| |
Contributions from
the Column
Studies and reports
Assessing the costs, benefits and risks
of GM crops on a case by case basis
DAC discusses civil-military cooperation
Ownership is the goal rather than the means
Making use of local expertise
US Senate approves outsourcing ban
Organic cotton is gaining ground
3/2004 |
|
[ Aquaculture ]
Making use of local expertise
>Every year, during the Vietnamese New Year festivities, guardian spirit Tao Quan rides to heaven on a carp. Carps figure prominently in the tapestry of tradition of many South East Asia countries. They have been farmed in Asia for thousands of years. In China alone, millions are grown in special ponds. Today, nearly a third of all fish and seafood consumed worldwide comes from aquaculture facilities. In many developing countries, aquaculture is a major source of export earnings, an important generator of employment and a significant supplier of protein for the local diet.
Production systems range from small family businesses with a single pond in the back yard to large-scale fish farms with high-tech facilities. German Technichal Cooperation (GTZ) provides valuable help with the creation and operation of aquaculture facilities in partner countries. Not all projects, however, are an unqualified success. At a workshop staged by Bremen University's Tropical Marine Ecology Centre and GTZ on January 20 in Bremen, participants took stock and discussed proposals for getting better results from aquaculture projects.
In Asia especially, aquaculture needs to address a number of environmental problems. In coastal regions, large fish farms encroach on mangroves which act as nurseries for many species of marine life. Open pens frequently become a breeding ground for pathogens, which spread to open water as well as threaten wildlife and aquaculture facilities nearby. In recent years, this problem has brought nearly the whole of South East Asia's shrimp-farming industry to its knees. To increase productivity, farmers use artificial feed – a practice promoted by development pro-jects. Lakes and rivers, in particular, fall victim to the biological imbalance this can cause.
The principal focus of the workshop was on projects which take into account sociocultural and ecological conditions in partner countries. Farming fish from birth to maturity in a facility using closed-loop technology is difficult for economic reasons. Such facilities are large and very expensive, require highly specialised staff and provide little work for traditional fish farmers. A more practical solution is to use small intensive facilities for growing fish fry and then pass on the juvenile fish to fish farmers. In other respects, too, aquaculture needs to make more use of local expertise. In many developing countries, for example, peasants have known for centuries polycultures in which fish and crops, like rice, form a natural food cycle.
Susanne Eickhoff
|
