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Being a scientist was never part of his career plan, but this young researcher is already making waves in aquaculture research with his award-winning study on the giant grouper, a “threatened” fish locally known as lapu-lapu. Peter Palma and his team recently bagged the prestigious Dr. Elvira O. Tan Awards – Outstanding Published Paper in the Aquatic Science Category for their paper that studied the sexual development of the hermaphrodite fish and debunked presumed norms on the origin of the male giant grouper. Their paper titled “Reproductive development of the threatened giant grouper Epinephelus lanceolatus,” published in the Aquaculture Journal last July 2019, presented evidence that male giant grouper do not need to pass through a female stage at an earlier …

Stephen Alayon, head of the Library and Data Banking Services Section, joins the roster of Outstanding Professional Awardees chosen by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) of the Philippines. Under the Business Education and Social Services Cluster, Alayon is the sole librarian bestowed with the award. According to PRC, the Outstanding Professional of the Year award is the highest recognition conferred by the commission to individuals who excelled and contributed significant impacts to society in their line of expertise. He finished both Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Master of Education (Mathematics) degrees at the University of the Philippines Visayas. He also graduated with a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree at the Central Philippine University (CPU). Under …

In a bid to produce more of this aquaculture superfood and as efficiently as possible, Mandario recently established the optimal light conditions for the polychaete hatchery where the mudworm eggs are hatched, and larvae are nursed. The finding is important because the 10,000 species of polychaetes have varying responses to light at their different life stages.

Learning online isn’t just for students, it is also for the Philippines’ aquaculture extension workers who listened to lectures and practical sessions on milkfish and mangrove crab culture via an online platform. Forty-eight participants, mostly staff of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) from the different administrative regions, recently completed the FishKwela Training Course to enhance their skills on the hatchery production of milkfish and mangrove crab. The training course was the first technology and commodity-based online training course prepared by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC/AQD) in collaboration with the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI). Although SEAFDEC/AQD has been conducting online courses on fish health management and aquaculture nutrition since 2002, Caryl …

AFFORDABLE and sustainable feed ingredients for fish farmers are in the works as researchers continue to develop fish diet formulations using discarded agricultural wastes and byproducts. Dr. Frolan Aya, a scientist at the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC/AQD), and his colleagues examined agricultural wastes and byproducts for potential inclusion in diets formulated for omnivorous fish such as Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in their study, “Potential use of agricultural wastes in aquafeed production.” Fruit peels, pulps or brans, seeds, bagasse (sugarcane residue), molasses, and okara (soybean curd residue) comprise 40 to 60 percent of wastes generated from major crop industries such as coconut, banana, pineapple, mango, citrus, and sugarcane. While these agri-wastes have found some use as organic …

How much disease-causing bacteria can tilapia tolerate?  A recently published study provides a glimpse, at least for Aeromonas, a type of waterborne bacteria.

The coral reefs north of Negros Island are once more teeming with seahorses after a seven-year partnership between researchers and the local island community successfully protected and replenished their wild population. At Molocaboc Island in Sagay City, Negros Occidental, divers assisted in scientific surveys of seahorse populations, technicians maintained seahorse breeding facilities, the local government’s Bantay Dagat (sea patrol) enforced protection, and schools gladly embraced information and educations campaigns. The island is within the Sagay Marine Reserve, a marine protected area chosen as the project site of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC/AQD) to protect and revive the dwindling population of the tiger tail seahorse (Hippocampus comes).   During assessments done from 2012 to 2013, local divers …

“Let us save our native catfish by conservation, management, breeding, and culture before it is too late. We must act immediately, and the future is now.”

By recycling excess nutrients that would otherwise have been released to the environment, a shrimp farm harvested almost 13 tons of shrimp worth P3.3 million (US$67,694) after just over 4 months of culture.

As part of the shrimp hatchery complex of SEAFDEC/AQD, a small facility has been serving to regularly quarantine and test incoming tiger shrimp spawners for viruses that plague shrimp farms.

Aquafarmers from Capiz province, dubbed “the seafood capital of the Philippines,” are feeling the sting of the pandemic as transport restrictions have driven down prices given the difficulties in distributing their milkfish, crab, and shrimp produce.

Dr. Koh-ichiro Mori wrapped up his stint as the outgoing Deputy Chief of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center/Aquaculture Department.

To help bolster the supply of seafood and sustain the development of the fish farming industry during a pandemic, SEAFDEC/AQD is fast-tracking the development of online training courses. Distance learning courses are conducted through online learning platforms, where participants can access lecture notes, instructional materials, activities, and even examinations.

Recognizing the importance of science and research for food security, the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center/Aquaculture Department encourages students to pursue research in aquaculture while opening the doors of its laboratory facilities.

Sandfish is one of the most threatened tropical sea cucumbers because of its high price, reaching up to $1,600 per kilogram (approximately P80,800) when processed and dried into trepang or beche-de-mer which are used in exotic Asian cuisine and medicinal products.

Losses experienced by some crab farmers in the Philippines were traced to the very low survival of crablets that were misidentified as the popular king crab

High mortalities experienced by crab farmers in Capiz Province in the Philippines have been linked to the high turbidity of Panay River and poor quality of trash fish which is fed to the crabs.

Production and delivery of aquaculture seeds remain uninterrupted at SEAFDEC/AQD based in Tigbauan, Iloilo despite the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) imposed in Iloilo and surrounding provinces.

Since December 2019 to February 2020, during otherwise zero-production-months, a total of 23 million good eggs were collected from the heated tank that contained 76 breeders. From these, almost 13 million normal larvae were hatched.

Improved feeding and water management helped them achieve higher survival, reaching as much as 10 percent from hatching to crablet sometime last year, which contributed to the hatchery’s production of over 650,000 pieces of crablets for 2019.