The project has increased awareness about the concept of Better Management Practices (BMPs) in shrimp farming and contributed to its promotion in the Asia-Pacific region. This project, built on the ongoing shrimp BMP programs in the Asia-Pacific region (e.g. Australia, Indonesia, India, Vietnam and Thailand) has created a robust regional mechanism for networking and exchange of information, specifically focused to benefit small-scale shrimp farmers in Asia, in reducing disease risks, improve yields, produce quality shrimp, access better markets, address socio-economic sustainability and comply with international principles. A dedicated BMP website int he NACA webpage has provided a platform for project partners and other BMP projects in the region to communicate and share information. Project activities and meetings have enable project partners to contribute to the following project outputs:
Strengthening communication and networking amongst BMP project implementers in the region
Development and dissemination of contextualized BMPs
Testing strategies for maximizing market opportunities for BMP-compliant small-scale farmers
Developing methodology for farmer group certification

The project has increased awareness about the concept of Better Management Practices (BMPs) in shrimp farming and contributed to its promotion in the Asia Pacific region. This project, built on the ongoing shrimp BMP programs in the Asia-Pacific region (e.g. Australia, Indonesia, India, Vietnam and Thailand) has created a robust regional mechanism for networking and exchange of information, specifically focused to benefit small-scale shrimp farmers in Asia, in reducing disease risks, improve yields, produce quality shrimp, access better markets, address socio-economic sustainability and comply with international principles. A dedicated BMP website in the NACA webpage has provided a platform for project partners and other BMP projects in the region to communicate and share information. Project activities and two project annual meetings have enabled project partners to contribute to the following project outputs:
Strengthening communication and networking amongst BMP project implementers in the region
Development and dissemination of contextualized BMPs
Testing strategies for maximizing market opportunities for BMP-compliant small scale farmers
Developing methodology for farmer group certification

The visibility of BMP programs has increased significantly in the region and as a result more and more NACA member governments are requesting NACA and other donors to establish BMP projects in their countries (e.g. Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh). As way forward, a concept project proposal on "Identifying challenges and opportunities for scaling up shrimp BMP adoption in the Asia- Pacific region" has been developed and submitted to ACIAR. Based on the lessons learned from shrimp BMP projects, new partnerships and projects are being developed in the region in order to develop, validate and implement commodity specific BMPs for other key aquaculture commodities (e.g. marine finfish, carps, tilapia, catfish).

The project provided an opportunity to bring together representatives from WWF, IUCN, Fish Wise, Lyon Seafood and ACIAR Aceh Aquaculture Rehabilitation Project to discuss issues surrounding small farmers, BMP adoption and market access during its second annual meeting. The project also facilitated participation of project partners in the ongoing WWF shrimp standards dialogue. In brief, the networking mechanism established by this ACIAR project is helping to promote the concept of responsible and sustainable shrimp farming in the Asia Pacific region.