Mud crab course: inspiring trainees

By Development Communication

Fourteen trainees – from the Philippines (7), Madagascar (5), France (1) and Japan (1) – finished the international training course on “Mud crab nursery and grow-out operations” from 20 to 29 November 2013 at Tigbauan, Iloilo. The training is a combination of lectures and practical exercises which help the participants understand the process of starting and managing a mud crab hatchery.

One of the trainees, Mr. Vincent Bernier from Madagascar expressed his gratitude to the resource speakers who shared their expertise with them. “I am confident that I will be able to set up a profitable and sustainable mud crab aquaculture business in my country,” he said. Mr. Alfonso Lim, of the private sector in the Philippines, had been haunted by his dreams of putting up a sustainable mud crab farm when he was living in Australia. He said, “I decided to come back to improve the system in my farm and luckily, this training was organized. I gained knowledge in operations, established connections with the scientists & experts, and I gained confidence to start a mud crab hatchery.” As for the academe, Mr. Aldrin Mel Macale of Bicol University said that the information learned in the training will be shared to people and will be used in further research on mud crab hatchery.