Aquaculture in Myanmar has great potential due to its geographical and abundance of natural resources. However, traditional extensive fish farming is practiced and the production is generally low. To improve the aquaculture sector in a sustainable way, one important obligation is to develop the capacity of human resources who have strong knowledge in aquaculture and fisheries.Therefore, universities and vocational training centres play an important role in support of developing a sustainable aquaculture and fisheries sector. Until 2013, specialization for fisheries and aquaculture had not been established in Universities in Myanmar. In most universities, curricula regarding ichthyology are extremely limited and embedded in the Departments of Zoology.
In 2014, USAID's project 'Developing a Sustainable Seafood Industry Infrastructure in Myanmar' had been launched. The partnerships between the University of Arizona, Auburn University, University of Yangon (UY), Pathein University and the other institutions were designed to expand the capacity of higher education institutions in Myanmar to support the development of a intensive marine and inland fisheries sector. During the three years of project, we developed Seafood Safety Laboratory in UY. That laboratory has been established not only for teaching and research laboratory, but also for training and laboratory service for faculty, students and farmers.
In 2017, according to the country needs, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation have selected UY to established a new undergraduate study program for Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Fisheries and Aquaculture within the Academic Year 2018. This is the first Fisheries and Aquaculture program in tertiary education in the country.
Based on the needs of Government and private sector, German International Cooperation (GIZ) launched the 'Myanmar Sustainable Aquaculture Programme (MYSAP)'. Main targets of MYSAP in education sectors are the promotion of vocational and university education and universities research capacities. Thus, it supports the development and establishment of a (BSc) degree curriculum in Fisheries and Aquaculture and a Master of Science (MSc) degree curriculum for Aquaculture. Within the 4 years implementation phase (2018-2021), the program has assisted a series of workshops to selected faculty members to facilitate future fisheries and aquaculture bachelor and master degree classes. The program also set up the Aquaculture Campus in UY that includes lecture and laboratory facilities.
In March 2019, the laboratory has been upgraded to Departmental level, Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, as one the 22 departments of University of Yangon. In near future, globally competent faculty and students from UY coordinate research, teaching and service activity to develop the sustainable fisheries and aquaculture sectors in Myanmar.