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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A regional workshop on shrimp farming: opportunities and challenges held on 11 April 2019 at the at the Technical Centre for Aquaculture (CTA) in Monastir, Tunisia and organized by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO) in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries of Tunisia. Participants included experts from the Mediterranean and Red Sea riparian countries Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Italy, Saudi Arabia, United States of America and Turkey.

In line with Resolution GFCM/41/2017/1 on a strategy for the sustainable development of Mediterranean and Black Sea aquaculture, the meeting aimed at harmonizing actions to tackle challenges related to shrimp farming following an approach tailored to the specificities of aquaculture in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

The meeting addressed the status of shrimp farming in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea region. The existing farming systems for the development of the sector, taking into account for what concern the risk management and biosecurity, including which linked to the risk of disease agent introduced and spread in the environment.

Participants agree on the importance of a prudent approach for the development of shrimp farming and propose a set of principle to take into consideration during the use of aliens species of shrimp. Participants welcomed the production by the GFCM of guidelines on the use of alien species for aquaculture. It was widely acknowledged that such guidelines would facilitate the protection of the environment and reduce the risk of diseases spread and will ensure the economic sustainability of the sector. The outcomes of the workshop and the guidelines will be submitted to the eleventh session of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Aquaculture (CAQ) (Spain, 2019).