they are like footnotes...do they take theform of narratives?

They could be. They could benarratives attached to an entiredataset or they might be attached tospecific records in the dataset. Sothere are different levels wheremetadata might come into play. Thestructure of the current Central DataBase does not support attachingmetadata to the datasets. Somethingwe will be looking at pretty quickly isexpanding the Central Data Base tosupport metadata and developingreporting standards. So that as PIs gothrough the standard procedure forreporting raw datasets, there will be

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Debut du Programme POND© en Français–or is that ETANG?

By June French speakers will have access to the PD/A CRSP POND© Decision Support System and user manual intheir native language. The Oregon State University group that developed POND© received numerous requests for aFrench language version, primarily from researchers doing work in French-speaking regions in Africa.

Just as the original English version, the French language POND© will be available for downloading from the Internet.For those without Internet access, the program and user manual will be available in hard copy. To cover the cost ofmaterials and shipping, the CRSP will charge US$25 for mailing to U.S. domestic addresses and US$50 for overseasmailing.

POND© is a computer program developed to guide decision making processes relevant to warmwater pond aquacul-ture. POND© was written to provide educators, extension agents, managers, planners, and researchers with a tool forrapidly analyzing aquaculture systems under different management regimes, and to assist in the development of optimalmanagement strategies.

To order a copy of POND©, in English or French, or for more information about the program generally, contact JohnBolte, Biosystems Analysis Group, Dept. of Bioresource Engineering, Oregon State University. Phone 541-737-6303; Fax541-737-2082; Email boltej@ccmail.orst.edu.

The POND© site Internet address is http://biosys.bre.orst.edu/pond/pond.htm.

similar standard procedures forreporting metadata. And that will beincorporated into the Central DataBase.

Are standards for metadata still beingdesigned?

We are looking at other data bases– especially in environmental dataassessment where metadata havebeen an issue for other people as well.There have been a number of ap-proaches taken, and we will be takinga look at those before we make arecommendation to the TC. But myguess is that we will be able to buildon what other people have done.

Are people involved in developing thesedata bases sharing information or is therean “us versus them” competition?

There are both, and you see thatthroughout the scientific community.In some cases people emphasize thatsharing data, sharing knowledge isuseful, in other cases they do not. Myown philosophy is that we are in thebusiness of providing these data in amore public forum. That is ourresponsibility as researchers usingpublic dollars. I lean towards provid-ing datasets as widely as possible, aslong as the data are not mis-used and

misinterpreted, the sources of data arewell documented, and we know whois using them.

Are there other aquaculture data basesthat CRSP people and other readerswould benefit by knowing about?

ICLARM has a data base calledFishBase which they have beenputting together for a number ofyears. CRSP datasets tend to focus onexperimental datasets in pond dy-namics, where FishBase really doesnot provide that level of information.But that is certainly one of interest. Itis not on the Web at this point; theyhave talked about that. We may beinterested in exploring where possiblelinkages with FishBase might be, andif we have technology that may beuseful for them, I am certainly verysupportive of that.

Also, we have just had somepreliminary contacts with the Net-work of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific. My understanding is thatthey have just submitted some veryextensive datasets with socio-eco-nomic type data and a focus on EastAsia. They have expressed someinterest in working with us to sharestandardized access procedures, sowe are going to explore that.

The head of the Bioresource EngineeringDepartment at OSU indicated that hewould be willing to house the CentralData Base indefinitely, right?

Yes, that was one of the things wewere certainly interested in seeing.The Central Data Base represents asummary of all the CRSP research thathas gone on in the past.

What's next ?

We will be getting the newCentral Data Base manager on boardin the next few weeks.

International Center for LivingAquatic Resources ManagementMCPO Box 26310718 Makati City, PhilippinesPhone: 63-2 818-9283, 63-2 818-0466Fax: 63-2 816-3183Email: ICLARM@cgnet.com

Network of Aquaculture Centres inAsia PacificPO Box 1040Kasetsart Post OfficeBangkok 10903, ThailandPhone: 66-2 561-1728, 66-2 561-1729Fax: 66-2 561-1727Email: naca@mozart.inet.co.th

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CRSP Shows Big at WAS 1996

The Pond Dynamics/Aquaculture CRSP was well represented at World Aquaculture ’96, the annual conference andexposition of the World Aquaculture Society, held in Bangkok, Thailand, January 29 to February 29 this year. Our re-searchers and collaborators were involved in planning, providing technical advice and support, delivering oral and posterpresentations, and acting as technical session moderators.

Kitjar Jaiyen, of the Thai Royal Department of Fisheries, was a member of the Organizing Committee. C. Kwei Linand Claude Boyd chaired the 20-member Technical Program Committee, whose membership also included CRSP re-searchers and collaborators Peter Edwards, Gary Jensen, Raul Piedrahita, and David Teichert-Coddington.

Other CRSP participants whose work was presented included John Bolte, Claude Boyd, Supranee Chinabut, KonradDabrowski, James Diana, Peter Edwards, Carole Engle, Doug Ernst, Bart Green, Terry Hanson, Kevin Hopkins, GaryJensen, Kwei Lin, David Little, Leonard Lovshin, Joseph Molnar, Shree Nath, Joyce (J-J) Newman, Raul Piedrahita, TomPopma, Wayne Seim, Sunantar Setboonsarng, Jim Szyper, David Teichert-Coddington, Karen Veverica, AmararatneYakupitayage, and Yang Yi.

Organizers estimated the total number of attendees at the conference and exposition to be near 4,000. The conferencefeatured sessions on subjects ranging from the very technical to broad issues of socioeconomics and sustainability topractical questions relating to international aquacultural trade and safety regulations.

Kwei Lin and AIT: Kob kun mak ka ti tan rab rao yang ob un!

The staff of the PD/A CRSP Program Management Office want to offer our heartfelt thanks to Kwei Lin and to theAsian Institute of Technology for hosting this year’s Annual Meeting. Anyone who has been responsible for organizingan event like this one knows the many details that must be planned for – not to mention the details that pop up seeminglyfrom nowhere. The Ayutthaya site visit was especially interesting and offered in-the-water evidence of the applicabilityand success of CRSP research. Thanks also to all who attended for this year’s productive exchange of ideas.

February in Bangkok . . .

It’s a Small AquacultureWorld

World Aquaculture ’96 was jointlyhosted by the Thai Royal Departmentof Fisheries, Chulabhorn ResearchInstitute, and the Thailand Ministry ofCommerce. Department of FisheriesDirector General Dr. PlodprasopSuraswadi is himself a graduate ofOregon State University, havingreceived his Master’s of Science underDr. Carl Bond in 1970. He went on toreceive a Ph.D. from the University ofAlberta, Canada.

Dr. Plodprasop is credited withidentifying and implementing sustain-able management techniques in theThai shrimp industry that have helpedavert some of the negative environ-mental impacts caused by shrimpfarming in other regions. He has alsohelped secure U.S. technical assistanceto design pumping stations to improvewater quality in areas where shrimpfarming occurs and is involved inrestoration efforts for overharvestedmangrove forest habitat.

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v Kwei Lin and colleagues at WAS 1996,Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, Bangkok

The Aquaculture World According to Lester Brown

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ALCOM Meeting on Extension Service in Southern Africa

trained and enthusiastic group of extension agents. In concluding she offered suggestions aboutthe steps that likely would have followed in the extension service program once fish culturetechniques had been understood by farmers. Unfortunately, because of the political unrest inRwanda, extension services were interrupted, and the transition planned for the aquacultureextension service did not take place. ALCOM will be publishing extended abstracts of the techni-cal consultation presentations.

On the third day attendees split into three working groups to discuss: 1) Integration ofaquaculture into agriculture extension services; 2) Delivery mechanisms, or the role and use offarmer-to-farmer and institutional extension mechanisms in aquaculture development; and 3)Aquaculture research and extension linkages. Each group was asked to develop a brief overviewof the topic, state the central issues and problems, focusing on Southern Africa, and suggestpriorities for action.

The fourth day of the conference included a field trip to visit farmers and ponds in Chipata,Eastern Zambia. On Friday, conferees met in plenary session to hear summaries of the workinggroups before adjourning around noon.

Countries represented at the conference were: Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi,Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

In addition, representatives from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization/Rome, the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management/Malawi, the SouthernAfrican Coordination Conference/Inland Fisheries Coordinating Unit, and the Gesellschaft furTechnische Zusammenarbeit also attended.

Readers may be interested in ALCOM’s Internet home page:http://www.zamnet.zm/zamnet/alcom/alcom.htm.

Lester Brown’s work with the WorldwatchInstitute is renowned for emphasizingsustainable development – a goal sharedby the CRSP. We thought Aquanewsreaders might be interested in Brown’sprognoses on aquaculture in the latetwentieth century. The following excerptsare from recent releases. If any of themelicit a reaction, please share it with us.We’ll print letters (subject to editing forspace) in an upcoming issue of Aquanews.

Platt, A. E., 1995. Aquaculture Boosts FishCatch. In: Lester R. Brown et al. (L.Starke, Editor). Vital Signs 1995: TheTrends that are Shaping our Future.W.W. Norton & Co., NY., pp. 32-33.

“In the last 15 years, the fastestgrowing part of fish production has beenin aquaculture (fish farming). This nowaccounts for 13.9 million tons of the globalfish catch, with more than four fifths of it

coming from Asia. China had the largestincrease in 1993 – 2.5 million tons – andmost of that was from aquaculture.

“For many fish farmers, shrimp havebecome the latest cash crop. In 1992, Indiareceived $425 million in World Bank loansfor shrimp and fish farming. Aquacultureprovides an alternative to the marinecatch, but it has some high environmentalcosts, such as using large amounts ofwater and feed.

“The total marine catch has stagnatedat 84 million tons, but levels of productionhave declined in many countries. Thecatch in the former Soviet Union droppedby 53 percent in five years, from 11.3million tons in 1988 to 5.3 million in 1993.Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Chile allrecorded declining production for 1993.Mexico lost 18 percent of its catch in fouryears. Peru, Thailand, and Vietnam, onthe other hand, all registered increases in

total catch of at least 1 million tons in 1993.Peru’s catch went up by 3.2 million tonsbetween January and November 1994.” (p.32)

• • • • • • •“The increasing number of conflicts

between fishers and the growing demandfor fish supplies guarantee economicdevastation for those whose livelihoodsand nutrition depend on fisheries. InJune, delegates to the InternationalCollective in Support of Fishworkersrepresenting 30 countries met in thePhilippines and called for a complete banon bottom trawling in tropical waters,areas dominated by small-scale fishers.

“Only with effective long-termplanning, short-term cutbacks, and a frankdiscussion of social and economic trade-offs will fisheries continue to be animportant source of food and jobs into thetwenty-first century.” (p. 32)

(Please see p. 8)

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“Technical Consultation onExtension Methods forSmallholder Fish Farming inSouthern Africa” was the title ofa four-day conference held lastNovember in Lilongwe, Malawi.Thirty-seven participants withextension service experience ineleven African nations met from20-24 November to shareinformation and techniquesrelating to aquaculture at themeeting sponsored by Aquacul-ture for Local CommunityDevelopment (ALCOM).

During the first two daysparticipants heard a variety ofpresentations. One of thespeakers was Karen Veverica ofthe PD/A CRSP, who wasinvited to describe her extensionservice experience working asTeam Leader/Training Advisorfrom 1983 through 1987 for theUSAID-funded Rwanda NationalFish Culture Project beforejoining the CRSP in 1987. Sherelated how difficult it was toextend fish culture to farmers in acountry with severe constraints–lack of inputs, land tenureproblems, and traditional dietsthat did not include fish.

Still, Veverica was able topoint to a four-fold increase infish production and efficiencythat resulted from the technicalassistance offered by a well

Conferees on site visit to ponds in Chipata, Eastern Zambia

Lester Brown (From p. 7)

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Brown, L., 1996. The Acceleration ofHistory. In: Lester R. Brown et al. (L.Starke, Editor). State of the World: AWorldwatch Institute Report on ProgressToward a Sustainable Society. W.W.Norton & Co., NY., pp. 1-20.

“Even as growth in the grain harvestis slowing, growth in the world fish catchhas apparently ended. If the oceanscannot sustain a catch any greater than atpresent, all future growth in animalprotein supplies can come only from landbased sources, principally from feedingmore grain. Whether feeding fish inponds or cattle in feedlots, the pressure onsupplies of grain, which dominates thehuman diet, will intensify further. In fishfarming, it takes about 2 kilograms ofgrain to produce 1 kilogram of fish.Replacing the historical 2 million tonannual growth in the seafood catch (theaverage from 1950 to 1990) with fish fromaquaculture would take 4 million tons ofadditional grain each year, roughlyequivalent to the annual consumption inBelgium. If seafood consumers turninstead to poultry, the conversion rate isalso roughly 2 kilograms of grain for eachkilogram of poultry produced. With pork,it is closer to 4 to 1.” (pp. 8-9)

Bright, C., 1996. Understanding theThreat of Bioinvasions. In: Lester R.Brown et al. L. Starke (Editor). State ofthe World: A Worldwatch InstituteReport on Progress Toward a SustainableSociety. W.W. Norton & Co., NY., pp. 95-113.

“Aquaculture is another exoticindustry. Fish farming and the growing ofother edible aquatic organisms – shellfish,lobsters, even seaweed – is an expandingcomponent of world food production.The global aquaculture yield, bothfreshwater and marine, stood at around 12million tons in 1990, and is expected toreach 22 million tons, or about one quarterof the total aquatic harvest, by 2000. Inmany developing countries, fish farmingis already a major source of protein and ispromoted aggressively by governmentsand international development agencies.Exotics – both exotic species and artificialstrains of native species – are an importantingredient in this recipe. And in much ofthe Third World, fish are often justdumped into natural waters, as there arefew containment facilities. Consequently,many standard aquaculture species are

Tilapia Imports Continue to Grow

Tilapia imports are forecasted to further expand in 1996 as higherproduction of fillets allows tilapia to move into large food servicemarkets. Domestic production is also forecasted to grow. Domesticproducers will look to the live market first, but as output expands,larger producers will have to weigh the additional capital expensesand management needed to enter and compete in the processed fishmarket.

The American Tilapia Association estimated that U.S. productionexpanded in 1995 and will continue in 1996. Future growth in domes-tic production will depend on the ability of growers and processors tolower cost enough to compete with imports. If tilapia follows thesame pattern as other finfish species, larger production and declininggrower prices will expand the market. However, to appeal to a wideraudience, especially in the U.S., processors likely will have to move toa larger variety of value-added products.

In the frozen fillet market, even with imported quantities declin-ing, the value increased as the average import price was up 50 per-cent. The frozen fillet market is relatively evenly divided betweenThailand, Indonesia, and Taiwan, each of which has a 26 to 30 percentmarket share.

Excerpted Aquaculture Outlook, March 7, 1996, World AquaculturalOutlook Board, supplement to the Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry MonthlyReport.

Fishellaneous Items . . .

already extremely widespread. The Mozambique tilapia, for example, is now establishedin nearly every tropical and subtropical country. In South and Central America, exoticspecies now dominate many freshwater fisheries.” (p. 105)

Brown, L. R., 1995. Environmental Alert Series: Who will feed China, A Wake-up Callfor a Small Planet. W.W. Norton & Co., NY., pp. 163.From Chapter 3, “Moving Up the Food Chain”:

“For China, it would be tempting to turn to the oceans for its animal protein aspopulation pressure on the land intensifies, much as Japan did. As land became scarcethere beginning a century ago, that country began relying on the oceans for its animalprotein. The result was the fish and rice diet that now characterizes Japanese cuisine.” (p.49)

• • • • • • •“Future growth in demand for fish in China will have to be satisfied largely by fish

farming. Faced with the need to cultivate its own fish supply, the nation has been produc-ing some 6 million tons of fish (mostly carp) a year. This, in turn, increases the demand forgrain by roughly 2 tons for each ton of fish produced, putting yet another demand on thecountry’s shrinking grain fields. Rising grain prices, combined with the need to use scarceland and water for fish farming, will constrain the growth in fish consumption.

“Since the agricultural reforms of 1978, China’s use of feed grains has increasedsteadily, approaching 80 million tons in 1994 – some 23 percent of total grain consumption.Its total use of feed grains now ranks second only to that of the United States. If incomescontinue to rise in the years ahead, then feed grain use will also keep rising, absorbing anever larger share of the world’s total grain supply.” (p. 50) v

Good Tasting Fish Raisedon Cheap Stinky Feed

USDA report on research conductedat the National Center for Agricul-tural Utilization Research in Peoria,Illinois, indicates that corn by-prod-ucts from ethanol production can beused to feed tilapia. The resultingfeed is nearly 25 percent cheaper thancommercial products. In trialsresearchers developed corn glutenmeal and distiller’s grain feeds, bothsupplemented with soya for a proteincontent of about one-third. Research-ers continue to improve feed conver-sion rates and note that the flavor offish fed the admittedly foul-smellingdistiller’s grain solubles did notsuffer. (Fish Farmer, International File,Nov/Dec 1995)

Kudos for HACCP (That’s Hazard Analysis CriticalControl Point for the acronym-impaired)

About two years ago Solar Aquafarms, Inc, based in Sun City, California,voluntarily began using a HACCP-based inspection program approved bythe US Department of Commerce. The company may be the only majorAmerican tilapia producer and processor that sells up to 25 percent of anannual 4 million pounds of tilapia as fillets. Most buyers of processed fish,such as large supermarket chains, have inspectors on staff, but knowing thata processor follows detailed and documented internal quality controlstandards establishes consumer confidence that a processor is supplying afresh product that has been maintained in sanitary conditions and at propertemperatures. (Fish Farming News, Jan/Feb 1996)

Free Brochure on U.S. Guidelines

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Government InformationOffice is offering a no-charge brochure describing the U.S.Federal Register and U.S. Code of Federal Regulations and abooklet entitled Guide to U.S. Government Information. TheRegister carries the full text of proposed rules and regula-tions and agency contacts. The Code is updated annuallyand includes more than 200 volumes in 50 subject areasincluding aquatic life, foreign affairs and a number of othertopics relevant to the work of the CRSP. To receive theFederal Register Brochure, fax your name and address toPromotion Manager, Superintendent of Documents Office,at 202-512-1656. The Internet web site of the GovernmentPrinting Office is: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/

More Fishellaneous Items . . .

Taura! Taura! Taura!

Shrimp farmers may find relief from thedevastating effects of Taura Syndrome bysupplementing feed with a macrophageactivator developed by ImmuDyne, Inc, abiotechnology firm based in Houston, Texas.In early studies conducted at Texas A&MUniversity, shrimp fed ImmuStim‘, a non-specific macrophage activator that combatsboth viral and bacterial threats to crusta-ceans, had a 90 percent survival rate, com-pared to 35 percent of a control group fedregular feed. The firm is also working onmacrophage products that may have applica-tions to fish as well as to crustaceans. Moreinformation is available from ImmuDyne.Contact James Wood, Palo Alto, California, at415-949-3864 or Durwood Dugger in Hous-ton, Texas, at 407-489-6116). (Fish Farmer,International File, Nov/Dec 1995 and FishFarming News, March/Apr 1996)

U.S. Agriculture Productiv-ity Keeps Growing

Agriculture accounts for almost 16percent of the U.S. gross domesticproduct and employs one out of everysix Americans to produce raw foodand fiber and to transform them intoretail shelf items. Each U.S. farmerand rancher produces food and fiberfor 129 people – 94 in the U.S. and 35overseas. Productivity continues toclimb. Since 1970, the farm and ranchpopulation has declined from 9.7 to 4.6million; today, the number of peoplefed and clothed by each producer hasgrown from 73 to 129 people. (USDA,April 1996)

125 Years of the National Marine Fisheries Service

NMFS, the oldest government conservation agency, celebrated 125 years ofresearch, management, and conservation activities devoted to the nation’smarine environment this spring. Originally founded in 1871 as the U.S.Commission of Fish and Fisheries, the agency’s charge was to halt the declineof food-fish stocks after the New England nearshore fishery collapsed in 1870.At the time, marine science was in its infancy and nearly nothing was knownabout marine resources. By 1994, the agency had studied and assessed all ofthe nation’s significant commercial and recreational marine stocks, and 70percent of stocks overall. Organized with the Department of Commerce’sNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NMFS studies anddevelops marine resources, conservation and management of fish and marinemammals, aquaculture, seafood product safety, and public education. (Envi-ronmental News Network, 1996)

9

Upcoming Conferences and Meetings

10

Date Topic/Title Event Location Contact InformationMay 8-10 Conf on Marine Aquaculture Portland, Maine,

USAR Barnaby, 113 North Rd, Brentwood NH 03833-6623;Tel 603 679 5616; Fax 603 679 8070; Email: rollie.barnaby@unh.edu

May 14-17 2nd Intl Conf on Culture ofPenaeid Prawns & Shrimps

Iloilo City,Philippines

Conf Secretariat, SEAFDEC Aquaculture Dept, PO Box256, Iloilo City 5000, Philippines; Tel 63 33 27 1009; Fax 63 33 27 1008

May 15-19 Mtg of Natl Assn of StateAquaculture Coordinators

Little Rock,Arkansas, USA

Ted McNulty or Joyce Hutchinson; Tel 501 682 5849 or 501 682 5998

May 19-24 Intl Conf on Fish Inspection& Quality Control

Arlington,Virginia, USA

National Fisheries Institute, 1525 Wilson Blvd, Ste 500,Arlington VA 22209; Tel 703 524 8883

June 7-10 Fisch ‘96 (Globefish/FAO) Bremen,Germany

MGH Bremen GMBH Bischofsnadel 1-2, 28195 Bremen,Germany; Tel 49 421 36 30 5 21; Fax 49 421 32 14 85

June 12-14 Tokyo InternationalSeafood Show

Tokyo , Harumi,Japan

Matthew Meredith, OES Ltd, 11 Manchester Sq, LondonW1M 5AB; Fax 44 171 486 8773

June 20-22 9th Annual AtlanticAquaculture Expo & Conf

New Brunswick,Canada

AAF, PO Box 89, St Andrews, NB, Canada E0G 2X0; Tel506 658 0018; Fax 506 658 0750; Email aquafair@nbnet.nb.ca

July 1-4 Fish/Econ & Trade 8thBiennial Conf

Marrakesh,Morocco

Conf Secretariat, BP 12518, Casablanca, Morocco; Tel 2122 99 32 40; Fax 212 2 98 17 24

July 19-21 Successes & Failures ofCommercial RecircAquaculture

Roanoke,Virginia, USA

Conf Registrar, Continuing Ed/VA Tech, Mail Code 0104,Blacksburg VA 24061; Tel 540 235182

July 28 -Aug 2

2nd World FisheriesCongress

Brisbane,Queensland,Australia

Intermedia Convention & Event Mgmt, PO Box 1280,Milton, QLD 4064 Australia; Tel 617 3369 0477; Fax 617 3369 1512

Aug 11-15 VII Intl Symposium onNutrition & Feeding of Fish

College Station,Texas, USA

Dept of Wildlife & Fisheries Sci, Texas A&M Univ,College Station TX 77843; Tel 409 845 5777; Fax 409 845 4096

Aug 25-29 126th Mtg of AmericanFisheries Society

Dearborn,Michigan, USA

Mary Fabrizio, Natl Bio Service, 1451 Green Rd, AnnArbor MI 48105; Tel 313 994 3331; Fax 313 994 8780;Email: fabrizio@greatlakes.net

Sept 1-5 Intl Conf on Eastern Europe,European Aquaculture Soc

Budapest,Hungary

European Aquaculture Society, Coupure Rechts 168, B-9000 Gent, Belgium; Fax 32 9 2237604

Sept 25-27Sept 26-28

Infofish-Aquatech ‘96Aquaculture Asia '96Exhibition

Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia

Clare Northcott, EMAP Heighway, MEED House, 21 JohnSt, London WC1N England; Tel 44 0 171 404 5513; Fax 44 0 831 9362

Oct 1-3 Scottish Fish Farming Conf& Exhibition

Aviemore,Scotland

Peter Landless, 3a Querns Lane, Cirencester GL7 1RL,England; Fax 44 1285 650729

Oct 13-15 Marketing & Shipping LiveAquatic Products ‘96

Seattle,Washington,USA

John Peters, Nor’Westerly Food Tech Services, 2743 56thAve SW, Seattle WA 98116; Tel 206 938 0676; Fax 206933 7937; Email: 103243.675 @compuserve.com

Oct 29-Nov 1

“96 China Fisheries &Seafood Expo

Qingdao, China Sea Fare Expositions, Inc, 5305 Shilshole Ave NW, Ste200, Seattle WA 98107; Tel 206 789 6506; Fax 206 789 9193; Email 102154.2623 @compuserve.com

Nov 14-16 Victam-Asia ‘96 & VIVAquaculture ‘96

Bangkok,Thailand

Piet Schrama, Victam Intl, PO Box 1103, 2302 BC Leiden,The Netherlands; Tel 31 71 576 8603; Fax 31 71 531 7554

Nov 27-30 ExpoPesca '96 Santiago, Chile EMAP Heighway, 21 John St, London WC1N England;Fax 44 0 171 831 9362

Feb 20-23,1997

World Aquaculture Society,1997 Annual Conf and Expo

Seattle, Wash,USA

WAS '97 Conference Manager, 21710 7th Place West,Bothell, WA 98821; Tel 206-485-6682; Fax 206 483 6319

Oct 5-11,1997

3rd Intl AbaloneSymposium

Monterey,California, USA

Catherine Ashley, California Sea Grant College, 9500Gilman Dr, La Jolla CA 92093-0232; Fax 619 534 2231;Email: cashley@ucsd.edu

"Hapa" - nings*

• Robert Fridley, retired, University of California,Davis, College of Agricultural and Environmen-tal Sciences, stepped down from the CRSPBoard of Directors in last December, but alsograciously offered to continue serving for up toone year while a replacement is sought. TheProgram Management Office staff thank him forhis years of prudent guidance and advice andgratefully accept his offer of continued serviceon the Board.

• The External Review Panel assembled byUSAID recommended approval of the PD/ACRSP 1996-2001 Continuation Plan. Of course,decisions relating to funding allocations forUSAID were not made when they were ex-pected because of the 1996 federal budgetimpasse. As a consequence USAID appropria-tions to individual CRSPs for new grants willlikely not occur until later this summer. In theinterim, the PD/A CRSP was granted anextension to continue working on currentprojects.

• After 7 years of service on the CRSP Board ofDirectors, Oneal Smitherman elected to retirefrom the Board effective April 30. He retiredfrom Auburn University in the fall of 1994.Smitherman was one of the original founders ofthe CRSP, having been involved in earlyplanning efforts in the late 1970s. We extendmany thanks to him for his dedication to theprogram and wish him well in his futureendeavors.

* A hapa is a net enclosure within a pond . . .

Date Title/Topic PlaceYear-round

Work Experience in Hatcheries Techniques AIT

Year-round

Training & Research in Fisheries & StockMgmt

WAU

May 19-23

Applied Environmental Statistics BSU

May 27-June 14

Sustainable Aquatic Systems: Fish Farmingfor the Future

AIT

June 3-14 Diseases of Warmwater Fish, 2-week course UFJune 20-22

1st Intl Course on Tilapia Production Univ/Mex

Jul 1-26 Nile Tilapia: Techniques for Mass FryProduction & Grow-Out

AIT

Aug 5-23 Pond Water Quality Mgmt for CommercialFish & Shrimp Prod

AIT

Aug 6-9 Fish as Research Animals CAIAug 10-12

Basic Disease Diagnostics in FinfishAquaculture

CAI

Aug 12-14

Bacterial Diagnostics in Finfish andShellfish Aquaculture

CAI

Aug 12-23

Study Tour: Aquaculture in Thailand AIT

Oct 7-9 Prescription of Aquaculture Therapeutants CAIOct 10-12

Applied Aquaculture Epidemiology CAI

Place Institution and Contact InformationAIT Aquaculture Short Course Unit, Ag & Aquatic

Systems, School of Env, Resources & Development,Asian Inst of Technology, GPO Box 2754, Bangkok10501 Thailand; Fax 66 2 524 5484; Email: somchai@ait.ac.th

WAU G. van Eck, Dept of Fish Culture & Fisheries,Wageningen Agricultural Univ, PO Box 338, 6700AH Wageningen, The Netherlands; Tel 31 83708330; Fax 31 8370 83937; Email: gerrie.va.eck@alg.venv.wau.nl

BSU Nancy Ness, Boise State University, 1910University Dr, Boise Idaho 83725 USATel 208 385 1689; Email aceness@bsu.idbsu.edu

UF Ruth Francis-Floyd, Dept of Fisheries & AquaticSci, Univ of FL, 7922 NW 71st St, GainesvilleFlorida 32653 USA; Tel 904 392 9617 x229; Fax 904846 1088

Univ ofMexico

Carmen Carbonell De R, Facultad de MedicinaVeterinaria y Zootecnica, Apartado Postal 21-085,CP 84510, Coyoacan, Mexico, DF; Tel 6 22-58-49; Fax622-58-51; Email: carmencc@servidor.unam.mx

CAI Bob Johnston, Canadian Aquaculture Inst, 550 UnivAve, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, CanadaC1A 4P3; Tel 902 628 4226; Fax 902 566 0420; Emailbojohnston@upei.ca

Workshops and Short Courses

11

Tilapia for sale at the outdoor marketin Sukhothai, Thailand

Pond Dynamics/Aquaculture CRSP

Office of International Research & Development

OREGON S TATE U NIVERSITY

Snell Hall 400

Corvallis, OR 97331-1641

USA

Director: Hillary S. EgnaProgram Assistant andNewsletter Editor: Danielle Z. Clair

Published quarterly by the ProgramManagement Office, Pond Dynamics/Aquaculture Collaborative ResearchSupport Program, Office of InternationalResearch & Development, Snell Hall400, Oregon State University, Corvallis,Oregon, 97331-1641, USA.

The Pond Dynamics/AquacultureCollaborative Research Support Programis supported by the U.S. Agency forInternational Development under CRSPGrant No.: DAN-4023-G-00-0031-00.

Oregon State University is anAffirmative Action/Equal OpportunityEmployer.

World Aquaculture Society 1997 Conference & Exposition

12

WAS ’97, “Linking Science toSustainable Industry Development,”is calling for poster and oral presenta-tions for its February 20-23, 1997,meeting to be held in Seattle, Wash-ington. Abstracts are due on July 31,1996. Conference planners encourageposter submissions over thoseintended for oral presentation. Thefocus will be on farm management,production systems, internationalpolicy and development, and on the

role of science and technology in thefuture global development of sustain-able aqauculture.

The WAS conference is a majorinternational aquaculture event,bringing together technical, producer,and supplier segments of the aquacul-ture industry. Topics will includesessions on computer technology,economics, education/extension,effluents, farm production, feeds/nutrition, polyculture and others.

Fax 206-483-6319 to receive infor-mation about the conference andinstructions for contributing papers –include name, company/affiliations,address, city/state/zip, and phone/fax numbers.

Tentative future WAS meetingsinclude: 1998 – Las Vegas, Nevada;1999 – Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida;2000 – Southeast or Mid-Atlanticlocation; 2001 – Orlando, Florida.

Publications available for the asking . . .v

Send requests for the following publications to D. Clair at the address shown on p. 2.

PD/A CRSP List of Publications andPublications Order Form.

Quarterly Report October - December1995.

Egna, H., B. Goetze, M. Mcnamara, B.Herbison, and D. Clair, 1996.Thirteenth Annual AdministrativeReport. Oregon State University, pp.96.

Green, B.W., Z. El Nagdy, H. Hebicha, I.Shaker, D.A. Kenawy, and A.R. ElGamal. 1995. Evaluation of Niletilapia production systems in Egypt.CRSP Research Report No. 95-91.

Lin, C.K. 1996. Clarias and tilapiaintercation in polyculture. CRSPResearch Report No. 96-94.

Molnar, J.J., T.R.Hanson, L.L.Lovshin.1996 Social, Economic, and Institu-

tional Impacts of AquaculturalResearch on Tilapia: The PD/A CRSPin Rwanda, Honduras, the Philip-pines, and Thailand. Auburn Univer-sity, pp.72.

Complete copies of the papers listedbelow can be obtained by contacting theauthors directly – abstracts are availablefrom the CRSP/OSU office.

Green, B.W., and C.E. Boyd. 1995. Waterbudgets for fish ponds in the drytropics. Aquacultural Engineering14(4): 347-356. (Abstract: CRSP ResearchReport No. 96-87.)

Green, B.W., and C.E. Boyd. 1995. Chemi-cal budgets for organically fertilizedfish ponds in the dry tropics. Journal of

the World Aquaculture Society26(3):284-296. (Abstract: CRSP ResearchReport No. 96-88.)

Lin, C.K. 1995. Co-culture of catfish(Clarias macrocephalus x C. gariepinus)and tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) inponds. Aquatic Living Resources8(4):449-454. (Abstract: CRSP ResearchReport No. 96-93.)

Teichert-Coddington, D.R. and R.Rodriguez. 1995. Semi-intensivecommercial grow-out of Penaeusvannamei feed diets containingdiffering levels of crude proteinduring wet and dry seasons inHonduras. Journal of the WorldAquaculture Society 26(1): 72-79.(Abstract: CRSP Research ReportNo. 96-89.)