SEAFDEC/AQD Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center | Aquaculture Department
Dr. Leobert D. de la Peña, Head of the Research Division at SEAFDEC/AQD, presented on fish disease issues in the Philippines at an international symposium held on 8 December 2025 in Tokyo, Japan.
The Institute for Aquaculture Biotechnology (IAB) of the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology (TUMSAT) invited Dr. de la Peña to deliver his presentation at its Shinagawa Campus. The symposium was broadcast globally as a virtual conference themed “Challenges and Expectations in Fish Disease Research.”
Dr. de la Peña and five other fish disease specialists delivered critical updates on the current status and future outlook of fish disease issues in their respective countries and Southeast Asia.
Other speakers included Dr. Jumroensri Thawonsuwan, Director, Songkhla Aquatic Animal Health Research and Development Center, Thailand; Prof. Mohammad Tamrin bin Mohamad Lal, Associate Professor, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Malaysia; Prof. Sukenda Darja, Professor, Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), Indonesia; Dr. Lua Dang, Director General, Research Institute for Aquaculture No.1, Vietnam; and Dr. Eduardo Leaño, Director General, Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA).
On 9 December, the speakers again presented on “Aquatic Animal Health in Southeast Asia: Current issues and prospects” in an in-person Graduate School Seminar at IAB. The follow-up seminar allowed for a deeper discussion with TUMSAT graduate students.
