FAO/NACA Regional Workshop on the Future of Mariculture: a Regional Approach for Responsible Development in the Asia-Pacific Region. Guangzhou, China, 7–11 March 2006.

Aquaculture in the Southeast Asian region has been growing steadily over the last few decades, requiring more space to accommodate it. The search for additional areas to expand the aquaculture industry as a whole and the identification of new farming species of commercial value to satisfy the growing local and export markets are pushing the sector in some countries to broaden activities in the sea, including further offshore where more space is available and where, to a lesser extent, competition is currently not so intense. The Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA) organized the regional workshop entitled "The Future of Mariculture: a Regional Approach for Responsible Development in the Asia-Pacific Region" from 7 to 11 March 2006. The workshop was conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Fisheries of the People’s Republic of China and the Guangdong Ocean and Fisheries Administration. The workshop was convened in response to requests from FAO and NACA Member countries to identify key trends and issues affecting mariculture growth in the Asia-Pacific region and to strengthen regional collaboration for future responsible development of mariculture.