SEAFDEC/AQD Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center | Aquaculture Department
Dr. Leobert de la Peña is currently the head of the Research Division, Aquaculture Department of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC/AQD) in Iloilo, Philippines. He holds an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Fish Pathology from the Graduate School of Biosphere Sciences, Hiroshima University in Japan. He has over 30 years of experience in his field of expertise on shrimp and fish health management. As an author and co-author, he published more than 50 articles in scientific journals, extension manuals, book chapters, and conference proceedings. He is affiliated with the following organizations: the University of the Philippines Aquaculture Society, Inc.; the Philippine Society for Microbiology; and the Asian Fisheries Society (Fish Health Section). Dr. de la Peña maintains an active role in the academe as a thesis adviser and consultant for M.Sc. and Ph.D. students and a lecturer at the Division of Biological Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas. He is also a frequent resource speaker for local and international training courses and conferences. In the private sector, he is deeply involved as a consultant for shrimp and fish farms specifically for shrimp culture using pond liners, and greenwater and semi-closed systems as well as establishment and maintenance of Level I to III in-house diagnostic laboratories. He also establishes and audits biosecurity programs of several local hatcheries and grow-out farms.