This report summarises the findings and recommendations of the regional technical consultation of APFIC on “promoting blue growth in fisheries and aquaculture in the Asia pacific”. This contributes to the organizational output (20301) by ensuring stakeholders are supported to participate in, updating existing and developing new international (including regional) instruments and mechanisms under the auspices of FAO. This is the final report of the Sixth Asia Pacific Fisheries Commission (APFIC) Regional Consultative Forum Meeting (RCFM) convened in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 8-10 February 2016 under the theme “Promoting Blue Growth in fisheries and aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region”. The “Blue Sectors” of fisheries and aquaculture make a significant contribution to food and nutrition security and the livelihoods of millions in the Asia Pacific Region. The meeting heard how these sectors face a range of challenges and how Blue Growth Initiatives can support member countries to address them. The meeting was successful at providing member countries, partners and regional organizations a platform to present progress, discuss key issues and make recommendations to FAO.

The fishery sector is important from Indian economy view point as it contributes a source of income to a number of fishermen and has huge export potential. The systems and technology used in aquaculture has developed rapidly in the last fifty years. They vary from very simple facilities like family ponds for domestic consumption in tropical countries to high technology systems like intensive closed systems for export production. Much of the technology used in aquaculture is relatively simple, often based on small modifications that improve the growth and survival rates of the target species. Nowadays, the fish and fisheries industry is one of the fastest growing international commodity markets globally. Guaranteeing an adequate supply to this international market requires hundreds of thousands of fishing vessels and fish farms, as well as tens of thousands of fish processing workers, wholesalers and retailers in countries spread all over the world. The fishery sector thus generates employment and income for millions of people and in one of the major fields to venture. A wide range of aspects of fresh water aquaculture such as selection of species of fish and shellfish, construction and preparation of various types of fish ponds, control of aquatic weeds and predators, production of seed fish and their transportation, fish nutrition and fish diseases and their control pertaining to composite fish culture, air breathing fish culture etc. have been dealt with a length for easy adoption. The major contents of the book are classification of fishes, general characters of fishes, techniques in fish identification, cold water fisheries of India, physical and chemical properties of fishery water, chemical constituents of fish, economic importance of fishes, fish in relation to human health, construction of fish farms, etc. In this book you can find all the basic information required on the fundamental aspects of the fisheries and aquaculture technology with detailed information of their applications a wide variety of industrial processes etc. The book is very useful for research scholars, technocrats, institutional libraries and entrepreneurs who want to enter into the field of aquaculture technology.

Report of twenty-three studies looking at the UK, The Netherlands, Iceland, Canada, New Zealand, United States, Australia, Alaska and Chile.