This handbook is designed to be a sourcebook for workers engaged in bringing knowledge and technology to fish farmers. It can also serve as a handy reference for fish farmers themselves. The articles in this handbook represent 19 months, starting from October 1978, of searching, compilation, editing, and cross-checking work by the staff of the Communications/Publications unit of the Institute of Aquaculture.

Classified under seven headings—general aquaculture information, milkfish, prawn, tilapia, molluscs, crabs and other species, and integrated farming—the articles emanate from various sources and contributions. Private aquaculturists, government technologists, researchers, and scientific workers, as well as scientists from other research centers and institutions and the research and technology staff of the SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department, have in various forms and manners furnished the materials for the articles in this handbook. The staff took the liberty of rewriting and reorganizing published or unpublished information with the sole view of making these available in a practical and compact form.

The publication of this handbook is one of the initiatives from SIA to develop the fish farming industry in partnership with the government, the research sector, and the aquaculture industry itself. The handbook will be updated and revised as new information and findings occur. We welcome suggestions to improve and make this handbook more meaningful and useful.