The paper provides a short overview of Brazilian aquaculture production and some of the influences affecting its development. Data on total and species‐specific production are provided along with the locations, numbers of producers, their market contributions and influences. The focus is on some of the key groups, not all, especially tilapia, tambaqui, shrimp, prawn and mollusc farming. The wider influences on production including markets, management practices, technology, resources and research and also consumer and global influences are briefly mentioned to locate the developments in a wider context.

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Latin America and the Caribbean have an important role in the world production of aquatic animals. The region is among the most productive of regions, and apart from Asia and China, it occupies major position in terms of volume, with growth prospects of 33% in the next 10 years. Chile, with Brazil and Ecuador, accounted for 77% of the South America volume production. Together with Mexico and Peru, these countries contribute 87% of LAC's aquaculture production. We reviewed the main official documents and articles related to LAC's aquaculture production. Some production data are updated, others are not. Although the region has an important role in the production of food from aquatic animals, many challenges are faced in these countries.

This review outlines the available data on aquaculture injuries and diseases in Brazil along with the deficiencies in some official data. The information was obtained from the official statistical sources of Brazil, and in part, complemented by some of the few scientific studies in the area. Between 2013 and 2017, the number of injuries and work diseases in Brazilian aquaculture totalled 873 cases. The total injury claims between 2015 and 2017 were 477 cases, of which 31 are related to requests for medical aid; 345 work leave cases for less than 15 days and 96 cases for more than 15 days; and 4 fatal injuries. However, official statistical data for aquaculture may be underreporting, limited and fragmented, and the real picture may be even larger. Nevertheless, the available data provide a means to prioritize both ways of improving such statistics and, more importantly, to identify tentatively those diseases and injuries that require urgent preventative action. Also, this paper proposes some measures that may help to achieve further progress on the working conditions to reduce potential dangers.

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Health, safety and injury prevention actions should be prioritized in aquaculture, where workers are exposed to a wide range of risks. This paper is based on a scoping report by a group of international experts, funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and administered by Fisheries and Aquaculture Workers Network of the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF). Relevant literature was reviewed and the study drew on an international workshop to develop templates and related for regional and national aquaculture occupational safety and health (AOSH) profiles. The literature review included Scielo and Google Scholar databases as well as Google and Brazilian government websites. The searches included material in Portuguese, English and Spanish. The results reported here give an overview of Brazilian AOSH and hazards and cover Brazilian and relevant international worker health and safety laws and organization applicable to the particular hazards in aquaculture. There is a special emphasis on the position of children and women workers linked to the wider social organization of work and welfare, and finally the challenges to and possibilities for good AOSH. Despite major developments in aquaculture production, much still needs to be improved to ensure the safety and health of workers in the sector.

The main objective of this study was to develop a freely available mobile software application and education platform in health and safety for aquaculture workers and managers.  The application, called AquaSafe, was created in Portuguese and English for the Android system using the Java 8 programming language and the Android Studio development environment. AquaSafe content focusses on the identification of hazards and health risks, hazardous sources and preventive measures for occupational health and safety in the aquaculture sector. It has three predominantly interactive user interfaces to reinforce the main messages, which include games in the form of compliance checklists, quizzes and question-answer tools. The software is designed to act as a platform for assessment and management of occupational hazards, guide decision making on simple techniques or measures to prevent injuries, diseases and fatalities during aquaculture activities. It is envisaged that the AquaSafe mobile software will contribute to the prevention of occupational injuries and diseases in aquaculture.

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