LAUSR

Abstract Biosecurity has been identified as a core concept for Asian freshwater aquaculture for purposes of food safety, aquaculture sustainability, and trade. To our knowledge, no published studies have evaluated producers' knowledge of biosecurity and biosecurity practices in Chinese aquaculture. We carried out a questionnaire-based knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) survey of farmers culturing yellow catfish in Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces in China. Yellow catfish is a freshwater fish with high market value, and is mostly cultured in ponds on small-scale farms. The purpose of the survey was to evaluate biosecurity practices currently applied on those freshwater farms. Eighty-seven farmers in Guandong (n = 44) and Zhejang (n = 43) were interviewed, and 50 (57.5%) farmers completed responses to all KAP questions. Demographics of participating farmers and their responses to each question were described. We developed a KAP index to categorize and subcategorize KAP questions, and assigned scores to farmers' original answers to each question. Every farmer was evaluated with both numeric scores for their farm-level biosecurity and with score categories of “Good” (≥ 75%), “Fair” (50% to 75%), and “Poor” ( Statement of relevance Chinese yellow catfish producers need additional guidance on the importance and implementation of biosecurity principles for pond systems.