| Naga
- The *ICLARM Quarterly
Vol.
22, No. 1 (January - March 1999)
Editorial
*ICLARM
is now calling for submissions for the Naga
Award competition. The award is given
to a scientific paper or book on any aspect of
fisheries and/or aquatic resources, written within
the last five years, that has had an impact in
the field of fisheries science. We are looking
forward to receiving nominations for the 1998
Naga Award. The winning entry will be announced
in 1999.
*ICLARM itself
is very proud to be one of the joint recipients
of the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research) Chairman's 1998 Excellence
in Science Award for Scientific Partnership. *ICLARM
and its partners in government, nongovernment
and national research institutions in several
countries worked together over 10 years to breed
an improved strain of the Nile tilapia through
selective breeding techniques. The new strain
developed is suited to many tropical environments
and has the potential to greatly enhance the productivity
and profitability of small-scale aquaculture in
developing countries (more on p. 53). We see this
award as a very positive step in our efforts to
direct attention and recognition to the fact that
fish and other aquatic resources are a very important
part of the world's food supply and employment
potential and must, therefore, be part of any
global models and plans for advances in agricultural
research and development to feed the world.
Although
scientific research by itself is rewarding for
the scientists and for enhancing the world's stock
of knowledge, it becomes doubly so when its applicability
and benefits can be directly demonstrated in ameliorating
one of the major human concerns today – food
security. In a follow-on project, this improved
tilapia breed has already demonstrated its potential
in field trials in Bangladesh, China, Thailand
and Vietnam. Fisheries organizations in these
and several other countries have started to introduce
the breed into their aquaculture systems and to
do further research on developing breeds more
suitable to their specific conditions. The selective
breeding technique is also going to be extended
and applied to carp – another highly prized
and widely consumed fish in developing countries
like China and India.
We
would like to congratulate all the individuals
and organizations that have worked together to
achieve this and hope that our "partnerships"
will result in many such successes.
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