1 NOVEMBER 1998
NEW GROUPER RESEARCH NETWORK FORMED
The development of sustainable commercial grouper aquaculture has been constrained by a range of factors, but principally by the limited availability of seed (fry or fingerlings). Throughout most of the Asia-Pacific region, grouper culture is highly dependent on the capture of juvenile fish from the wild to supply seed stock for aquaculture.
At the Regional Workshop on Sustainable Aquaculture of Grouper and Coral Reef Fishes organised by the Department of Fisheries, Sabah, Malaysia and the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA) held in Sabah, Malaysia, in December 1996, the Working Group on Technical Aquaculture Issues examined the status of aquaculture technology for a range of high value reef fish species.
Recommendations from the Working Group in Sabah were:
1. Similar workshops should be held in the future to allow follow-up and examination of research progress achieved.
2. Research coordination at national and international levels should be strengthened to fill gaps in knowledge in need-based areas.
3. The system of exchange and dissemination of information should be improved. It was generally agreed that NACA was in a position to undertake this role.
The last of these recommendations has been addressed by the development of a World Wide Web site by NACA andAIT which is dedicated to grouper aquaculture (http://www.agriaqua.ait.ac.th/grouper/).
In response to the other two recommendations, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) has agreed to fund a research project to develop improved grouper aquaculture techniques in conjunction with the Queensland Department of Primary Industries (QDPI), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and NACA.
For further information on the Asia-Pacific Grouper Network, contact:
Dr Mike Rimmer, rimmerm@dpi.qld.gov.au
Dr Kevin Williams, kevin.williams@marine.csiro.au
Hassanai Kongkeo and Dr Michael Phillips, naca@mozart.inet.co.th
(excerpts from article by M.A. Rimmer, K.C. Williams, M.J. Philips, H. Kongkeo in Aquaculture Asia, July-September 1998, Vol.III, No. 3: 35-36)