The issues of aquatic animal health (AAH) in aquaculture were identified as highly critical during the implementation of the capacity building on aquaculture. Different kinds of fish diseases are common in the lagoon areas, which adversely affects local people's livelihoods.

To improve the understanding of AAH status and promote systematic response to fish disease outbreaks in the Province, the IMOLA Project has assisted the implementation of the AAH survey for Thua Thien Hue Province, with the Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Extension Center (which now covers fisheries as well), in collaboration with a team of AAH experts in the country.

A series of training workshops were organized to build capacity of commune, district, and provincial officials in proper data collection, recording and management, and analysis for disease control, which would build a foundation for the future establishment of an effective surveillance system. The training was provided in steps along with the actual implementation of the survey, as an integral part of this capacity building process.

The training workshops-cum-survey were provided with the following order for shrimp and freshwater fish respectively:

This capacity building and survey process was unique in a sense that the majority of the survey was implemented by government (provincial extension center) officials without much intervension of external consultants. The way the survey was designed had enhanced the ownership towards the survey results by the government.