This document contains the final report of and papers presented as lecture materials, to the On-Site Training on Mangrove-Friendly Aquaculture held in Hai Phong City, Socialist Republic of Vietnam from 19 to 30 April 1999. This document replaces the Advance Copy of the Report issued in May 1999. Fourteen experts on mangroves and aquaculture served as lecturers and resource persons. Technologies in Mangrove-Friendly Aquaculture, in general were introduced, taking into consideration the results of the Workshop on Mangrove-Friendly Aquaculture, 11-15 January 1999, Iloilo City, Philippines. The On-Site Training was participated in by 25 participants; 20 from Vietnam and 5 from Cambodia. The conduct of the On-Site draining was an offshoot of the Project SD/AQ99-CM01 with the SEAFDEC Secretariat which also allocated the necessary funds from the Japanese Trust Fund. The Canada-ASEAN Centre based in Singapore provided funds for the participation of the trainees from the Kingdom of Cambodia.

For centuries, several edible mollusc species are being collected for food by coastal communities from these mangrove ecosystems. The most common molluscs collected are cockles, various species of oysters, clams and cerithids. This paper attempts to discuss the most practical culture technologies that have been developed for some of the more important mollusc species that are cultured in Malaysia. In order of priority, these are Anadara granosa (blood cockle), Crassostrea iredalei (brackishwater slipper oyster), Crassostrea belcheri (mangrove oyster), and Cerithidia obtusa (horn shells).

This report refers to the status of aquaculture technologies in coastal areas in general. Some mangrove-friendly aquaculture systems in Vietnam are also discussed including several measures to develop aquaculture in mangroves suitably and sustainably.

This paper aims to describe Southeast Asian mangroves, the impacts of brackishwater pond culture on these ecosystems, and lessons from the region for the development of aquaculture in Malaysia.

Throughout the tropics, mangroves are being destroyed at an increasing rate for the development of aquaculture ponds. In the Philippines, for instance, mangroves were about 400,000 to 500,000 ha in 1918 but were reduced to 100,564 ha in 1987. On the average, about 3,500 ha of mangroves are lost every year in the country to accommodate the aquaculture industry (Baconguis et al., 1990). Loss of mangroves means loss of habitat, fishery, income, and livelihood for many coastal inhabitants. The annual catches of major fishing grounds in the Philippines were positively correlated with the areas of existing mangroves (Bagarinao, 1998). Restoration programs of the government such as mangrove reforestation and afforestation were attempted but could not catch up with the unending destruction. An alternative source of income which is directly supportive of resource management was therefore proposed to mitigate ecosystem degradation with the fisher communities in mind. Fishing villages in the Philippines are generally located in the fringes of arable land along coastal plains and are dependent on fishing as a source of income. The common denominator of these villages is the presence of large areas of tidal flats with existing mangroves. To utilize the aquaculture potential of these mangroves, aqua-mangrove integrated farming development projects were introduced to provide alternative livelihood for the fishers in the village. This integrated approach to conservation and utilization of mangrove resource allows for maintaining a relatively high level of integrity in the mangrove area while capitalizing on the economic benefits of brackishwater aquaculture. The projects took off from the concept of co-management, that is, taking into account the partnership between the local community, the local government unit, and the SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC/AQD) in the management of the project.