This page contains reports and papers produced during the course of the three-year TROPECA project, along with some background papers about environmental capacity and aquaculture written by TROPECA partners.

(Adobe Acrobat Reader is available to read pdf documents as a free download - if you do not have it already you can click here to download)

For more information about the TROPECA project, visit the main project page, where details about the background, aims and recent developments on the project can be found. Visit the TROPECA links page for the contact details of the project partners and other useful links.

Background papers:
Concept of Environmental Capacity and its application to planning and management of coastal aquaculture M. A. Kabir Chowdhury, R.B. Shivappa & John Hambrey This paper reviews existing knowledge concerning the outputs of tropical aquaculture production and the environmental capacity of a range of coastal ecosystems, including mangroves, seagrass, coral reefs and exposed shores. General "rules of thumb" for estimating environmental capacity are presented ways of modelling environmental capacity are discussed.
Environmental Carrying Capacity for Aquaculture John Hambrey A brief Q & A fact sheet about why environmental carrying is important and its relevance to aquaculture.
Tropeca Reports:
October 2003 Trip Report
Cage culture (tilapia), Rajshahi, Bangladesh, Vietnam	Brackishwater shrimp farming, Doson
This report collates presentations by the research teams on the 5 case studies. It also outlines a reporting framework for the case studies and a dissemination plan for study outputs.
Cage Culture for the Sustainability of Rural Bangladesh Small-scale cage culture now provides an important income stream to many rural people of Bangladesh. This report, by Dr. Niamul Naser, studies the prospects, limiting factors and socioeconomic aspects encountered by these Bangladeshi fish farmers.
Status of Aquaculture and Associated Environmental Management Issues in Vietnam The development of aquaculture in Vietnam has evolved through different phases related to the political and economic circumstances of the country. This document by Le Anh Tuan of University of Fisheries, Nha Trang, examines the trends of aquaculture production and summarises the commonly cultured species and their culture areas.
Lobster Village Case Study in Vietnam John Hambrey This presentation by Le Anh Tuan examines the lobster cage culture in Xuan Tu village. In particular, the consequences of elevated nutrient concentrations caused by increasing density of lobster cages. The sampling methods aimed at measuring this nutrient accumulation within water, sediment and bottom fauna samples are detailed along with mass-balance models.
Proceedings of the Tropeca planning workshops
Proceedings from the two-day planning workshops held in Dhaka, Bangladesh and Nha Trang, Vietnam to raise awareness of the TROPECA project and identify case studies. The proceedings include an introduction to the TROPECA project, the use of environmental modelling and indicators, and the concept of environmental capacity and its application to the planning and management of aquaculture. The proposed case studies and discussions from each workshop are also presented.