• 

  Book

  Philippine National Standard: Dried anchovies 

  Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards - 2016 - Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards

  This PNS for dried anchovies aims to provide a common understanding on the scope of the standard, product description, process description, essential composition and quality factors, food additives, contaminants, hygiene and handling, packaging and labeling, methods of sampling, examination and analysis, definition of defectives and lot acceptance.
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  Book

  Philippine National Standard: Pasteurized crab meat 

  Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards - 2016 - Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards

  This PNS for pasteurized crab meat aims to provide a common understanding on the scope of the standard, product description, process description, essential composition and quality factors, food additives, contaminants, hygiene and handling, packaging and labeling, methods of sampling, examination and analysis, definition of defectives and lot acceptance.
• 

  Book

  Philippine National Standard: Live mangrove crab 

  Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards - 2016 - Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards

  This PNS for live mangrove crab aims to provide a common understanding on the scope of the standard, product description, process description, essential composition and quality factors, food additives, contaminants, hygiene and handling, packaging and labeling, methods of sampling, examination and analysis, definition of defectives and lot acceptance.
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  Book

  Philippine National Standard: Organic aquaculture feeds 

  Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards - 2016 - Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards

  The Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS) in line with its mandate under Republic Act 10068 or the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, initiated the development of Philippine National Standard (PNS) for Organic Aquaculture Feeds to address the needs of the organic aquaculture industry. It aims to provide minimum requirements for the production of organic feeds for organic aquaculture animals.

  The PNS for Organic Aquaculture Feeds was developed by the Technical Working Group (TWG) organized by the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS) through a Department of Agriculture (DA) Special Order No.183, Series of 2015. The TWG is composed of members representing the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Organic Certification Center of the Philippines (OCCP), Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC-AQD), Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) and Central Luzon State University (CLSU). This PNS was presented and reviewed during the consultative meetings with the concerned stakeholders in Region I (Pangasinan), XI (Davao City) and NCR (Quezon City). Comments gathered during the consultations were carefully evaluated by the TWG and included accordingly in the final version of this standard. Drawn from the general principles of the PNS on Organic Aquaculture, this PNS on Organic Aquaculture Feeds attempts to cover the aquaculture feed formulation and preparation in order to ensure the integrity of organic products. The requirements for the inclusion of feed additives, processing aids and other ingredients and criteria for the development of the list of ingredients shall follow the PNS for Organic Aquaculture and Organic Agriculture.

  This PNS identifies the minimum requirements on the organic aquaculture feed products and forms, essential composition and quality factors (including raw materials, feed additives, processing aids and other ingredients), hygiene and handling, packaging and labeling, methods of sampling, examination and analysis and definition of defectives.
• 

  Book

  Philippine National Standard: Organic aquaculture 

  Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards - 2016 - Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards

  The Philippine National Standard (PNS) for Organic Aquaculture (PNS/BAFS 112:2016) was originally prepared and adopted in 2012. Organic aquaculture encourages polyculture production system, promotes the use of indigenous/endemic species under the extensive and semi-intensive culture systems, reduces/minimizes inputs of artificial ingredients, prohibits the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and considers ecological conditions necessary for sustainable aquaculture production.

  The PNS for Organic Aquaculture was revised by the Technical Working Group (TWG) organized by the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS) through a Department of Agriculture (DA) Special Order No.476, Series of 2015. The TWG is composed of members representing the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Organic Certification Center of the Philippines (OCCP), Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC-AQD), Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) and Central Luzon State University (CLSU). This PNS was presented and reviewed during the consultative meetings with the concerned stakeholders in Region I (Pangasinan) and Region XI (Davao City). Comments gathered during the consultations were carefully evaluated by the TWG and included accordingly in the final version of this standard. Drawn from the general principles of the Philippine National Standard on Organic Agriculture, this PNS on Organic Aquaculture attempts to cover the aquaculture production and postharvest operations in order to ensure the integrity of organic products. The requirements for the inclusion of Substances and Criteria for the development of the list of substances shall follow the Philippine National Standards for Organic Aquaculture and the Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labelling and Marketing of Organically Produced Foods (GL 32-1999).

  The revision of this PNS was undertaken in order to achieve equivalence with the existing international standards and its future amendment, and takes into consideration the new developments and inclusion of the identified potential species for organic aquaculture. Thus, this PNS identifies minimum requirements on documentation, conversion to organic aquaculture, parallel production, selection of site, interaction with surrounding ecosystem, organic fertilization, aquatic plants, aquatic animal sources/origin, breeding and hatchery management, aquatic animal nutrition and feeding, aquatic animal health and welfare, harvesting, post-harvest handling, transport and processing, storage, and social aspects.
• 

  Book | Conference publication

  Resource enhancement and sustainable aquaculture practices in Southeast Asia: challenges in responsible production of aquatic species : proceedings of the international workshop on resource enhancement and sustainable aquaculture practices in Southeast Asia 2014 (RESA) 

  MRR Romana-Eguia, FD Parado-Estepa, ND Salayo & MJH Lebata-Ramos (Eds.) - 2015 - Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center

  The conference was held in order to promote and augment regional initiatives on resource enhancement and sustainable aquaculture practices, and to contribute to poverty alleviation, livelihood and food security in Southeast Asia. The contributions of the selected participants during the conference which are contained in this volume are cited individually.
• 

  Conference paper

  Updates on the seed production of mud crab 

  ET Quinitio, FD Parado-Estepa, JJ Huervana & MR Burlas - In MRR Romana-Eguia, FD Parado-Estepa, ND Salayo & MJH Lebata-Ramos (Eds.), Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia: Challenges in Responsible Production … International Workshop on Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia 2014 (RESA), 2015 - Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center

  Widespread interest in mud crab species is increasing because these are highly prized both in domestic and export markets. Among the three mud crab species commonly found in the Philippines, Scylla serrata, S. olivacea, and S. tranquebarica, S. serrata is preferred by farmers because it is larger and less aggressive than the other species. Likewise, S. serrata is the most widely distributed species in the Indo-west Pacific region.

  Hatchery-produced seedstock are presently used by some crab farmers in their grow-out operations. In the hatchery phase, feeding mud crab larvae with shrimp formulated diets and natural food was found to reduce the occurrence of molt death syndrome, one of the major problems in seed production. Larvae given 25% formulated diet (FD) + 75% natural food (NF; rotifers and Artemia) and 50% FD + 50% NF showed better performance than those larvae fed 100% FD, 100% NF and 75% FD + 25% NF indicating that usage of natural food, especially the expensive Artemia, can be reduced. Since the early crab instar (C) produced in the hatchery need to be grown further before stocking in grow-out ponds, two phases of nursery culture have been developed. C1-2 are grown to 1.5-2.0 cm carapace width (CW) size in the first phase and further grown to 3.0-4.0 cm CW in the second phase. Nursery rearing is done in net cages installed in ponds for easy retrieval. A combination of mussel or trash fish and formulated diet is used as feed.

  Domestication of the mud crab S. serrata as a prerequisite to selective breeding has been done at SEAFDEC/AQD. Likewise, defining criteria for the determination of quality of newly hatched zoeae for stocking in the hatchery was initiated. Newly hatched zoeae were subjected to starvation and stress test using formalin. Starvation failed to elicit responses that were significantly different between the good and poor quality larvae hence it is not suitable for larval quality evaluation. Based on three-year data, the formalin stress test gave mean cumulative mortalities of 2.38±0.32, 8.24±0.88, 20±1.58 in good quality larvae, and 43.74±2.39 while 22.93±4.19, 63.68±7.17, 84.29±3.88 and 97.65±1.06 for poor quality larvae at 0 (control), 20, 30 and 40 ppm formalin, respectively. As formalin level increased, cumulative larval mortality also increased regardless of the quality of the larvae. Formalin stress test proved to be a reliable method to determine whether a batch of newly hatched zoeae was of good or poor quality.
• 

  Conference paper

  Potential of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) meal as an alternative protein source in diets for giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii, de Man 1879) 

  FA Aya, ML Cuvin-Aralar & RM Coloso - In MRR Romana-Eguia, FD Parado-Estepa, ND Salayo & MJH Lebata-Ramos (Eds.), Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia: Challenges in Responsible Production … International Workshop on Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia 2014 (RESA), 2015 - Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center

  Growth trials were conducted to evaluate cowpea Vigna unguiculata (L.) meal as a potential protein source in diets for giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii (de Man 1879), reared in tank and lake-based cages. Five isonitrogenous (approximately 37% crude protein) and isocaloric diets were formulated where fish meal (FM) protein was replaced with 0%, 15%, 30%, 45% and 60% cowpea meal protein (or CP0, CP15, CP30, CP45, and CP60, respectively). Results of an 8-week tank trial showed that the final body weight (FBW), percent weight gain, specific growth rate (SGR) and survival of prawns were not significantly influenced by dietary treatments (P > 0.05), although the highest values, except for survival, were observed with CP45. In a lakebased cage trial that lasted for 16 weeks, prawns fed CP30 and CP45 had significantly higher FBW (13.1 and 14.4 g, respectively) compared to other treatment groups (P < 0.05). SGR (4.52 5.00%/ day), survival rates (53-77%), yield (98.5-116.5 g m-2) and feed conversion ratio (FCR; 2.0-2.7) were not affected by increasing levels of cowpea meal in the diets. Based on these results, cowpea meal can be considered as an alternative protein source in diets for M. rosenbergii.
• 

  Conference paper

  Utilization of sensors and SMS technology to remotely maintain the level of dissolved oxygen, salinity and temperature of fishponds 

  RC Munoz, RP Calderon, RC Flores, SC Masangcap & JP Angeles - In MRR Romana-Eguia, FD Parado-Estepa, ND Salayo & MJH Lebata-Ramos (Eds.), Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia: Challenges in Responsible Production … International Workshop on Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia 2014 (RESA), 2015 - Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center

  Due to the occurrence of fish kills in various fish producing areas in our country, millions of pesos and opportunities for the Filipino people had been put into waste. Bataan Peninsula State University (BPSU) collaborated with the Central Luzon Association of Small-scale Aquaculture to devise strategies to address the said problem and prevent further losses.

  More often than not, a fish kill can be attributed to the low level of dissolved oxygen (DO) in the water, decrease or increase in salinity and sudden increase in temperature, which usually occur after heavy rainfall, flooding or high tide, or high levels of ammonia due to decomposing organic matter and high temperature during summer.

  For these reasons, BPSU researchers tested the use of radio frequencies and installed sensors in different areas of the fishpond at various depths to remotely monitor the levels of DO, salinity and temperature of the water. Once these reach critical levels, the installed system which comes with a specific program, will send an alarm through radio frequencies via Short Messaging Services (SMS) technology on the cellular/mobile phone of the caretaker or the fishpond operator. Upon receiving the alarm, caretakers were able to adjust the levels of dissolved oxygen, salinity and temperature of the water by remotely switching on the air compressor or the electric water pump using their cellular/ mobile phone, thus preventing losses due to fish kills.
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  Conference paper

  Seed production of the blue swimming crab (Portunus pelagicus) 

  NS Cabacaba & JE Salamida - In MRR Romana-Eguia, FD Parado-Estepa, ND Salayo & MJH Lebata-Ramos (Eds.), Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia: Challenges in Responsible Production … International Workshop on Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia 2014 (RESA), 2015 - Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center

  The blue swimming crab, Portunus pelagicus, is becoming a commercially important species in the Philippines. The expanding export market for crabs has led to intensified collection and has threatened the wild stocks. This decline has prompted the need for proper management of the remaining resources, and interest in the establishment of hatchery facilities to produce crablets for reseeding and aquaculture.

  This paper presents the production method for P. pelagicus seedstock at the Guiuan Marine Fisheries Development Center. Experiments to improve larval rearing were conducted as well. For seed production, larvae at the zoeal stage were taken from wild-caught berried crabs hatched in 100-L circular drums filled with sand-filtered seawater (32-34 ppt, 28-30°C). Zoeae were stocked at 100 zoea L-1 in rectangular tanks and fed rotifers at 30 ind ml-1 for the first 4 days. Newlyhatched Artemia were given at 1-2 ind ml-1 at zoea 3, and increased to 5 ind ml-1 at zoea 4 to the megalopa stage. Chlorella sp. was maintained in the rearing tanks at 50,000 cells ml-1 as food for rotifers and for water conditioning. Water exchange was done daily at 30-50%, except for the first 5 days of rearing. The development from zoea 1 to megalopa and megalopa to the first crab instar took 10-12 and 4-6 days, respectively. Longer larval development was observed at lower temperature (<26°C). Cannibalism and deteriorating water quality were identified as major causes of mortality. Survival of zoea 1 to megalopa was higher in chlorinated seawater (7.5+2.58%) compared to UV-treated (6.5+1.73%) and sand-filtered (4.0+2.58%) seawater. Trials involving the use of different tank background colors showed that the survival of larvae was highest in black tanks (9.0+1.00%) as compared to those white tanks (1.5+0.58%).

  In nursery rearing, megalopae were stocked at 1-2 ind ml-1 in wide tanks or concrete pond. Strategies to reduce cannibalism were done by providing shelters and sand substrate (>10 cm). As soon as the megalopa molted to crab instars, they were given minced fish, shell meat, Acetes and formulated crab feeds twice daily, ad libitum. After 21 days, crablets were collected manually after partially draining the water in concrete pond. The crablets produced were released in identified fish sanctuaries and marine protected areas region-wide for resource enhancement and for aquaculture research purposes.
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  Conference paper

  Social preparations towards community-based approach to stock enhancement in Sagay Marine Reserve, Philippines 

  ND Salayo, RJG Castel, DHM Tormon, RT Barrido, MFJ Nievales & T Azuma - In MRR Romana-Eguia, FD Parado-Estepa, ND Salayo & MJH Lebata-Ramos (Eds.), Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia: Challenges in Responsible Production … International Workshop on Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia 2014 (RESA), 2015 - Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center

  Stock enhancement involves a set of management approaches which include the release of hatchery-produced aquatic organisms to enhance or restore fisheries. Stock enhancement of various species has a long history in developed countries and it showed that releases have the potential to yield substantial benefits for various fishery stakeholders. While the biological objectives of stock enhancement were often successfully achieved in most of these enhancement initiatives, some results showed that actual social gains in terms of yields, distribution of benefits and institutional sustainability are often inconclusive. The high cost of stocking accrues to the government which means these are supported by public funds. Meanwhile, benefits are dissipated across various stakeholders, some of them did not at all contribute and participate in the stocking program. In such government-initiated and publicly-funded stock enhancement programs, the lack of sense of stewardship among direct fishery stakeholders was observed to have contributed to a vicious cycle of excessive extraction of fishery resources for individual economic benefits.

  Developing countries such as the Philippines would be confronted by budgetary limitations if it has to adopt the stocking strategies applied in developed countries. Thus, with reference to the success of co-management approaches for managing fishery resources in the Philippines, a community-based strategy for enhancement of fishery stocks was explored. SEAFDEC/AQD, with support from the Government of Japan Trust Fund, initiated a community-based approach to stock enhancement in Molocaboc, an island barangay or village within the Sagay Marine Reserve (SMR). The initiative aims to ensure that its goals and strategies are within the social milieu of local stakeholders, i.e. fisherfolks are without financial assets to contribute or pay for the enhancement of the fishery and stock enhancement is often not a priority approach to address fishery resource depletion for most local governments. However, the social assets of fishing communities could be explored to implement stock enhancement. This paper describes the social preparation executed from 2007 to 2011 in order to orient a fishing community such as Molocaboc towards a successful enhancement of overfished species. Initially, the project focused on donkey s ear abalone Haliotis asinina to provide an example for other species. Abalone or kapinan in the vernacular is one of the over-extracted fishery resources in Sagay City. It is one of the high-priced catch among fishers in coastal communities in the Philippines. High buying prices compared with other fish catch motivated small-scale fishers to target abalones and caused its overfishing.
• 

  Conference paper

  Feed formulation for sustainable aquaculture 

  RM Coloso - In MRR Romana-Eguia, FD Parado-Estepa, ND Salayo & MJH Lebata-Ramos (Eds.), Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia: Challenges in Responsible Production … International Workshop on Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia 2014 (RESA), 2015 - Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center

  As aquaculture production of tropical fish and crustacean species becomes more intensified, practical diets need to be formulated to be cost effective and environment-friendly. Ingredients should be included to satisfy the nutrient requirements of the animal, promote optimal fish growth, and boost the income of small-scale farmers and commercial producers with minimal impacts to the surrounding environment. Feed formulation for sustainable aquaculture should aim at increasing aquaculture system performance and profitability, enhancing the animals disease resistance, increasing attractability, palatability, and digestibility of practical diets, and maintaining environmental quality through sound feeding management and good aquaculture practices. More vigorous research and development efforts need to be supported to generate feed technologies that will ensure a steady and reliable supply of safe and high quality aquaculture products to the public while preserving the environment.
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  Conference paper

  Estimation of energy budget of sea cucumber, Holothuria scabra, in integrated multi-trophic aquaculture 

  S Watanabe, M Kodama, ZGA Orozco, JG Sumbing, SRM Novilla & MJH Lebata-Ramos - In MRR Romana-Eguia, FD Parado-Estepa, ND Salayo & MJH Lebata-Ramos (Eds.), Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia: Challenges in Responsible Production … International Workshop on Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia 2014 (RESA), 2015 - Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center

  Continuous intensification of aquaculture production has brought about environmental issues associated with eutrophication worldwide. Environmental deterioration such as hypoxia and sulfide production due to water and sediment eutrophication originating from aquaculture effluents have been problematic, resulting to sporadic disease outbreaks and fish kills in the Philippines.

  Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) is one of the promising methods for sustainable aquaculture as it also provides a supplementary source of income to the fish farmers. IMTA is a polyculture system that integrates culturing of fed species (e.g. finfish) the main commodity, organic extractive species (e.g. deposit and filter feeding benthos) and inorganic extractive species (e.g. seaweed). In this study, IMTA techniques were established for small-scale coastal fish farmers in the Philippines, with sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra, commonly known as sandfish), as the key species. Sandfish commands the highest price in tropical sea cucumber species.

  Nitrogen (N) budget of sandfish in polyculture with milkfish (Chanos chanos) and Elkhorn sea moss (Kappaphycus alvarezii), both of which are commonly cultured in the Philippines, was estimated using a simple closed box model.

  Information on stocking density, stocking size, mortality, growth, feed ration, feed assimilation, NH4-N production and NH4-N absorption of these species was obtained from a series of experiments and existing literature. Culture conditions were as follows: 26 g milkfish were cultured in a 5 x 5 x 4 m cage at an average stocking density of 36.7 ind/m3 (i.e. usual practice in the Philippines) with an initial feeding ration of 10% of body weight which was gradually decreased to 4% over time; 10 g sandfish were cultured in a 5 x 5 x 0.3 m cage hung under the milkfish cage to trap particulate N waste (i.e. feces and leftover feed) from milkfish culture at a stocking density of 35 ind/m2; the stocking weight of Elkhorn sea moss line culture was 10 kg. The culture period was 200 days.

  It was estimated that milkfish culture under the above-mentioned schemes cumulatively produced 145 kg of particulate N, and milkfish and sandfish together excreted 60 kg of NH4-N in 200 days of culture. Daily assimilation rate of the particulate N by sandfish ranged from 3.4 to 12.4%, and 6.4% of the particulate N was estimated to be removed by sandfish during the entire 200 days of culture. Daily absorption rate of NH4-N by Elkhorn sea moss increased exponentially with time and reached 100% at 125 days of culture. Cumulative NH4-N from milkfish and sandfish excretion was estimated to be depleted by 162 days of culture.

  For complete utilization of particulate N by sandfish by the end of milkfish culture period (i.e. zero emission), sandfish stocking density should be 805 ind/m2, which is 200 times as high as that in existing sandfish aquaculture operations in countries such as Viet Nam and New Caledonia. The purpose of sandfish culture in IMTA should be emphasized in terms of its economic advantages and not very much on environmental integrity. Cages for sandfish culture should be designed in such a way where only a small fraction of organic matter from milkfish culture (i.e. about 6% in this culture scheme) enters it to avoid sediment quality deterioration and possible death of sandfish. Elkhorn sea moss on the other hand seems very efficient in bioremediation capability.
• 

  Conference paper

  Induced breeding of giant trevally, maliputo (Caranx ignobilis) 

  MTM Mutia, FB Muyot & ML Magistrado - In MRR Romana-Eguia, FD Parado-Estepa, ND Salayo & MJH Lebata-Ramos (Eds.), Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia: Challenges in Responsible Production … International Workshop on Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia 2014 (RESA), 2015 - Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center

  The giant trevally, maliputo (Caranx ignobilis), a highly prized and most popular indigenous migratory fish in Taal Lake, Batangas, Philippines, was induced to spawn using various hormones (to assess hormone efficacy on spawning performance). Different feeding regimes used in the larval rearing of this species were also evaluated. Sexually mature breeders, 5 to 7 years old with at least 0.5 mm oocyte diameter and 60% of ova at GVM stage were injected intramuscularly, in two doses, with: (a) 1,000 IU/kg BW human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG); (b) 100 µg/kg BW luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analogue (LHRHa); and (c) 5 mg/kg BW carp pituitary extract (CPE), at five breeders per hormone treatment. Uninjected fish served as the control. Treated fish were released and allowed to spawn spontaneously in 40-ton (5m diameter) circular tanks.

  Successful spawning was achieved during the months of March to July (28-30 ppt salinity; 27.6-29.25°C). Maliputo eggs are pelagic, clear and spherical, with a single oil globule and mean diameter of 0.8 mm. Ovulation period was 24-36.5 hours after 2nd injection in HCG-treated fish and 25-52 hours for LHRHa-injected fish. Only one of the CPE-treated fish spawned after 27 hours but eggs were not fertilized. Uninjected control fish did not spawn. Eggs were hatched in 11-13 hours in HCG treatment and 11-17 hours in LHRHa. Mean number of spawned eggs (3,500-4,000 eggs•gram-1) was higher in HCG treatment (223,068 eggs•kg-1 breeder at 58.27g•kg-1 breeder) than LHRHa (176,524 eggs•kg-1 breeder at 50.44 g•kg-1 breeder). Fertilization and hatching rates were both higher in LHRHa (60.88% and 71.07%, respectively), than HCG treatment (30.53% and 43.06%). Mean number of produced larvae was higher in LHRHa treatment (56,040 larvae•kg-1 breeder) compared to HCG-treated fish (41,547 larvae•kg-1 breeder).

  Hatched larvae (1.6 mm mean length) reared for 30 days in 3m x 3m concrete tanks using the standard protocol for marine finfish hatchery attained a maximum survival of 4.47%. Complete metamorphosis was observed after 26-28 days (8.1 mm mean length). Successful larval rearing was attained using greenwater (Nannochloropsis sp.) technology fed with live food (Brachionus sp. and Artemia salina). Critical periods were days 1-7 and days 19-22 when heavy mortalities were observed.

  Being the first recorded spawning in captivity of Caranx ignobilis in the Philippines, the results of this study provides an important baseline data and is a major step towards the development of a hatchery technology for maliputo in the country as well as for seed enhancement of its natural habitat. The project has provided 400,000 maliputo larvae to private hatcheries for larval rearing trials while 100,000 larvae were seeded in Balayan Bay and 5,000 fingerlings released in Taal Lake.
• 

  Conference paper

  Post-larval rearing strategies in sandish (Holothuria scabra) culture 

  MF Nievales, R Sibonga & H Figurado - In MRR Romana-Eguia, FD Parado-Estepa, ND Salayo & MJH Lebata-Ramos (Eds.), Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia: Challenges in Responsible Production … International Workshop on Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia 2014 (RESA), 2015 - Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center

  Various post-larval rearing methods were compared to determine which scheme would give the most yield of newly settled (visible) juvenile stage (> 1mm body length). Five types of postlarval rearing methods were tested: T1- planktonic diatom only (Chaetoceros calcitrans, Cc), T2-benthic diatom Navicula (Nsp) as biofilm and concentrate, T3- Navicula as biofilm + Cc, T4Spirulina as paste on settling plate + Cc, and T5- Spirulina (Sp) as paste on settling plates + Nsp concentrate. An experiment was conducted in small (3-li) aquaria using a cohort of Day 14 (postfertilization) sandfish larvae. Simultaneously, three of the 5 post-larval rearing methods (i.e. T2, T3 and T4) were done in medium scale (30-li) aquaria to determine how a conventional method (T2) employed in a pilot sea cucumber hatchery in Central Philippines compared with method observed in Viet Nam (T3) or with a hybrid method (T4). Visible post-settled juveniles were counted weekly for the next three weeks and expressed as percentage yield. After three days of rearing, transparent but visible early settled juveniles were observed. Mean percentage (%) juvenile yield in week 1 was highest in T1 (Cc only)(17% + 1.3) followed by T3 (Sp + Cc) (14% + 1.6) in a 3 li scale. Yield increased and peaked in week 2 especially for rearing methods with Nsp while those without (e.g T1 and T2) declined dramatically by week 3. In the 30-li scale, the highest mean yield was consistent with T5 (Nsp + Cc) until Week 3 (12% + 11.2). The mean juvenile yield on the 2nd and 3rd week were better than the 2% average for this stage or the 2.5% benchmark based on experiences in the Philippines and Viet Nam as indicated in published references.
• 

  Conference paper

  Marker-aided genetic stock management: prospects in Philippine aquatic biodiversity conservation and aquaculture 

  MRR Romana-Eguia, M Ikeda & A Kijima - In MRR Romana-Eguia, FD Parado-Estepa, ND Salayo & MJH Lebata-Ramos (Eds.), Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia: Challenges in Responsible Production … International Workshop on Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia 2014 (RESA), 2015 - Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center

  With the advent of DNA marker-based technologies and applications, genetic stock assessment incorporating molecular marker information has become an important tool in managing resources both for aquaculture and stock enhancement. Local initiatives toward this end have been undertaken by several research and academic agencies particularly those with access to advanced molecular genetic laboratory facilities both in the Philippines and in collaborating foreign institutions. Funds coming from the Philippine Department of Science and Technology and/or international research grants have supported work on commercially valuable species such as tilapia, shrimp, mud crabs, abalone, milkfish and some high value marine fishes with a view of utilizing and in the process, demonstrating the significance of more scientific microlevel assessment of stocks. Information drawn from marker-aided genetic stock evaluation can contribute to a better understanding of the impact of how proper stock management can be more effectively achieved and how this method can gradually translate to improved yields both from culture and fisheries. This paper covers a review of the status of this technology as applied to ongoing fish conservation and aquaculture production efforts in the Philippines.
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  Conference paper

  SEAFDEC/AQD stock enhancement initiatives: release strategies 

  MJH Lebata-Ramos, EF Doyola-Solis, R Sibonga, J Sumbing, JB Abroguena, A Santillan & M Dimzon - In MRR Romana-Eguia, FD Parado-Estepa, ND Salayo & MJH Lebata-Ramos (Eds.), Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia: Challenges in Responsible Production … International Workshop on Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia 2014 (RESA), 2015 - Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center

  The Aquaculture Department of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC/AQD) started its Stock Enhancement Program more than a decade ago with the first stock enhancement initiative on the mud crab Scylla spp. funded by the European Commission. This was followed by another stock enhancement program in 2005 supported by the Government of Japan Trust Fund. In preparation for its implementation, a Regional Technical Consultation on Stock Enhancement of Species Under International Concern was convened in Iloilo City, Philippines in July 2005 to identify species for stock enhancement. During the meeting, seahorses Hippocampus spp., giant clam Tridacna gigas, abalone Haliotis asinina, and sea cucumbers Holothuria spp. were among the priority species for stock enhancement work.

  Stock enhancement, restocking and ranching are management approaches involving the release of wild or hatchery-bred organisms to enhance, conserve or restore fisheries. This paper reports SEAFDEC/AQD release activities and some of the release strategies that have been established for mud crabs, giant clams and abalone.
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  Conference paper

  Responsible shrimp culture through ecological approach 

  EA Tendencia - In MRR Romana-Eguia, FD Parado-Estepa, ND Salayo & MJH Lebata-Ramos (Eds.), Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia: Challenges in Responsible Production … International Workshop on Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia 2014 (RESA), 2015 - Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center

  Aquaculture is the fastest food-producing sector. It is the farming of aquatic organisms, like crustaceans, fish, molluscs and plants. Culture of aquatic organisms, particularly shrimps, is usually done in earthen ponds with some intervention in the rearing process to enhance production. Some of these processes to increase production are pond preparation, regular stocking, feeding, and the use of probiotics and other chemicals to improve soil, water quality, shrimp growth and immunity against diseases. The long range effect of the use of probiotics and other chemicals on the environment and on shrimps is unknown. Despite the various inputs, diseases continue to plague the industry, which could be due to the deteriorating environmental conditions that cause stress in shrimps thus making them susceptible to infection. Furthermore, chemicals and nutrients from aquaculture may affect biodiversity of the receiving environment.

  Responsible aquaculture is a sustainable development approach that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. There should be a good balance between satisfying human needs while maintaining or enhancing the quality of the environment and conserving natural resources. Human health or food safety as well as economic efficiency and/or livelihood opportunities should be taken into consideration. Responsible shrimp culture through ecological approaches to improve environmental conditions is herewith described.

  Ecological approaches recognize the interactions between an aquaculture farm and the external environment, including environmental resources and local communities. Ecological approaches to improve environmental conditions identified from cross sectional, longitudinal and tank studies may be classified into culture systems and phases of pond production: pond preparation and rearing. Two culture systems are identified to improve water quality: 1) the use of the greenwater system, and 2) the presence of mangrove in the receiving environment. Among the pond preparation practices, sludge removal, crack drying of pond, and liming were identified. Toxic substances as well as organic matter, which provide nutrients necessary for the growth of microorganisms, are removed during sludge removal and crack drying of the pond sediment. Liming to pH 11 kills most harmful microorganisms including the white spot syndrome virus; it also kills unwanted species in the shrimp pond like fish and crabs. During the rearing phase, abundant supply of natural food, low stocking density, less input, addition of fermented Avicennia alba leaves, use of molasses and rest periods are some of the important farming practices that reduce risk of disease occurrence. Other reported practices are crop rotation, biofloc technology, aquaponics, and integrated multi trophic aquaculture.
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  Conference paper

  Current status of aquaculture in Singapore 

  NC Heng - In MRR Romana-Eguia, FD Parado-Estepa, ND Salayo & MJH Lebata-Ramos (Eds.), Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia: Challenges in Responsible Production … International Workshop on Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia 2014 (RESA), 2015 - Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center

  Singapore is a small country state with a demographic profile of over 5 million in population. With limited land for agricultural purposes and sea space available for fish farming, Singapore depends heavily on importation of fresh seafood. Even so, Singapore has a small but thriving and increasingly important food fish farming industry which accounts for about 6% of local food fish consumption.

  The main bulk of local food fish production comes from coastal farming in floating netcages along the northern coast of Singapore. Popular species of marine food fish cultured include seabass, pompano, groupers, mullets and milkfish. There are also a few land-based fish farms culturing species like tilapia, marble goby and snakehead.

  The ornamental fish farming industry is concentrated mainly in Agrotechnology Parks and there are about 75 fish farms producing ornamental fishes with an approximate value of $76.7 million that is exported to over 80 countries.

  The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) is the national authority for aquaculture development in Singapore and manages aquaculture farms through the issuance of fish farming licenses. For marine food fish farms, the farm licensee has to abide by good farm management guidelines to maintain the farm in good condition and ensure that the farm does not engage in activities that would impact the farming environment. For land-based farms, there are also guidelines that address infrastructure layout, farming system and water treatment facilities. The latter requires that sedimentation ponds, reservoir ponds/tanks, supply/drainage systems and trade effluent treatment plant are included in the farm set-up.

  There are several challenges and issues faced by the aquaculture industry in Singapore. One of these is the consistent supply of good quality fish fry as farmers have to source for fish fry from overseas sources that may not be consistent or readily available.

  Issues of fish health and farm management are other challenges faced by our fish farms. These factors affect farm productivity and the sustainability of farming operations.

  The AVA has established the Marine Aquaculture Centre (MAC) on St John's Island to address the needs of aquaculture development for Singapore through development of fish reproduction and seed production as well as large-scale fish farming technology. At present, the fish reproduction technology research work involves closing the reproductive cycles of key marine food fish species and also fry production at a commercial scale level. Closing the reproductive cycle will help to reduce the reliance on imported fry. Good quality brooders are selected, maintained and bred to produce quality fry, which would translate to better growth performance and shorter culture period. This, together with good farm management practices, will optimize the usage of fish feeds during the culture cycle.

  To fill the gap in production and supply of good quality fish seeds for local fish farms, AVA shares information on hatchery technology development with local commercial hatcheries.

  The AVA collaborates with research institutes and local fish farms in the development of vaccines to boost the survival rate of fish fry and fingerlings. This will improve survivability, thus increase the production of the farms and reduce the reliance on prophylactic drugs that may have negative consequences from prolonged use.

  The AVA also renders technical assistance to the farmers to formulate viable production plans to improve production. By leveraging on the use of technology and good farm practices, such as implementation of fish health, fish nutrition and feeding protocols, it is possible to reduce production costs and improve productivity. The introduction of the Good Aquaculture Practice scheme for food fish farming will help improve the standards of the local aquaculture industry and sustainability through responsible management practices.
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  Conference paper

  Shrimp metabolism: The roles of lactate dehydrogenase (c31), glycogen phosphorylase (c34) and protein kinase (PK) as revealed by RNA interference 

  MVR Tare, H Kondo, I Hirono & MBB Maningas - In MRR Romana-Eguia, FD Parado-Estepa, ND Salayo & MJH Lebata-Ramos (Eds.), Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia: Challenges in Responsible Production … International Workshop on Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia 2014 (RESA), 2015 - Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center

  Energy metabolism is well-studied in vertebrate systems, providing insights on the genes and mechanisms involved in different pathways necessary for the survival of an organism. Yet, such studies are still lacking in invertebrate systems much more in shrimp. An earlier study has showed several contigs from the black tiger shrimp to be homologous to white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), a devastating pathogen in shrimp, including contig 31-WSSVORF82 (c31) and contig 34-WSSVORF21 (c34). This study aims to unveil the roles of three genes: c31, c34 and protein kinase (PK) in the shrimp system and its possible role in WSSV-infection. Rapid amplification of cDNA ends-polymerase chain reaction or RACE-PCR was used to obtain the full-length sequence of c31 and c34, followed by in vivo gene silencing using RNAi technology, and intramuscularly injecting dsRNA to WSSVchallenged Macrobrachium rosenbergii and Penaeus (Marsupenaeus) japonicus. Gene expression followed for healthy shrimps and dsRNA-treated shrimps.

  Mrc31 was revealed to be the enzyme lactase dehydrogenase (LDH), commonly released during tissue damage and is a marker for disease. The most parsimonious tree pictured Mrc31 to be sister clades to LDH of other shrimp species, Penaeus monodon and P. vannamei, supported with 100% and 72% bootstrap values, respectively. Mrc34 was highly homologous to the glycogen phosphorylase (GP) enzymes of other organisms including that of another shrimp, M. japonicus, bearing a bootstrap value of 99%. For PK, phylogenetic analysis revealed that the three open reading frames (ORFs) from P. monodon, M. rosenbergii and P. japonicus have 30% homology to WSSV-PK supported by a 98% bootstrap value. Mortality data from dsRNA-treated and WSSV-infected shrimps showed that treatment with dsRNA-LDH, GP and PK had significantly higher survival rates compared to that of the controls, Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) and Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP). Silencing the three genes in the shrimp has rendered some protective effect against the virus. Gene expression showed that all three genes are present in immune-related organs such as the gills, hepatopancreas and hemocyte. This study is the first to report the possible identities and functions of contigs 31, 34 and PK providing valuable data on the shrimp's genome.

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