Experts from China’s Freshwater Fisheries Research Centre (FFRC) share knowledge, good practices on this model, which supports small-scale fish farmers at every link of the value chain

16/05/2024

Rome/Wuxi – A total of 22 government officials and FAO country programme officers from 15 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean took part in a training workshop on aquaparks, an innovative organizational model that was developed to support small-scale fish farmers at every link of the value chain.

Aquapark design follows the principles of the new Guidelines for Sustainable Aquaculture (GSA), which FAO Members have finalised after a global, comprehensive eight-year consultative process.

The workshop was co-organised by FAO and the Freshwater Fisheries Research Centre (FFRC) of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, whose experts shared knowledge through presentations, discussions, on-site practice, and field trips.

Participants learned good practices in planning and operating aquaparks, which are designed to improve the environmental, social, and economic performance of aquaculture using scientific solutions to differentiate and organize the chain of production: from inputs such as seed and feed to grow-out facilities to processing and marketing. This integrated approach mitigates risks and maximises benefits for farmers, cooperatives, and enterprises.

Aquaparks are based on the Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture (EAA), one of the guiding principles of the GSA. They include planning, zoning, infrastructure, and key inputs, from seed hatcheries and feed mills to roads, water, power, and waste treatment to technical and extension services, value-adding and market access.

For example, the Guangxi Largemouth Catfish (Silurus meridionalis) aquapark, a One Product One Province programme located in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, seamlessly integrates hatcheries and grow-outs, feed production, seafood processing, intelligent equipment, marketing, recreational fishing facilities and restaurants.

Workshop participants had the opportunity to visit diversified aquafarms for high-value species in China, such as Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis), Chinese tapertail anchovy (Coilia nasus), and American shad (Alosa sapidissima) in earthen ponds, and a facility that grows Australian red claw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) fingerlings using a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS).

They also visited a rice-fish farming integration aquapark that includes hatcheries, nurseries, and rice fields. The park provides marketing services for rice and fish, as well as ecotourism facilities and a museum about this ancient agroecological practice. The rice-fish integration model was designated as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) by FAO in 2005.

During the discussion and exchange session, participants expressed a strong interest in promoting aquaparks in Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, where sustainable aquaculture has the potential to meet the food security and nutrition needs of millions of people but is constrained by lack of investments and technical know-how.

The workshop ran from 23-29 October 2023 in the city of Wuxi in China. It was attended by ministry officers and representatives from Angola, Barbados, Brazil, Cameroon, Guinea, Nigeria, Madagascar, Malawi, the Philippines, Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal, St Kitts and Nevis, Tanzania, and Uganda.

About the GSA

The vision underlying the new Guidelines is of an aquaculture sector that contributes significantly to a world free from hunger and to the equitable improvement of the living standards of all actors in its value chains, including the poorest.

The Guidelines are global, voluntary, adaptable, and complementary to existing laws and regulations. They rest on the principles of sustainability, environmental stewardship, non-discrimination, the rule of law, equity and equality, participation, transparency and accountability, and the use of the EAA.

Countries and stakeholders can use the Guidelines to advance towards more productive, efficient, resilient, climate-smart, and socially and environmentally responsible agrifood systems, in which aquaculture fulfils its potential to meet the increasing demand for safe, nutritious, accessible, and affordable aquatic foods.