Seventh symposium on diseases in Asian aquaculture
Wednesday, 27 August 2008 00:00
The seventh Symposium on Diseases in Asian Aquaculture (DAA VII) took place from 22–26 June 2008 in Taipei, Taiwan (website: http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~daaseven/index1.htm). This symposium is principally a forum for scientists and students from the Asia-Pacific region specialising in the health of aquatic animals. The Fish Health Section of the Asian Fisheries Society holds this event every three years. The group was established in May 1989 for the purpose of producing technical materials on the health of aquatic animals. DAA VII was convened to bring together participants from around the world to discuss their work and develop new strategies for promoting aquatic animal health in Asia.  The theme of the 2008 Symposium was “Communication, cooperation and coordination: Key issues in aquatic animal health management”. The four-day event comprised some 12 oral presentation sessions focused on aquatic animal health and addressed the following specific topics:
  • Global perspectives in managing aquatic animal health
  • Emerging issues in aquatic animal health management
  • Epidemiology, detection and diagnosis of pathogens in fish, shellfish, molluscs and their environment
  • Biosecurity and containment in aquaculture systems
  • Recent developments in genomics and bioinformatics: implications for aquatic animal diseases
  • Immunology/Disease resistance/Host-pathogen interaction
  • Microbiology of aquatic animal pathogens and antimicrobial peptides
  • Shrimp health and diseases
  • Mollusc health and diseases
  • Finfish health and diseases
  • Pathogen risk analysis, probiotics, therapeutics
  • Aquatic animal health management; International trade and risk.
 Each session was introduced by an address on the current status of each area by a world specialist and followed by presentations from scientists, students, farmers and others. A poster session was organised on Day 3 with nearly 200 posters on display for the duration of the symposium. With funding from SPC’s Aquaculture Section, the Fisheries Service of French Polynesia was able to take part in the symposium and present a poster entitled: “Diseases of Platax orbicularis (Ephippididae) and Polydactylus sexfilis (Polynemidae), two fishes farmed in French Polynesia”. Oral presentations were highly instructive and reported on the latest developments and progress in the diagnosis and detection of diseases observed in the aquaculture environment. Each session was an opportunity to exchange ideas with eminent specialists such as:·    Dr Brian Jones: Principal Pathologist with the Western Australia Fisheries and Aquaculture Department who had been previously met in Tahiti during exchanges on the Tahiti pearl oyster health watch network and in connection with some of his work on fish. A training session at his laboratory in Perth (Western Australia) is planned for next year.·    Dr Teruo Miyazaki: Professor of Fish Pathology at the University of Mie (Japan), a fish histopathology specialist who was also promoting his latest book entitled “Coloured atlas of fish histopathology” (volumes 1&2 ed. Dr Teruo Miyazaki). This book will be very helpful for diagnosis using histological techniques.·    Dr C.V. Mohan: Professor of Fish Pathology, in charge of training by the Network of Aquaculture Centers in Asia-Pacific (NACA) on histological techniques (Master Class), the most recent of which took place on 12 November 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand (see website: http://www.enaca.org.).·    Dr Ingo Ernst: Scientist with the Aquatic Animal Health Unit of the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). Dr Ernst provided advice on how to solve ectoparasitosis problems in French Polynesia’s Paraha peue cage farming ventures. This is not an exhaustive list of the various exchanges initiated during the symposium. For reference, the mission report will be passed on to SPC’s Aquaculture Section. French Polynesia’ fisheries service wishes, through this article, to warmly thank the various people who assisted during these very enlightening meetings. Events such as this are essential for acquiring new knowledge and contributing to the sustainable development of French Polynesia’s aquaculture. Contribution by Georges Remoissenet, Fisheries Service, Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Â