On 31 January, fresh milkfish will be harvested from AQD’s Dumangas Brackishwater Station. You can buy milkfish with sizes 250 g – 400 g ranging from Php 80 to Php 100 per kg. Place your orders on or before 30 January through AQD’s Materials Control Unit at (033) 511-8091 or (033) 511-9171 loc 320.

For the year 2012, SEAFDEC/AQD published 25 scientific papers in ISI-CC covered journals and conference proceedings which add up to a total of 1,388 scientific papers since 1973.

Images featuring AQD's Christmas 2012 celebration

SEAFDEC/AQD signed an agreement with Hong Kong-based Kiko Technology for a test trial of their new product called Tritan (designed to improve water quality). The signing was held on 16 January at AQD’s main station in Tigbauan, Iloilo, Philippines.

The Malacological Society of the Philippines Inc and SEAFDEC/AQD co-organized the 6th National Malacological Convention and training in the collection and identification of coastal mollusks in the Philippines. This was held 15-19 December 2012 at FishWorld, AQD’s museum/visitor center in Tigbauan, Iloilo, Philippines.

SEAFDEC/AQD scientist Dr. Ma. Lourdes Aralar was invited by the Southern Leyte State University (SLSU) - Bontoc Campus to be a plenary speaker in the First international giant freshwater prawn congress held 9-11 January in Southern Leyte, Philippines.

SEAFDEC/AQD Institutional Repository (SAIR) was given the 2012 Outstanding Library Program award by the Philippine Association of Academic and Research Librarians Inc (PAARL). SAIR is the official digital repository of scholarly and research information of the department; this is to enable the effective dissemination of AQD publications for its stakeholders. View SAIR here http://repository.seafdec.org.ph/

The Association of Special Libraries of the Philippines (ASLP) in partnership with SEAFDEC/AQD will hold a seminar/training-workshop on 15 to 17 May 2013 entitled “Organize IT Digitally, Open-Source Tools for your Library (Training on the use of Koha, DSpace and Greenstone Digital Library)”. For more information, please email aslpboard@yahoo.com and library@seafdec.org.ph.

SEAFDEC/AQD’s Dumangas Brackishwater Station (DBS) is harvesting around 120-130 kilos of sea bass on 28 January. The retail price of the 250 gram-sized sea bass is Php 180 per kg. You may get in touch with AQD’s Materials Control Unit at (033) 511-8091 or (033) 511-9171 loc 320 for your orders.

The new year brings new learners to SEAFDEC/AQD. The first is Mr. Benny Lim, a college student from Brunei Darussalam studying in Winchester, United Kingdom  and 12 graduating students from the School of Veterinary Medicine of Aklan State University (ASU).

SEAFDEC/AQD’s research-and-development work was promoted during the 5^th Aquatic fair and bazaar held 7-9 December 2012 in Quezon City, Philippines.

There will be another tilapia harvest from AQD’s project site in Concepcion, Iloilo on 18 January. The selling prices range from Php 95 to Php 130 per kg for sizes 200–400 g per piece. You may place your orders through AQD’s Materials Control Unit at (033) 511-8091 or (033) 511-9171 loc 320.

[pdf issuu_pdf_id=”130116022551-af2d1a4d81184c0d9d4543172fb3c81e”]

Around 500 kg of tilapia will be harvested on 11 January at AQD’s project site in Concepcion, Iloilo. You can buy the tilapia (200–400 g per piece) at Php 95– 130 per kg. To place your orders, please call AQD’s Materials Control Unit at (033) 511-8091 or (033) 511-9171 loc 320.

Mud crabs can be grown in pens installed in existing mangroves for up to 3 months. The pen can be rectangular, square or irregular shape and the size ranges from 500-1,000 m2. The use of net enclosures in mangroves offers an alternative to pond culture. It also promotes a better image for brackishwater aquaculture that had been linked to the historical clear-cutting of mangroves to make way to ponds. Lean crabs may also be fattened using pens set in mangroves within 30-45 days. Mud crab pen culture is recommended in sites with mature mangrove trees in lower part of the intertidal zone. Procedure: Enclose the selected area with bamboo slats or nets (durable enough that cannot be destroyed by crabs) …

Crabs are commonly cultured with fish in earthen brackishwater pond.  Cannibalism in crabs is reduced by lowering the stocking density and maximizing the space by stocking fish. Common combination of crab is milkfish. Crabs (15 g to 30 g) are stocked in the pond with fish and grown for 3 to 5 months. The culture period depends on the initial size of crabs and fish and the stocking density. Two or more crops may be done in a year, depending on the desired crab size at harvest. Procedure: Prepare pond using standard procedure. Grow natural food such as ‘lablab’, plankton and other natural food prior to stocking. Stock milkfish fingerlings at 2,000-3,000/ha and crab juveniles at 500-800/ha. Acclimate animals to …

Nursery is the intermediate phase between hatchery and grow-out. Crabs with 0.6-1.0 cm carapace width (CW) (Fig. 1) are cultured to 1.5-2.0 cm CW in net cages installed inside the pond (Fig. 2), in a pond fenced/lined with nets (Fig. 3), or in a pond provided with net fence along the dikes (Fig. 4). Some farmers prefer bigger crabs than 1.5-2.0 cm for stocking so crabs are further grown to 3.0-4.0 cm (Fig. 5) in ponds lined or fenced with nets or dikes installed with net fence (Phase 2) prior to stocking in grow-out ponds. Phase 1 and 2 may be done one after the other separately or continuously using the same pond compartment. The culture period is 3-4 weeks …

Although the technology applies to all the three species of mud crab (Scylla serrata, S. tranquebarica, and S. olivacea) available in the Philippines, S. serrata or the giant/king crab has been the focus of culture in the hatchery/nursery and grow-out pond due to its economic viability. Procedure: Obtain healthy adult crabs 500-700 g for S. serrata and 320-500 g for S. tranquebarica and S. olivacea with orange ovaries (‘aligi’) and complete legs as source of broodstock from ponds or traders. Put crabs in an empty basin and pour seawater over them slowly.  Transfer crabs to basin containing 150 ppm formalin for 30 minutes to disinfect. Transfer crabs in tanks provided with sand substrate. Feed crabs with mussel, fish and/or marine …

Why mangrove crab culture?                                                                    High demand in local and export markets Large and good taste Polyculture with milkfsh, tilapia or siganids Easy to transport Culture in mangroves Investment for people’s cooperatives and fisherfolk organizations with tenure of mangrove area SEAFDEC/AQD’s work on mangrove crab   Studies on mangrove crab at the SEAFDEC/AQD started in 1977, but were soon discontinued to give way to a priority shrimp species, Penaeus monodon. Studies were resumed in 1997 in collaboration with Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) mainly to develop …