5. The Technical Secretary presented document FIP/R261 Report of the Second Session of the Commission for Inland Fisheries of Latin America (COPESCAL), held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 2–4 December 1981. This report lists the terms of reference of the Working Party (Appendix 4) as determined at the Second Session of COPESCAL.
6. The Technical Secretary also explained that in accordance with instructions given to the Working Party, he had invited the Asociación Latinoamericana de Acuicultura (ALA) which was represented by its Chairman, Dr Juan José Salaya. The Secretary of the Comité de Acción para Productos del Mar y Agua Dulce (CAPMAD) of the Sistema Económico Latino Americano (SELA) had also been invited, but was unable to attend.
7. The Working Party next proceeded to the reports on the status of aquaculture in participating countries. The Technical Secretary gave a very brief summary of the reports submitted by the experts selected by Nicaragua and Argentina, who had been unable to attend the meeting. The papers were presented in geographical order, beginning with Cuba and ending with Argentina.
8. Dr L. Alvarez-Lajonchere presented the report on the status of aquaculture in Cuba. Freshwater aquaculture began around 1959–60, with fry production for stocking reservoirs. These operations did not become self-financing, however, until the 1970s. When the Empresa Nacional de Acuicultura (ENA) was set up, an ambitious fish culture development programme for restocking was launched, using the five-year plan approach. The projected development area covers 30 000 ha of reservoirs plus 20 000 ha of micro dams. Tilapia is the main species. UNDP and FAO are the major international agencies supporting the programme.
9. Marine aquaculture in Cuba is based on mangrove oysters. Other species considered of potential interest are mullet, shrimp and artemia spp. The production of cultivated oysters, now up to 2 700 t/year, had run into some marketing difficulties due to quality problems in handling, but the problem is now being solved. The oysters are basically intended for the domestic market.
10. Dr Jorge Cabrera presented his report on the status of aquaculture in Mexico. He highlighted the difficulties experienced in processing apparently unreliable official statistics. He mentioned the prime importance of the oyster Crassostraea virginica which at 40 000 t/year now represents the bulk of the cultivated oyster output. Tilapia had been introduced more recently than carp and trout and are already of prime importance among freshwater species. For various reasons, carp and trout have not done well, despite the fact that both the common carp and the trout had been introduced in Mexico over one hundred years ago.
11. Next a series of graphs on catch trends of various species were presented. It was pointed out that some species, such as abolone, were obviously overfished, creating an opportunity for fish culture to fill present demands. With reference to organization in this sector, it was pointed out that the six-year personnel turnover connected with the presidential election year in Mexico had been very hard on the sector, and had contributed to general inefficiency in the system. Rural development programmes, such as the Sistema Alimentario Mexicano (SAM), should help to upgrade rural aquaculture in Mexico. The four species: tilapia, catfish, carp and trout are emphasized in this programme.
12. In the marine sector there is a notable interest in developing extensive white shrimp culture, such as the large-scale shrimp cultures of Ecuador and the Central American countries. So far the fishery has been virtually confined to estuaries. Dr Cabrera suggested there was a need to devise a regional policy on white shrimp culture. Should Mexico and other countries begin to culture shrimp there might very well be a considerable slump in the international market for this item.
13. Referring to tilapia introductions in reservoirs, it was reported that in some cases, such as the Miguel Alemán Dam, there had been drastic collapses in production. None of the other countries attending the meeting had had similar experiences.
14. Budgetwise, increased sums had been earmarked for aquaculture, which seemed to indicate political openness to aquaculture development. Nonetheless, most of the budget continues to be earmarked for infrastructures (seed production centres) and a smaller amount for extension (now confined to distributing seeds to the rural sector, with no follow-up on production).
15. Luis Martínez, presenting the paper on progress in aquaculture in Guatemala, indicated that aquaculture in his country has been a rather recent development. There was a long period from the mid-1950s to 1979 when the activity was under the Departamento de Caza y Pesca, and practically nothing was done until 1979 with the establishment of the Dirección de Pesca y Acuicultura.
16. The main emphasis now is on the development of rural fish culture, in the Jalapa area (Oriente Province) and in the highlands, in ponds also used to store water during the annual five-six month dry season. The species utilized are tilapia and carp; the seed is produced at the San Pedro Pinula station. There are now 27 ha of ponds. Private enterprise has basically concentrated on crustacean culture, but the results so far have not been impressive.
17. Most foreign assistance for the recent development of aquaculture in Guatemala has come from UNDP/FAO, and Project 5 of CAPMAD of SELA. Other programmes also contributing to aquaculture development were AID/CARE through the Peace Corps and the Chinese Agricultural Mission. It was pointed out, however, that the signing of an agreement to receive external assistance did not automatically mean that additional government funds would be earmarked to use this assistance. So situations often arise where external assistance was not used efficiently. Since there appeared to be little contact between economic planning and the technical department, it was suggested that donor agencies intervene more directly in the area of economic planning at the time these cooperation agreements were drawn up, so as to ensure that the additional funds necessary were earmarked for the Guatemalan technical counterpart contribution.
18. In Honduras, fish culture first developed around 1936, but it was not until 1954 that the first fish culture station was set up near Tegucigalpa (with FAO assistance). There was no follow-up to this first support programme and it was not until 1977 that a USAID programme to develop rural fish culture produced the “El Carao” station, the largest and best equipped in the country. Two Honduran experts were trained at the University of Auburn, Alabama, USA. The main activities of the station since its conception have been the production of tilapia and carp seed, as these are the major species for rural distribution. Trials have also been carried out on rearing tilapia in combination with a predator, using the local species “guapote tigre” (Cichlasoma managuense).
19. As in Guatemala the private sector has concentrated on crustacean culture. These include the Sea Farms Honduras Company, which handled mainly paneidae species in the Pacific and the Aquafinca de Camarones (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) which had recently decided to close production and operate only as a consultancy firm.
20. There is little government financial support for the fisheries division of RENARE, officially responsible for aquaculture development, and so adequate follow-up of pond stocking activities has not been possible. Given the difficulty of obtaining further funds under the government-imposed austerity programme, it had been suggested that the agricultural institutes and universities link effort in a coordinated development strategy. At present the work is being programmed on the basis of national one-year plans.
21. As there was no participant from Nicaragua, the Technical Secretary briefly presented the Nicaraguan report submitted by Mr Carlos Lacayo Lanuza. It described the initial work in aquaculture of the Instituto Nicaragüense de Pesca (INPESCA) at the Omar Torrijos fish station, near Managua. The station is working mainly with tilapia and carp. Extensive culture of penaeid shrimp is being carried out at Estero Real, in the Gulf of Fonseca. Two more stations are on the drawing board, one at the Universidad Centro Americana (UCA), near the now operating INPESCA station, and a second INPESCA station. The Government also plans to set up an aquaculture production enterprise. Assistance in planning aquaculture development is considered essential.
22. The Panama country report was presented by Mr Pablo Vergara. In 1976 the Dirección Nacional de Acuicultura (DINAAC) was established under the Ministry of Agricultural Development. Private industry shrimp culture operations began in 1978. A USAID-supported programme consisting of twenty integrated aquaculture/agriculture model tanks (traditional crops, livestock and fishculture) was launched in 1981. Aquaculture is a priority item on the social side of the agricultural sector of the National Development Plan, along with irrigation, reforestation, farm diversification and warehousing. Freshwater fish culture extends over 82 500 ha, including lakes and reservoirs. The species cultivated are: tilapia, carp, “guapote tigre” marine and river shrimp. Research is being carried out on some 20 further species. DINAAC has about 100 officers including professionals, mid-level technical people and extension workers, most of whom have been trained abroad.
23. Local and external financing for aquaculture development in Panama amounted to: national budgets 1972–82: US$ 1 830 217; donations and international loans 1977–82: US$ 16 589 887. The estimated cost of ongoing programmes is US$ 23 500 000; these focus on integrated fish culture in model ponds, polyculture with marine shrimp, and larva rearing of marine shrimp. A small-scale fisheries programme is being conducted at Gatún and Alajuela lakes with other agencies of the agricultural sector. There are also cooperation agreements with USAID, IDB, SELA, UNICEF, CIDA, IFC (Sweden), Taiwan and the University of Auburn. Technical assistance has been valuable but insufficient. The problems are economic, and are aggravated by governmental budget cuts and the fact that there is not enough equipment and not enough trained personnel.
24. As in many other Latin American countries, aquaculture in Colombia began about 40 years ago with carp and trout. A conflict subsequently arose between two scientific factions. One was conservationist and opposed to the introduction of exotic species, and the other production-oriented and favouring the use of exotic species. In 1971 the conservationist faction succeeded in banning the introduction of exotic species, but this position was revised in the late 1970s to permit experimentation with tilapia and fresh-water Malayan shrimp.
25. In Colombia the national agency officially in charge of aquaculture development is INDERENA. This agency, however, does not have a permanent linkage with executive levels in economic planning except for programmes of international assistance. Two aquaculture divisions in the institute deal respectively with marine and inland aquaculture. Assistance for the marine aquaculture sector has been obtained primarily from the Taiwan agricultural mission and is aimed at the development of artificial reproduction techniques for shrimp. The Inland Aquaculture Division has several stations, the most important being the Repelón (Atlántico) and Gigante (Huila) stations. Research initially centered on indigenous species such as “bocachico” for major restocking efforts, but the results have not been impressive. In the late 1970s, experimentation began on four introduced tilapia species. Trout are still the only species now raised commercially.
26. The activities of INDERENA have aroused great interest in marine shrimp production, with three companies and PROEXPO (the fund to promote export stations) interested in financing marine shrimp culture. In the inland sector, there are still problems with the culture of trout, which are produced for an elite market, and trout culture is now facing serius competition from Ecuadorian and Peruvian companies. Ways are being sought to subsidize or otherwise to protect this sector. A whole series of problems have arisen: the transfer of developed technologies to the rural sector communications with the national planning sector, and the collecting statistical data (soon to be targeted by an international assistance programme). It was also noted that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) classe A classification for Colombia has prevented the country from sending students to the courses set up by FAO at CERLA. It was requested that these discriminatory practices in granting fellowships be eliminated.
27. Manuel Martínez, reported on the status of aquaculture in Venezuela. The activity had been launched as far back as 1937, with the importation of trout for culture in the Andean region. As in Colombia, the importation of exotic species has subsequently been banned. In recent years, some mariculture has developed, especially oyster and mussel culture (beginning in the 1960s) but, unfortunately, has not been very successful owing to economic and marketing factors. Concerning external assistance, Venezuela has had a series of technical cooperation agreements, a programme with the French government, and beginning in 1974, a series of FAO programmes for warm-water fish culture vocational training for technical personnel and a brief programme to review cold and warm-water fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.
28. Up to now efforts have been concentrated on government-sponsored research in institutes including six universities and three foundations, with an investment of approximately Bs 20 million. A comparable sum has been allocated for production, so far low, considering the country's potential. The numbers of professional staff working in aquaculture (40 professionals and 120 technical people) clearly reflect the predominance of research over production.
29. Also mentioned were the lack of development plans and mechanisms to evaluate development programmes and concepts. These were seen as serious constraints to development, despite the fact that the country does have the financial capability to implement its own projects. Another obstacle which has prevented a more rapid expansion is the fact that the food production sector in Venezuela has so far attracted little capital investment. As much as 70 percent of the nation's food is now imported. Venezuela is now undergoing an economic crisis with import restrictions, thus the trend can be expected to change in favour of aquaculture development for domestic consumption.
30. The situation of aquaculture development in Ecuador is unique, in that sector has grown enormously and swiftly in recent years with very little government participation. Development is focussed on white shrimp culture and is entirely in the hands of the private sector. The increase in production which reached 17 000 t of cultured shrimp in 1982, was not accompanied by increased domestic consumption of animal protein (the estimated protein gap for a population of 8.6 million people is 11 000 t) as the shrimp all went for export. Marco Alvarez, reporting for Ecuador, said that with 50 000 ha under shrimp culture (30 000 ha of former mangrove) and a mean annual production of 1 500 lb/ha, the official production figures appear too low. Private investment in this sector had been heavy-nearly US$ 300 million.
31. The fish culture situation is radically different, as there had been very little development thus far. The earliest trials date from 1932 with the introduction of trout in the Sierra area. Trout culture has been virtually abandoned as production costs made trout for domestic consumption prohibitive. Nor is the rehabilitation of trout culture a priority item under the present administration's fish culture development plans. In recent years, development agencies such as PREDESUR and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock have conducted some warm-water fish culture trials with species like tilapia and carp. Integrated agriculture/aquaculture development is the major future aquaculture focus of the present government, based on the model already developed by Panama. To foster the development of rural fish culture, there are plans to increase the extension and promotion effort in inland waters. Extensive cultures are now underway with the indigenous species Dormitator latifrons and Ichthyoelephas humeralis, but at relatively low production levels.
32. The budgets of the General Division of Fisheries and the National Fisheries Institute are unable to cope with the needs of a country the size of Ecuador. However, the main problem is the lack of a national fisheries plan, allowing external assistance to be channelled to specific development targets. The lack of trained personnel was also mentioned as a negative factor. Concerning coastal areas and the development of white shrimp culture, the problem is the lack of a guiding agency to regulate the utilization of these areas. There are at present five different public agencies fully involved in allocating areas for shrimp culture.
33. As in the other countries of South America, fish culture in Peru began during the 1920s with trout. Salmon eggs were introduced in Peru to restock Andean rivers poor in local fauna of interest to sport and other types of fishermen. Up to 1970, when the Ministry of Fisheries was established, nine stations had been built for this purpose, subsequently followed by eighteen more. Only ten are now operational.
Warm-water fish culture began with restocking inland waters with paiche, Arapaima gigas, but results were not encouraging. Recently, there had been a great deal of interest in Colossoma and Brycon, and a new experimental station had been established in Tarapoto. In the early 1970s the private sector began white shrimp culture in the tumbes area (the southern boundary of the Pacific mangrove). Much of the available area is now under concession. Although the total area involved is smaller than in Ecuador, shrimp production is an important source of foreign currency for Peru.
34. The public sector is clearly taking a new look at production infrastructures, especially that of fish culture. Peru's eminently maritime perspective means that aquaculture development in inland waters is considered of secondary importance, and does not get the attention it deserves. Indeed, there are plans to cut back government funding for inland aquaculture. There are no socially oriented programmes.
35. There is also little coordination among the various institutions involved - the Ministry of Fisheries, IMARPE, the development agencies, the university and the private sector. Recently, a National Board of Science and Technology has been formed to supervise the research aspect. Looking to the future, it is believed that the government will try to favour those aquaculture activities which are able to generate foreign currency. Given the present economic situation, rural aquaculture programmes are therefore unlikely to be given much attention. As to the Lake Titicaca trout culture programme, it was mentioned that private industry, as well as the bilateral programme with Bolivia, has failed due to production and marketing problems. Despite this not very hopeful panorama, it is believed that regional activities, such as those developed by SELA and COPESCAL, may encourage a review of the present guidelines for aquaculture development.
36. Uruguay is a red meat producer, as well as a country without population pressure problems, and so the Uruguayan approach to aquaculture is quite different from those of the other Latin American countries present at this meeting. The first trials date from 1911 when waters were stocked with the pejerrey, Odonthestes bonariensis. This species is appreciated locally and grows well, but is fragile to handle, to transport and display for sale, and has therefore been rejected for intensive culture. When the Instituto Nacional de Pesca was established in 1970, aquaculture development strategies were realigned to bring in foreign exchange, as in the marine fisheries. Research is being directed towards the development of intensive culture, the black catfish Rhamdia sapo being the principal species. It is multidisciplinary in its approach and includes test marketing in the more important potential markets. Other siluroids are considered as alternatives or additions to Rhamdia sapo in freshwater fish culture. In marine research the universities are investigating the potential of local mullet species, and some private groups are running trials on penaeid shrimp species.
37. Most technical assistance in Uruguay has come from FAO, and recently from Israel and Taiwan. FAO and Israeli assistance, in particular, has made it possible to train staff. (Though trained personnel are still scarce, there are now sufficient to fill the manpower needs of the current programmes). There is no separate financing for aquaculture development. The general development guidelines drawn up at the Workshop on Planning Aquaculture, organized by the FAO Programme for Aquaculture Development and Coordination, are still regarded as valid, considering the present low output.
38. The Technical Secretary presented the Argentine country report submitted by Mr Miguel de Lourdes Baiz. The report indicated that the most widespread form of aquaculture at present is the restocking of bodies of inland waters with rainbow trout, particularly for sport fishing. Experimental work began on salmon in 1903 and on pejerrey in 1910 at the Chascomús station. Other local species which have been cultivated on a more modest scale are perch Percichtys sp. and Patagonian pejerrey, Odonthestes microlepidotus. Recently the marine sector has been conducting trials on local shrimp and mollusk species (mainly INIDEP in the Mar del Plata).
39. Technical and paratechnical personnel are few for a country of this size. Because of concern about the availability of qualified personnel, the Universidad Nacional de Comahue has started a training programme for aquaculturalists. As for Mexico, an internal regional approach appears more effective than a national approach would be.
40. After presentation of the country reports, the Technical Secretary summarized the points made and provided a brief analysis of the current situation in Latin America. The latter was based on a dual approach combining a review of scientific-technical literature on aquaculture in Latin America and a consideration of the development problems of the sector. Concerning research, a bibliographic search and an analysis of the work presented at the last two sessions of the Asociación Latinoamericana de Acuicultura (ALA) indicated that research has been centred predominantly on biology and growth trials, and that this has remained an unvarying trend over the last few years. There was a notable shortage of work on economic aspects and development planning. With reference to species, there was growing interest in local fish species, first tilapia and then carp, although the literature revealed a certain duplication of efforts in carp research. One negative factor has been the lack of consultation and examination of existing bibliographies. The problems could have been more easily solved if the existing data had been better known.
41. Turning to development problems, lack of external funding to regional programmes, such, as SELA's Project Five and CERLA, and perhaps lack of information on these programmes, lead to underutilization of both programmes. Multilateral assistance through such agencies, such as FAO, and bilateral assistance, is generally well received since it encourages governments to strengthen existing institutions. In some cases this was limited to the duration of the external assistance. Indeed, in some countries the result has been that better contacts were established with the national planning agencies while the externally assisted programmes were in operation. With respect to the usefulness of experts or consultants, both the experiences and the results reported were highly diverse. In some countries foreign experts had had socio-cultural adaptation problems, hindering their full participation with target groups.
42. Concerning the organization development, the smaller countries had made more progress in planning and implementing the resulting projects. In Mexico and the large South American countries, serious difficulties had arisen in drawing up realistic national plans. Where the attempt had been made to move from a national to a provincial or departmental focus, better results had been obtained. As a rule, fisheries extension is weak in Latin America, although the situation is proportionately better in Central America. Continent-wide the existing plans and the extent of participation of the private sector very considerably. In Central America, however, there are somewhat more similar models of general development which may underline the apparently more similar historical development of aquaculture within the region.
43. Introducing Item 6 of the agenda on the status of cooperation in research or development among participating countries, Dr F.A. Pagán-Font reported briefly on the origin and history of the Centro Regional Latinoamericano de Acuicultura (CERLA) established in Pirassununga, Brazil, which has been operating since April 1981. The UNDP-financed project had been approved in 1977, but for various reasons it had not been possible to launch operations until 1981. He also pointed out that the first meeting of the Advisory Committee, held at the end of 1982, had evaluated the Centre's activities and concluded that financing should continue to be sought to allow it to continue to function as a regional Latin American centre once UNDP funding terminated. A report prepared by the management of the Centre was distributed to participants. It specified the amount required to operate CERLA on a regional basis and the contribution it hoped to obtain from each of the signatories of the Project.
44. Dr Pagán-Font's presentation was followed by questions, mostly on the utilization of Latin American scientists by CERLA for research work, and the possibility of getting a Master's degree in aquaculture in one year.
45. Dr J.J. Salaya, Chairman of the Asociación Latinoamericana de Acuicultura (ALA) briefly outlined the activities of ALA and suggested the possibility of reinforcing linkage between ALA and CERLA through short-term agreements or sending scientists to CERLA on sabbaticals. This possibility is to be discussed officially at the next ALA meeting to be held in Valdivia, Chile, at the end of the year. He pointed out that the directory of Latin American Aquaculturists was now ready and the index of ongoing projects in preparation. This would replace an activity so far conducted by FAO. The Symposium on Aquaculture in the Third World, now in preparation, will be held jointly with the Sixth Session of ALA planned for 1985 in Mérida, Mexico. During the brief debate which followed Dr Salaya's presentation, several possibilities for greater collaboration between ALA and FAO were suggested (including publications), if the national member associations of ALA could be made more effective. Updating country reports to help make sectorial the diagnoses needed for the preparation and period review of development plans and policies, was also considered. Another possibility was ALA's participation in translating FAO reports of interest to the region into Spanish. These could then be edited and published by FAO or CERLA.
46. A report of Project Five “Sistema de Centros de Investigación en Acuicultura” of the Comité de Productos del Mar y Agua Dulce (CAPMAD) of the Latin American Economic System (SELA) was presented by Dr Pretto. The three major activities of the project were explained: a pilot research project, an exchange programme for technical personnel, and publication of the Latin American Review of Aquaculture. He also mentioned FAO assistance in sending evaluation missions and publishing the latest issues of the Review. He cited with regret problems with the exchange programme for technical personnel, and financing for research and development.
47. The general impression of Project Five was that the first phase, which many now feel is over, was a step in the right direction. Socially-oriented aquaculture was the dominant note and a very active programme had been set up to exchange species. There was some exchange of technical personnel but above all the first phase of the project engendered enthusiasm about developing aquaculture. Nonetheless, the speaker did express grave concern over the present financial situation which now endangers even the Review, considering the most representative aspect of Project Five.
48. With the formation of OLDEPESCA, a certain amount of apprehension has arisen among the participants about the roles to be played by the various supranational agencies involved in the development of aquaculture. The fear was that lack of coordination might lead to an undesirable duplication of efforts. For this reason Dr Pretto expressed a desire to see SELA,s CAPMAD Project Five move on to the second phase in which it would become a regional project. This regional project would then be responsible for strengthening the various national groups, the assumption being that the existing basic structures are not the same in each country and that this institution-building must be preceded by a phase of diagnosing local needs and seeing what must be brought in from outside the country using already existing appropriate technological packages. This would lead to a better exchange of experiences and personnel among Project Five member countries.
49. Some participants pointed out that the Spanish Government through its Consejos Nacionales de Ciencia y Tecnología was partially duplicating the work of the Working Party, and thought it would be a good idea to utilize the few funds available more effectively. The Technical Secretariat was asked to report on the activities of both groups to the Permanent Representation of Spain to FAO, in an attempt to avoid a duplication of efforts and excessive subdivision of external aid to the aquaculture sector.
50. In introducing this item on the agenda, the Technical Secretary of the meeting gave a brief general summary of the present research situation based on an analysis of the lists of Latin American aquaculturalists prepared by FAO, the papers presented at the last two ALA meetings, the results of a bibliographical search on aquaculture in Latin America by the DIALOG computer system, and SELA's Latin American Review of Aquaculture. The study showed that most of the research had been done on biology and growth trials, and that the research had been often a little weak on the experimental side. A polarization of effort on Colossoma among indigenous species was obvious. Work on several exotic species continued to appear at regular intervals, but here again gaps in the experimental design meant the results would be difficult to transfer. It was also noted that existing bibliographies on the most common introduced species, such as carp and tilapia are not sufficiently consulted. The sample also revealed various gaps, especially in the economic and social fields, mirroring the preponderance of biologists and veterinarians in the aquaculture research institutions.
51. Discussion on this item dealt mainly with identification of the critical issues in aquaculture development today in each country as a means of identifying possible solutions to problems and suggesting proper lines of research to overcome these problems. The multidisciplinary nature of aquaculture development was emphasized, contrast to aquaculture as academic-style biological research. The lack of detailed analyses on the problems of developing aquaculture in Latin America led to the suggestion that an expert mission be set up to fill this gap, but the idea was rejected as unfeasible because of its cost and the time it would take to define the problem in each country. A more feasible alternative was the suggestion that multidisciplinary national committees be formed to analyse the research done to date in each country.
52. Working backward through the country reports on aquaculture development, Dr Z. Varela indicated that original research was needed in Uruguay, as his country was part of a watershed little-studied by aquaculturalists, with a temperate climate and siluroids of good commercial value not found in other Latin American watersheds. The basin covers a subtropical area from the Rio Grande del Sur in Brazil and includes Paraguay, Uruguay, and part of Argentina. No gaps were detected given the multidisciplinary approach of the ongoing aquaculture pilot project. Presumably, however, size problems might arise in moving on to the commercial stage, and research might have to be done there. It was pointed out that there is very little in the literature on species of interest to aquaculture in this watershed.
53. In Peru, research problems differ according to the different regions of the country. In the low Amazon forest, there are problems with rearing Colossoma, Brycon and Prochilodus as well as larval rearing of these species. Culture technology for flood-plain areas needs to be worked out. In the high forest where tilapia introduction is planned, the problem is proper integration with rural programmes. This is mainly a problem of strategy requiring support from socio-economic studies. The inter-Andean valleys, ranging from 1 500 to 3 500 m in elevation, demand the different production strategies and species. Carp was thought to be adaptable. As for trout, it was suggested that various kinds of trout culture systems ought to be examined in an effort to cut production costs so as to enlarge the market for trout in Peru and make this fish accessible to the poorer classes. In the arid coastal areas, technological packages are needed to make the most of temporary watercourses and ponds, and irrigation channels.
54. The new Government of Ecuador is formulating its policy on aquaculture, particularly rural aquaculture. The main problem is to define and research appropriate strategies for rural fish culture development, one of the major bottle-neck gaps in training. One priority is for socio-economic studies to determinate the most appropriate kind of integrated agriculture/aquaculture. A possibility under consideration is the generation of funds through the shrimp industry to support fish culture development in the poorer areas of the country. Other items identified as being in urgent need of research were the insufficient information on areas available for aquaculture development in the interior of the country and the typification of these zones for the various possible kinds of aquaculture.
55. In Colombia, research to develop technological packages is conducted primarily by by INDERENA. Basically, there are two warm-water fish stations, Repelón and Gigante, and one laboratory in Cartagena for research on marine species, primarily penaeid shrimp. Research on local species has not been promising and so the major emphasis has been put on applied research on tilapia species to determine their response to the Colombian environment. Research is also beginning on the potential for Macrobrachium rosenbergii culture. After an initial phase refining production techniques for postlarval penaeid shrimp in the Colombian Atlantic, there is now a need to develop research for pond culture. This is beginning to be done through agreements with private industry. So far the main problems in aquaculture research have had to do with organization and the sizeable gap between available infrastructures, and the financial ressources to utilize these infrastructures.
56. Colossoma macropomum has been the species arousing the greatest interest among Venezuelan scientists. Techniques for mass producing fry have already been developed. Areas needing further research are: feeding, diseases, valid commercial models and marketing. Seed production techniques also need to be simplified so that private industry in the rural sector can begin production on its own. Little has been done in warm-water fish culture on other promising species such as: catfish, morocoto, palometa and pavona. Possible constraints to the development of warm-water commercial fish culture in Colombia are the excessive cost of building ponds, the fact that the same species are caught in rivers and sold in the market at low prices, and the existence of other more attractive, lower-risk investment. In the initial phases, economic production models should be studied to avoid the kind of problems which arose previously with oysters. In the marine sector the potential for development of crustacean culture remains to be determined. Two immediate problems have to be solved for oysters and muscles: red tides, and marketing problems. The problems encountered in trout culture were poor feed quality (which would require research agreements with the private firm producing the feed pellets), diseases, and the fact that investment in trout culture using the technology so far in use remains unattractive.
57. In Panama, where the Dirección Nacional de Acuicultura (DINAAC) of the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA) is the agency officially responsible for aquaculture development, there are three kinds of aquaculture activities with different orientations and problems. These include socially-oriented aquaculture which is identified with integrated rural aquaculture/agriculture, commercial aquaculture (mainly the foreign currency producing shrimp industry) and management of lakes and mini-dams through stocking fry of selected species. DINAAC is a very new organization; funds are scarce and available resources must be put to best use and, therefore, responsibilities have been distributed as follows DINAAC is in charge of production and technology transfer. The Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (IDIAP) is responsible for researching problems identified by DINAAC during the production phases. To identify problems needing investigation, a zonal anaylis was made and from this priorities have been drawn. Five priority areas were identified. The first area was that at integrated systems where socio-economic research is needed to optimize current practices and analyse peoples' capacity to absorb these practices. A second research priority is the optimization fishculture yields through polyculture in fresh and brackish waters. Thirdly, shrimp-based commercial aquaculture, more research is needed on marketing, growth and diet. The fourth priority is the need for an inventory of bodies of inland waters. The fifth research priority is to develop the utilization of tilapia or herbivorous carp for aquatic weed control. The maximum time frame set up for this research was five years. An exclusively experimental station is planned for IDIAP. Existing liaison with universities for basic research will be tightened. Research will also be carried out in the rural sector using students doing theses on various aspects of aquaculture, with supervision and advice from DINAAC and IDIAP. Mentioned as serious constraints to research on the above are the lack of suitable bibliographic aids to gain access to the literature, and the training gap in experimental design and experimental techniques.
58. The Fisheries Department of RENARE in Honduras is in the process of identifying areas for research. The lack of operational medium-term plans have up to now hindered medium or long-term research. At present, neither research nor development of technology packages have had priority - only production. Funds for research are scarce. Despite the fact that two private firms have developed technologies for penaeid shrimp and Macrobrachium culture, there has been no transfer of these techniques. The major research constraints are the lack of properly trained personnel, equipment, and the logistical means to carry out stocking activities and collect data on the effectiveness of suggested practices, using the rural sector as an experimental area. As in Panama, agreements are being drawn up with the Universidad Nacional de Honduras to promote research. It was mentioned that the Instituto Nacional Agrario is also interested in tightening liaison and adding fish culture to its rural programme. This would enlarge the potential for applied research in the field. Mr Berrios also pointed out that Honduras is interested in coordinated subregional research programmes linking countries with similar priorities.
59. A permanent feature of Guatemala research is the interest of private industry in penaeid shrimp and Macrobrachium culture. As in Honduras and Panama, the priority of DITEPESCA, the agency officially in charge of fish culture development, is production. This factor, combined with the scarse funding available, means there is little basic research, what there is, is focused on applied research for producing immediate results. The first contacts are now being established with the Universidad del Valle of Guatemala and the Universidad San Carlos to coordinate development and research programmes, recognizing however, that this is a difficult period for the universities, financially speaking. One aspect on which non-biological research is needed, (considering that animal protein is not traditionally part of the raral diet), is to investigate the potential for fish culture in Guatemala, so as to evaluate efforts to date, and to identify what must still be done.
60. The survey of research projects in Mexico which grew out of the Fourth Symposium of ALA in Panama identified twenty-two aquaculture projects. This may well represent only 10 percent of ongoing or approved research projects. The work identified had to do with federal planning, state planning for Hidalgo, Morelos and Mexico, catalogues of inland bodies of water and environmental studies for fish culture in the states of Morelos and Hidago, research on brackish estuaries in Sonora, Tabasco and Campeche, watershed contamination studies and, finally, studies on alternate culture techniques. It was more difficult to assess current research needs as there has been no national review of work to date which might indicate the basis used for determining state or federal research programmes. It was considered necessary to improve the catalogue of bodies of inland waters broadening the limnological data base. The study prepared for this Working Party proposed setting up the Instituto Nacional de Investigación en Acuicultura, to be headquartered at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), which would be multidisplinary utilizing more of the human potential offered by the university scientists. The institute would establish a link between the university and the government body responsible for aquaculture development, a link not yet forged. The hope in locating the institute within the university was to achieve greater stability than would be the case were the institute susceptible to the six-year political turnover in government. A discussion followed on whether it would be preferable to establish an institute dependent on funds allocated by the university, or a self-financing national company such as the one in Cuba or the one proposed for Venezuela. The advantages and disadvantages of each proposal were discussed and the conclusion was that an institute would offer greater freedom from the national research standpoint, as it would not be directly tied to its own production units as would a national company.
61. Aquaculture development in Cuba is under the Empresa Nacional de Acuicultura (ENA), established in 1980 as a vice-ministry. The company is self-financing and research is based on problems identified by the production sector which in turn immediately puts into practice the findings of research scientists. The main activity at present is fingerling production for extensive fish culture and fishing in bodies of water where fish have been stocked. Research and production are both planned and financed by annually reviewed five-year plans. As for coordination with the academic institutes, the research programme is supervised by the Academy of Sciences and supported by the Universidad de La Habana. Problems needing research are classified in two major categories: present and future problems. Concerning present problems, limnological and fishery studies are being conducted by ENA on working dams. The goal is to define the diverse typologies requiring different kinds of management. Technological packages are also being developed to make possible semi-intensive culture of micro-dams smaller than 100 ha in area. One future need is to make an exhaustive sampling of the composition of diets for hanging cage culture in dams. Future species under consideration are cyprinids and eels for fresh water and mullet and penaeid shrimp species in brackish waters. For brackish-water species there is a backlog of several years of laboratory experience and it is believed research will shortly move on to the pilot phase. Anticipated problems at this new stage of the process are mainly obtaining seed on a mass basis.
62. Mr M. Martinez, the rapporteur of this section, in making his summary, noted that the identification of problems and the choice of strategies to solve them varied greatly from country to country, but there was a list of existing constraints largely shared by all countries: lack of funds (even for personnel already in place), lack of communications and technical information, the problem of working out collaborative agreements with universities so as to be able to better utilize the potential of the universities, and the lack of continuity in technical work, owing to periodic changes of governtment.
63. To evaluate the efforts of the various countries in training for aquaculture development (from planners to extension workers to the general public) the Working Party decided to follow the same system of presentation by countries so as to ascertain to what extent it had been possible to quantify personnel needs and if this was needed. This aspect had not been given much coverage in the reports submitted to the Secretariat of the meeting.
64. In Cuba the highest university degree awarded, having to do with aquaculture, is the B.S. in biology. Study focuses more on marine waters than inland waters. Where post-graduate studies are needed, they are obtained through agreements with socialist countries and through programmes of technical assistance. There is no structured plan for training personnel at the post-graduate level. There is a school to train mid-level technical personnel which also offers training in aquaculture. Manpower needs are estimated under the five-year plan for aquaculture development. Based on this estimate it is thought that there is no need to enlarge the present staff, and that what is really needed now is to upgrade the existing expertise in research and production especially among mid-level technical staff. It is believed this can be done by employing university graduates and improving programmes. An estimated 20 mid-level technicians are graduated each year. It is very difficult to guarantee that university graduates will have access to post-graduate studies abroad and so Cuba is considering the possibility of organizing post-graduate courses within the country. No thought has as yet been given to multidisplinary training to add an additional level of staff.
65. In Mexico, various levels of aquaculture training can be identified. The first and most elementary is at the small-scale fisheries level and consists of a few not very intensive courses. It is interesting to note that the effects of training at the small-scale level tend to multiply due to the aquafarmers' own efforts. There is a very active programme for mid-level training under the Secretariat of Public Education. This programme is addressed to young people studying at the secondary level. Two levels of professionals are identified: university students (not a very intensive training effort), and post-graduates (virtually no post-graduate training is being carried out at present). One of the major problems in training both mid-level technical persons and university professionals is the lack of professors with a practical working background. The education the students receive is therefore overtheoretical. One aspect which has not received the attention it deserves is the training of professors. It is not known whether there are national-scale estimates of personnel needs at the different levels. As for teaching materials these are judged to be sufficient for the various levels.
66. Aquaculture training in Guatemala has been concentrated on practical training in other countries of Latin America. Formal training in aquaculture is, however, now being offered at certain universities which include aquaculture courses in their biology programme. The Department of Veterinary, Medicine now offers aquaculture in its curriculum and the Department of Agronomy plans to include fish culture courses. Initially, thought was given to setting up a five-year course of study, but taking a harder look at real training needs, it was decided that a period of one to three years would be more appropriate. For training mid-level technical personnel there is the Instituto Téchnico de Capacitación which offers practical courses but which suffers from a lack of good professors. Through USAID fellowships, two technical people were trained abroad, one in the USA and one in Brazil (at CERLA), both in long-term courses of study. Panama has also helped train technical personnel through SELA Project Five. There is awareness of the need to increase technical and professional staff in Guatemala, but the extent of this need has not yet been quantified. One additional problem is the lack of suitable installations in the country where the necessary training can be given. Two kinds of teaching materials have been prepared: (a) publicity materials including propaganda for increasing fish consumption in Guatemala (not traditionally a fish eating country), and (b) documentation for technical staff.
67. The lack of long-term plans in Honduras also makes it difficult to quantify aquaculture personnel requirements. However in 1981 the RENARE Office of General Planning prepared a document on personnel needs for the next three years including training at the various levels. This document is now being revised. Contact has been made with the university sector to include courses on aquaculture, more with the idea of enriching the curriculum than of training technical people. Contacts have been made with three universities: the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras for classes in practical fish culture and the Escuela Nacional de Agricultura and the Escuela Agrícola Panamericana for the establishment of short-term teaching modules. Direct training by RENARE is on two tiers: one for the rural sector and the other for technical people. These courses mirror the yearly plan of operations and specific teaching material is prepared ad hoc for each course. There is also an office in RENARE to train human resources at all levels and in all areas. This office also handles training abroad and has, to date, included aquaculture on only one occasion. This was a result of an agreement with USAID offering advanced fellowships at the University of Auburn and at the Pentecoste Station in Brazil.
68. In Panama, DINAAC believes that the first level of training should aim to reach the general public, and utilizes an information network including radio, television, newspapers, country fairs, pamphlets and the like to achieve this aim. The second level is the peasant aquafarmer who is trained by the Department of Technology Transfer at three-day short courses at the Divisa Station and whenever possible, with close follow-up in his own community. The third level, is the technician, for whom MIDA offers longer courses given by university professors. the professionals of the fourth level are university graduates selected to be sent abroad for post-graduate studies. Included in this category is a small number of aquaculturalists with a multidisciplinary background who are presently being trained at CERLA. The longer courses of study have been realized at the University of Auburn, with fellowships granted by USAID, and at CERLA financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Short courses have been provided by Mexico, Korea, Peru, Japan and Israel. The present intention is to replace post-graduate courses by paractical experience in appropriate ongoing projects.
69. The most pressing personnel training needs identified were: (a) the need for more and more specific short courses (for Macrobrachium, penaeid shrimp and artemia culture) and more training facilites; (b) the need to prepare full but brief courses for experts responsible for economic planning in aquaculture at the Central Planning offices; (c) Indepth training for research work, possibly with external aid; and (d) professorial staff to train extension workers. When the USAID-assisted programme to develop aquaculture in Panama was formulated, estimates were also made of the numbers of trained people needed and how much training they needed. It is now the task of DINAAC to obtain funds to train such personnel.
70. INDERENA in Colombia divides its personnel into three categories. At the base level are the technical staff, graduates of vocational schools with some field training in aquaculture under professional supervision. There is no organized scheme to train this technical staff other than on an ad hoc basis. The second category is composed of professional staff, mainly university graduates in marine biology. A selection is made among those students showing the greatest promise during the preparation of their theses under the direction of the Institute. This is the main group in INDERENA. At the third level are the specialists, 90% of whom are graduates of the University of Auburn, some with Master of Science degrees, and recipients of the USAID fellowship programme. There is no higher level of specialization than the Master's Degree not is it thought to be necessary. Of this latter group, nearly half of those trained abroad have left the Institute for private industry, although all are still working in aquaculture. The current personnel training situation is still quite a problem as there are no replacements for staff leaving the Institute and Colombia cannot at the present time use IDB fellowships to send staff for training at CERLA, as it is considered a class A country by the Inter-American Development Bank; nor are there external assistance aquaculture programmes, as these ended in 1981. Colombia does not see how it is going to be able to continue training specialized personnel.
During the meeting, Dr Luis E. Ruiz, mentioned that at the meeting of the Advisory Committee of CERLA, Colombia had already offered the Repelón and Gigante facilities as an associate Colombian national centre, in the hope of upgrading training of local personnel and use of these two facilities.
71. There is very little collaboration between INDERENA and the universities as no agreement has ever been reached on the type of specialist needed in Colombia and the training such a person would require. It now appears that the various universities which did offer aquaculture programmes are losing interest. As to enumerating manpower needs at various levels of training, no detailed study has been made so far, but the projected National Plan for Aquaculture plans to cover this item. It was suggested that replacement for top-level staff should be given high priority as such people often leave the Institute after a few years for better-paying jobs. They may also leave, after returning from training outside the country, because they do not find the hoped for logistical support to put their newly-acquired expertise to work. The main personnel training needs identified in Colombia are training schemes for mid-level technical personnel and assured advanced training on a regular basis for senior aquaculturalists.
72. Venezuela at present has some forty senior aquaculturalists, mostly biologists. Seven Venezuelan universities either offer courses in aquaculture or are envisaging theses on topics related to aquaculture. There are also some 120 technical people working in aquaculture who were trained at the Escuela de Peritos Pesqueros, INCE Agrario and the Fundación La Salle. There is still no national estimate of trained manpower needs with reference to any type of development plan. However, it is estimated that if one tenth of the potential area of the country could be developed present staff levels would have to be quadrupled. The major needs identified were: firstly, to determine a national stance on aquaculture development, secondly, to make the most of the backlog of experiences of Colombia and other countries offering aquaculture studies; thirdly, to use cooperation agreements to incorporate more training; fourthly, to support the CERLA effort to train, top multidisciplinarians (to be subsequently rounded out by direct experience in management). Teaching materials are partially prepared by INCE. A course of study is now being prepared for high-level technicians at the Universidad de los Llanos, which has signed a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAC) to use the San Fernando de Apure station. There are also teaching materials on ichtyopathology courses, prepared by the Department of Veterinary Sciences, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Maracay.
73. There are three manpower training levels in Ecuador: basic, mid-level and advanced training. Basic training is given at the universities, among which is the School of Biology of University of Guayaquil, which produces ten biologists each year trained in marine sciences. Many of these graduates work in the shrimp industry, which employs approximately one biologist for each 250 ha of shrimp ponds. This university also has freshwater fish culture station. The Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral is planning a three year course of study to train aquaculture experts, to produce some 20 graduates each year. The shrimp industry could currently absorb an estimated 120 technical people. For training abroad, some groups which are not supervised by the Undersecretariat of Fisheries, such as PREDESUR, have sent personnel to CERLA. No one holds a Master's or Ph.D degree in aquaculture in Ecuador at the present time. Fisheries training in pond culture is being given to small-scale fishermen and farmers. This training involves short courses for 10–12 people, their orientation is to integrate aquaculture/agriculture. Considering available funds, external assistance to help formulate an aquaculture development plan (including an evaluation of manpower needs at various levels of training) is now under review.
74. Advanced training for senior aquaculturalists in Peru is offered by the universities (8–10), which award degrees in fisheries biology or fishery sciences after completion of a four to five year course of study. Some 200–250 people are graduated each year. Only about half of these find employment in aquaculture. One of the universities offers a degree in fish culture. Thirty of such degrees have been awarded in the last two or three years. Compared to university staff, government employees are at a disadvantage in obtaining post-graduate degrees abroat as they are not allowed to leave the country for more than one year. Thus they cannot get M.S. or Ph.D degree. The Ministry of Fisheries offers short courses (roughly one month) for mid-level staff (personnel with 10–15 years of experience). However, the employment situation in the country is so bad that many people with university degrees are working in mid-level posts. There are more university graduates than the market can absorb, and a corresponding lack of well-trained, mid-level technicians. This is largely due to a lack of coordination and agreements between the university and government sectors, here represented by the Ministry of Fisheries. Peru has used CERLA solely for university personnel. This participation has been made possible by bilateral university agreements with the Swiss Government. Peru does not have access to IDB fellowships, being considered a class A country. The problem of obtaining fellowships for advanced training abroad has been further complicated by INABEC's regulation on external assistance for fellowships and the intervention of the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONCITEC) in approving fellowships. On the positive side, it should be mentioned that for the first time aquaculture is covered under the new regulations of the fisheries laws now being discussed. This should make it possible to focus more fully on personnel needs in this sector.
75. Aquaculture is very recent in Uruguay. So far it has focussed on catfish culture feasibility studies. Staff needs are few at present and expected to remain so for some time. The technical people working in aquaculture development are mostly veterinarians. The Departments of Agronomy, Veterinary Sciences, and Sciences and Humanities (including courses in marine biology) provide the bulk of the technical personnel. Post-graduate training abroad has been obtained at the University of Auburn, CERLA and recently in Israel.
76. The plenary discussions following the country presentations first dealt with the association between member countries and CERLA, and the long-term importance of the Regional Aquaculture Centre for Latin America. Dr Pagán-Font stressed that despite the interest which participating countries have shown in CERLA throughout the meeting, the Centre faces a whole series of problems requiring urgent solution, somewhat comparable to problems, faced by some of the national institutes, and which threaten the continuity of the Regional Latin American Centre. Four grave problems were identified: (a) the government of Brazil is finding it difficult to channel funds to CERLA under the present economic crisis, (b) the signatory countries to the project send the students to the courses but all the costs operating the Centre are borne by the Government of Brazil, (c) the need for more specialists, particularly in the areas of reproduction, nutrition and pathology, and (d) insufficient selectivity at the national level. With regard to the latter, students often are not qualified to follow CERLA courses, though they could follow short courses. Dr Pagán-Font indicated that the priority activities of the Centre in the future, in addition to the present teaching and research programmes, will include: (a) the selection of national centres associated with CERLA, (b) the establishment of the AQUIS data system, (c) testing of technological packages at the national centre, and exchanges of experiences and personnel among the centres, and (d) training Latin American scientists at the regional centre. It was recalled that these activities would put in practice the suggestions made by the national delegations participating in the first meeting of the Advisory Committee of CERLA in 1982.
77. After a brief discussion on the formal relationship between the national centres and CERLA, Panama requested information on how to initiate the process of linking national centres with CERLA. Emphasis was also placed on the need to avoid discrimination against countries in categories A and B such as had occurred with the Inter-Development Bank. The discussions had shown that funds are scarce in all institutions responsible for aquaculture development; this is not a problem restricted to a few countries. A suggestion was made to channel funds from other sources to the fellowship programme. The Technical Secretary was also requested to make the necessary representations to the government of Spain to avoid costly duplications of effort and arrange for better coordination, reporting on the recommendations of this Advisory Group. Concluding the discussion on this item, Dr Pagán-Font indicated the possibility of using funds made available to the Programme of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries by the government of Brazil for the fellowship programme in CERLA. These funds might be more easily granted if there were financial support of CERLA's regional activities by the countries signatories to the project, which would also confirm real interest in retaining CERLA as a regional Latin American organization.
78. This item on the agenda had been suggested for discussion by the Second Session of COPESCAL. Participants were requested to indicate the experience of their countries in utilizing fish wastes in aquaculture (excluding use as fish meal).
79. It was reported that in Colombia, Guatemala and Costa Rica there had been excessive production of tilapia fry and too often the fish harvested were too small for the market. In Colombia tilapia fry were used to feed pigs in pig-cum-fish production and sundried ground fry are being used to round out fish diets. Tilapia fry are used experimentally in Guatemala to feed Macrobrachium as well as to round out fish diets similar to the Colombian process. The Technical Secretary reported that an extremely simple and effective silage production system has been developed in Costa Rica, using a blend of ground tilapia and sweet potato. This silage is used to feed pigs in integrated farming, has been widely accepted, and will help Costa Rica cope with the current scarcity of concentrated pig-feed.
80. Ecuador described another way of utilizing fish wastes using shrimp heads (the tails are exported), ground and recycled as feed in shrimp ponds. Shrimp heads are also fresh-ground for feed in Cuba.
81. Like the preceding item, this one was proposed by the Second Session of COPESCAL. The Venezuelan Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock had a project in Puerto Ayacucho to rear indigenous ornamental fish, but the project was discontinued. There has been a slump in the production of ornamental fish by private industry. In Mexico, there had been a programme, now discontinued, to rear ornamental carp varieties in Zacatepec, Morelos. The private sector does maintain some dozen producers for the local market, mainly 10–15 varieties of exotic fish and the blind fish of San Luis Potosí (a local species). Colombia is active in the export of South American ornamental species, though most of its exports are captured, not reared. The private sector is the main supplier of cultivated ornamental species, mainly carp. The Corporación del Valle del Cauca (CVC) has an ornmental carp centre in Buga. INDERENA is now in the final stages of establishing a Station in Puerto López in Llanos Orientales. This station will produce broodfish of local species, some as both ornamental and food fish (such as cachama, the export of which caught from the wild is banned by INDERENA). There is also a Colombian Government fund PROEXPO to promote exports, which has a line of credit for breeding ornamental fish. In Peru, another country in which the export of local ornamental fish species is an important source of foreign exchange, three local species are bred and reared by private industry. The Ministry of Fisheries is now planning to set up a centre to produce ornamental fish to expand exports. There is an agreement with the Universidad de Rio de Janeiro for the classification of Peruvian ornamental species. Cuba, lacking local fauna, is beginning to rear exotic ornamental species through ENA. The plan is to organize individuals and once the sector is organized set up another national company. Ecuador has included the construction of a Fishery Centre in Orient in the national plan now being drafted. The Centre will study Amazon species, including ornamental species. Private industry is showing considerable interest in developing the culture and marketing of ornamental fish.
82. There was also discussion on whether ornamental fish culture should remain part of the terms of reference of the COPESCAL Working Party on aquaculture. In consensus was that though ornamental fish are of marginal interest for the group they ought not to be ignored and could be considered under the same heading as other kinds of commercial aquaculture for export. They also have research potential if government funds can be obtained for this sector. It was also suggested that ornamental fish might be useful in the development of specific diets which would permit recycling wasting from fisheries and aquaculture (as it is done with shrimp heads). It was also pointed out that the ornamental fish sector can generate employment in isolated areas. The discussion concluded with the observation that ornamental fishes are of interest to aquaculture, but in Latin America this resource is on the whole captured, not cultivated. The COPESCAL Working Party on Fishery Resources should keep the matter under review, and governments of the region are advised to pay more attention to the sector in terms of environmental protection and regulating fishing of the resource.
83. Dr Pretto commented on the interest of Panama and other SELA Project Five member countries in reviving the proposal for a trip to the People's Republic of China to observe advanced practices in polyculture and integrated agriculture/aquaculture in China. He mentioned that a group of delegates from the English-speaking countries and another French-speaking group had already had the opportunity to take this trip. The Technical Secretariat suggested getting in touch with other regional agencies able to finance the visit, as FAO negotiations on this had not gotten very far.
84. It was also suggested that the Asociación Latinoamericana de Acuicultura (ALA) be used to disseminate existing information on CERLA in a broader, more effective fashion, as ALA is already an existing channel in many countries of the region.
