SEAFDEC/AQD Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center | Aquaculture Department

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.

Seaweed farming, a multi-million dollar export industry in the Philippines, is at the centerpiece of a worldwide effort by scientists to better address the outbreak of diseases and pests that are plaguing the farms. With an estimated 116,000 families in the country reliant on seaweed farming, SEAFDEC/AQD as part of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF) GlobalSeaweedStar Project, is working to better understand outbreaks of “ice-ice” disease and epiphyte infestations in farms which have inflicted losses worth as much as 15 percent of the total seaweed production. According to Joseph Faisan, Jr. an associate researcher at SEAFDEC/AQD, “ice-ice” disease (IID) outbreaks are caused by extreme environmental conditions (temperature, salinity, pH, siltation) and are characterized …

  The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC), a regional treaty organization that promotes sustainable fisheries among its 11 member countries, welcomed the new deputy chief of its Aquaculture Department (AQD) based in Iloilo last Oct. 20, 2020. Dr. Sayaka Ito, a Japanese scientist with expertise in aquatic conservation biology, replaced fellow Japanese Dr. Koh-ichiro Mori who served as the Deputy Chief from April 2018 to June 2020 in this organization that is mandated to conduct scientific research to generate aquaculture technologies, develop skilled manpower for the aquaculture sector, and disseminate aquaculture information. Upon endorsement by the Government of Japan, SEAFDEC Secretary-General Malinee Smithrithee appointed Dr. Ito to a 2-year term from Oct. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2022 wherein …

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 …