Capture fisheries and aquaculture in Lao PDR are based on water resource ecosystems which consist mainly of rivers and streams, hydropower and irrigation reservoirs, diversion weirs, small water bodies, flood plains and wet-season rice-fields. The total area of water resources for capture fisheries is believed to be more than 1.2 million ha. The estimated consumption of inland fish in Lao PDR is approximately 167,922 tonnes per year while consumption of other aquatic animals is estimated at 40,581 tonnes per year. Most of the consumption is from internal production (i.e. imports are of minor importance), so these figures represent approximate catches or yield from fisheries. These estimated yields are conservatively valued at almost US$150 million per year. The people of Lao PDR, especially in the rural communities that account for more than 75 per cent of the population, still depend upon the country's fish and other aquatic animals as their most reliable sources of animal protein. The estimate of actual fish consumption per capita (kg/capita/ year) of inland fish is 24.5 kg, while other aquatic animals account for about 4.1 kg and marine products around 0.4 kg, to make a total of 29 kg of fish and aquatic products consumed per capita per year. As aquaculture in Lao PDR expands, many forms of production systems are being developed, for example pond culture, communal ponds, rice-cum-fish culture and cage culture. Most fish culture systems in Lao PDR are small-scale. Such forms of production systems are divided into sub-categories depending on the nature and main activity of the producers. According to the Department of Livestock and Fisheries, aquaculture production in 2007 accounted for 54,750 tonnes in an area of more than 42,000 ha, including cage culture in the Mekong and some tributaries. There has been a significant increase in intensive tilapia production in recent years in Lao PDR (MRC Technical Paper No. 5 April 2002) based on tilapia cage culture in the Mekong river and irrigation reservoirs. In last two years, an enterprising farmer has established about 360 cages. Constraints in the large-scale development of tilapia cage culture are the lack of technical support (e.g. extension services) to the farmers and insufficient supply of advanced fingerlings. Morever, tilapia cage culture in the Mekong river system is perceived to be difficult to sustain because of environmental factors such as river flooding and strong currents during the rainy season and the lack of water during the dry season.

The reality of declining quality of coastal areas has been evident for many developing countries, especially in Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, rural coastal zones and estuaries are now being characterized by declining wild fisheries resources and degrading environment. This paper presents, as an example, the typical rural coastal towns of New Washington and Batan in Aklan province, Philippines and showcases how the concept of shrimp stock enhancement can provide incentives to restore the environment and provide sustainable fishing livelihood in the area. The New Washington-Batan Estuary in northeast Panay Island, Philippines was a productive fishing ground that has been in a state of degenerating brackishwater fisheries and estuarine environment. Average daily catch composed of various species decreased from 24 kg in 1970s to 0.7 kg at present. Shrimp fisheries, the most important livelihood, declined in quality and quantity. The highly-priced and once very abundant tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon was replaced with smaller-sized and lower-priced species like the Metapenaeus ensis. These can be attributed to the conversion of 76% of mangroves to culture ponds in the past 50 years and more than 400% increase in fishing gears since the 1990s. The need to reduce fishing structures and rehabilitate mangroves is evident. However, these drastic changes directly affect fishers livelihood. This paper explores the prospects of P. monodon stock enhancement as positive reinforcement for the estuary s rehabilitation. Number of gears per fisher may have to be reduced but shrimp catches will be relatively high-priced. Simulations with additional tiger shrimp caught due to stock enhancement show that fishers can increase income by more than 4 times from their current PhP 34 gear-1 day-1. Campaigns on the importance of mangrove especially as shrimp habitat can encourage local communities to reforest the estuary especially in abandoned ponds. With effective management, law enforcement, and sustained support from different sectors, shrimp stock enhancement can be a positive strategy in estuarine rehabilitation and livelihood sustainability in the New Washington-Batan Estuary.

Contrary to the rapid increase in the world aquaculture production, fish production in Japan has been decreasing slightly due to the decreasing trend in seafood consumption of Japanese. Aquaculture production is approximately 20% in terms of yield, and 30% in terms of market value, of the country s total fisheries production. In Japan, about 80 species are targeted for release for sea ranching and resource enhancement purposes. The local governments (prefectures) are the main driving force in resource enhancement programs. Chum salmon, Oncorhynchus keta, and scallop Mizuhopecten yessoensisis are examples of successful resource enhancement in Japan. Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, and red seabream, Pagrus major, represent intensely released fish species in Japan, and around 10% of the total catch of those species are estimated as released fish. The low price of products and increasing costs of production, such as costs of fuel and fish meal, are the major pressing issues in coastal fisheries and aquaculture in Japan. For aquaculture, the guarantee of food safety, minimization of environmental impact, and management of natural stock populations are highly necessary in order to achieve the sustainability of the industry. For resource enhancement, budget constraint is the major issue, and possible impact on natural stocks caused by released fish should also be considered. The Government of Japan (GOJ) is implementing some measures to rectify unstable business practices of aquaculture and to improve production techniques in aquaculture. For resource enhancement, the GOJ encourages cooperation among local governments (prefectures) for seed production and release of certain targeted species in order to reduce the cost and improve the efficiency of stock enhancement. In Japan, traditionally, the purpose for release was mainly sea ranching, namely harvesting all released animals. Nowadays, actual resource enhancement, i.e. the integrated release program including resource management and development of suitable nursery for released fish, is encouraged by the government. The evaluation and counter measures for the negative impact of stocked fish on genetic diversity of the wild population are also implemented. Recently, marked progress was achieved in seed production technologies of two important tropical fish species, namely coral trout, Plectropomus leopardus, and humphead wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus. These technologies are expected to contribute to the advancement of the aquaculture industry in the South East Asian region.