The final workshop under the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Programs Regional Partnership Scheme (AADCP-RPS) project Strengthening Aquatic Animal Health Capacity and Biosecurity in ASEAN will be held from 7-10 May 2007 in Bali, Indonesia. It is expected to be attended by 20 government nominated delegates from 10 ASEAN countries and resource experts from AusVet, NACA, ASEC and other regional and international organizations. The workshop will (a) review the progress made by ASEAN countries on the identified action plans of the 1st policy workshop held in April 2006, (b) build consensus on minimum harmonization required within ASEAN and (c) develop a way forward program for accomplishing minimum harmonization within ASEAN. This project supports the implementation of key elements contained in the FAO/NACA Asia Regional Technical Guidelines on Responsible Movement of Live Aquatic Animals. Further information about the project activities can be obtained from CV Mohan:

FAO and NACA are jointly organizing a 3-day workshop on Information Requirements for Maintaining Aquatic Animal Biosecurity from 15-17 February 2007, in Park Lane Hotel, Cebu City, Philippines. The objective of the workshop is to increase awareness and build capacity on general principles of biosecurity and to deliberate on key information required for maintaining aquatic animal biosecurity focusing on aspects of risk analysis; diagnostics, health certification and quarantine; and epidemiological surveillance and reporting. The workshop will also determine appropriate approaches to upgrade FAOs Aquatic Animal Pathogen and Quarantine Information System (AAPQIS). Invited participants include representatives from ASEAN and SAARC countries, China and representatives from organizing and partner organizations (FAO, NACA and AusVet). The workshop is hosted by the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR). For information about workshop outputs, please contact Dr Melba Reantaso of FAO at Melba.Reantaso@fao.org or Dr Mohan Chadag of NACA at:

The Second Policy Workshop under the AADCP-RPS 370-018 project Operationalise Guidelines on Responsible Movement of Live Food Finfish will be held at the Costabella Tropical Beach Hotel, Cebu City, Philippines from 12-14 February 2007. NACA, ASEC and AusVet are organizing the event in collaboration with BFAR, Philippines. The workshop will be attended by government nominated representatives from all the 10 ASEAN countries and partner organizations (ASEC, BFAR, AusVet, FAO and NACA). This workshop will review and discuss implementation of the Draft Standard Operating Procedures for Health Certification and Quarantine Measures for the Responsible Movement of Live Food Finfish within ASEAN with a view to approving them for submission to the ASEAN Sectoral Working Group for Fisheries. This will be followed by the second one-day training course on the FAOs Aquatic Animal Pathogen and Quarantine Information System (AAPQIS), on Wednesday 14 February. This training day will include developing disease cards for the diseases listed in the Standard Operating Procedures, in English and in local languages. For information about the outputs, please contact Dr David Kennedy at david@ausvet.com.au or Dr Mohan Chadag at:

White spot syndrome virus in India
The elimination of infected seed prior to stocking is arguably the most important single factor in reducing the risks of diseases in shrimp farming within India and throughout the region. This can be achieved by the proficient PCR testing of broodstock and/or seed. In fact in many countries around the region PCR is now used to screen shrimp seed for white spot syndrome virus or WSSV prior to stocking. However, white spot disease (WSD) continues to seriously impact shrimp production and it is suspected that variations in the reliability of screening results, compounded by on-farm factors, may result in the outbreak of disease even when seed has been properly screened. One of the main reasons for this has been a lack of harmonization or an inter-calibration of the PCR testing capabilities of different service providing laboratories. This variance in the quality of testing and accuracy of results has contributed towards an erosion of the confidence shrimp farmers have in laboratory PCR testing. Photo: Packing samples for ring testing.

The recent outbreak of White Spot Disease which affected Bushehr, the largest shrimp producing province of I.R. Iran, has prompted the Iranian government to tackle capacity building on aquatic animal health management. Through its Aquatic Animal Health Programme, NACA has been supporting capacity building for development of strategies to effectively control the impact of aquatic animal diseases. As part of these efforts, a training course on Aquatic Epidemiology was conducted in Bushehr province from 16-19 September 2006. The training course was supported by the Iranian Fisheries Research Organization (IFRO) and was delivered by Dr Flavio Corsin of NACA, who is also a Regional Resource Expert in Aquatic Epidemiology (see the full list of RRE).