EXAMINING THE RELEVANCE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AQUACULTURE COMPENDIUM

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY: The Aquaculture Compendium is an encyclopedic, multimedia tool that brings together a wide range of different types of science-based information to support sound decision-making in aquaculture and aquatic resource management worldwide. It is comprised of information sourced from experts, edited and compiled by an independent scientific organization, and resourced by a diverse international Development Consortium. The datasheets are enhanced with data from specialist organizations, images, maps, a bibliographic database and full text articles. New datasheets and datasets continue to be added, reviewed and updated (Wikipedia, 2016).

Aquaculture compendium covers fish, molluscs, crustacea, algae and live feed culture in marine, brackish and freshwater environments, including: Production, health and husbandry/Engineering and technology/Economics, economic development and marketing/Environment/Governance, trade, legislation and social impact (Scott, 2003). Increasing pressure on wild capture fisheries from rising global demand for fish and other aquatic resources has resulted in moves to promote the potential of aquaculture, or fish farming. Aquaculture has the potential to improve socio-economic conditions and environmental sustainability, both in coastal settings and through preservation of wild fisheries and their associated ecosystems. Asia produced more than 90 per cent of all global aquaculture products as well as providing an important source of food security and dietary protein (Scott, 2003).

Despite this aquaculture is limited by a lack of knowledge and information. This is particularly the case in the areas of environmental management and sustainability. Knowledge about aquaculture in rural settings is also limited, including from a systems viewpoint. A recent study in Thailand where extension materials were disseminated after development through farmer participatory approaches led to significant yield increases. This shortfall in the knowledge base led to the development of aquaculture compendium (Scott, 2003). A substantial research knowledge base for rural aquaculture has been developed over the past few years. This knowledge suggests a yield gap between current and potential levels is real for smallholders. Poor knowledge about many areas of aquaculture is the reason, yet much of this knowledge is contained within the research knowledge base. Compendium Technology can be used to organize and present this knowledge to extension networks to help increase information and reduce the existing yield gap.