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INTRODUCTION
SINCE 1966, the Auburn University International Center for Aquaculture
has been under contract by USAID to aid in improving the freshwater fisheries
resources in Northeast Brazil. Preliminary survey trips to the semi-arid Northeast
were made in 1966, 1967, and 1968 by Auburn University personnel at the request
of DNOCS1 to evaluate methods of increasing the amount of animal protein from
fish that could be made available to the population of the area. These sur-
vey trips resulted in the recommendation that pond and laboratory facilities
be constructed and a research program established to determine the potential
of intensive fish culture in the Northeast. A site for the research center
was chosen in Pentecoste, Ceara, and construction of ponds was begun in early
1969. USAID entered into an agreement with DNOCS and SUDENEB to provide financial
and technical support to establish a freshwater research laboratory in Fortaieza,
Ceara. In November 1969, the Auburn University International Center for Aquaculture
was contracted by USAID to provide technical assistance in intensive fish
culture to DNOCS. Dr. Norris Jeffery was the technical advisor from November
1969 to November 1971. At the end of this 2-year contract, DNOCS asked USAID
to extend the present contract so that technical assistance in intensive fish
culture could be continued. Task Order 8 was finalized in March 1972 and the
author began his 2-year tour of duty on June 16, 1972. The scope of the author's
duties was:
1. Assist DNOCS and qualified private organizations and individuals
to program, develop, and implement effective methods of intensive freshwater
pond fish culture in Northeast Brazil.
2. Assist the Center for Ichthyological Research (a subdivision of
DNOCS for the development of freshwater fisheries in the Northeast) in the
development of its Northeast fisheries research program by providing technical
assistance in: (a) the design, construction, and operation of research demonstration
facilities specifically designed for intensive freshwater pond fish culture;
(b) the development of freshwater fish culture research to determine the most
effective combination of species for commercial fish culture, to perfect methods
of controlling fish diseases and parasites and weeds, and to test locally
available fish feeds; (c) the training of local technicians to assist the
private sector in establishing intensive freshwater pond fish culture techniques
and operations; and (d) the development of a DNOCS research facility to participate
in the comprehensive and systematic international information exchange system
on fish culture techniques.
Past developments in intensive fish culture and reservoir management,
as well as a description of the geography of the Northeast, can be found in
Progress Reports I and II on Fisheries Development in Northeast Brazil.3·4
" Assistant Professor, Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures
and International Center for Aquaculture.
' Departamento Nacional de Obras Contra as Secas ( National Department of
Works Against the Drought).
° SuDerintendencv for the Development of the Northeast.