Farm-level plans and husbandry measures for aquatic animal disease emergencies.

Disease is one of the gravest threats to the sustainability of the aquaculture industry. A good understanding of biosecurity and disease causation is essential for developing and implementing farm-level plans and husbandry measures to respond to disease emergencies. Using epidemiological approaches, it is possible to identify pond- and farm-level risk factors for disease outbreaks and develop intervention strategies. Better management practices (BMPs) should be simple, science-based, cost-effective and appropriate to their context if farmers are to adopt and implement them. As part of a regional initiative by the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA) to control aquatic animal diseases, effective extension approaches to promote the widespread adoption of BMPs have been developed in India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, and have proved their worth. A highly successful programme, which addresses rising concerns about the effect of disease on the sustainability of shrimp farming in India, is now in its seventh year. In this paper, the authors present a brief insight into the details of the programme, its outcomes and impact, the lessons learned and the way forward.