• 

  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

  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: 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.
• 

  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.
• 

  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

  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.
• 

  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

  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.
• 

  Conference paper

  Application of the United States Soybean Export Council program's soy-optimized floating feeds and low volume, high density cage aquaculture technologies 

  LLL Manalac, M Cremer & HP Lan - 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 United States Soybean Export Council s (USSEC) Soy-In-Aquaculture (SIA) project in the Philippines introduced the Low Volume High Density (LVHD) cage culture production methodology in 2003. The aim of this technology is to maximize farmers profit, improve productivity, reduce feed conversion ratios (FCR) and limit environmental degradation. The Philippine fish farmers were very conservative and hesitant about adopting the USSEC SIA Low Volume High Density (LVHD) cage culture technology, particularly the new feeding techniques using extruded floating feeds. This conservative attitude was highlighted with different projects using Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), milkfish (Chanos chanos) and snubnose pompano (Trachinotus blochii) in USSEC SIA LVHD cage feeding demonstrations conducted in different commercial farms in the Philippines.
• 

  Conference paper

  Current status of sustainable aquaculture in Cambodia 

  O Lang - 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

  In Cambodia, the extension of technologies in fish aquaculture is a vital activity that contributes to improving the daily livelihood of the rural poor farmer communities. Technology extension was introduced since 1994 through a project of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and other local non-government organizations (NGOs) or international organizations (IOs) in some fish production deficient provinces. Prior to the introduction of such activities, wild fish were still abundant. From then to date, aquaculture extension is being done under the Freshwater Aquaculture Improvement and Extension Project Phase II of Japan International Cooperation Agency (FAIEXII-JICA), and Department for International Development/Danish International Development Agency (DFID/DANIDA) Projects.

  Recently, aquaculture extension is one of the national policies under the National Rectangular Strategy Policies of the Government. There are several different freshwater aquaculture systems including floating cage/pen culture, earthen pond culture and rice-fish culture, and other fish culture in smallwater bodies or aquaculture-based fisheries in Cambodia as practiced in over 20 provinces and cities, with less development focused on coastal aquaculture.

  Freshwater aquaculture production continued to grow over the past two decades and increased from 1,610 tons in 1984 to 20,760 tons in 2004, representing 11.9 times increase or growth of 16.3% per year This further increased to 74,000 tons in 2012, representing 11.9 times increase or a growth rate of 15% per year. However, aquaculture development in Cambodia is in its infancy stage compared to other countries in the region. It has encountered some problems and constraints during its development, which include inadequate and unreliable supply of good quality seed; lack of capital, fund or credit for aquaculture investment; inadequate knowledge of aquaculture technology; inadequate manpower for aquaculture extension service; and climate change, which have adversely impacted aquaculture development in Cambodia.

  In order to achieve the goal of supplying the nation s future fishery requirements through aquaculture, the Cambodia Fisheries Administration (FiA) published the Strategic Planning Framework (SPF) for Fisheries (2010-2019). Within this framework, the scenarios for future fish demand-supply for 2019 suggest that aquaculture production will increase by 15% per year to 185,000 tons by the end of 2019.
• 

  Conference paper

  Rapid adaptation to a new environment: is it reversible? 

  H Araki - 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

  Accumulating evidence suggests rapid adaptation of fish populations when they are exposed to artificial hatchery environments. However, little is known if rapidly-adapted populations can readapt to their original, natural environment at the same rate. Here, I review recent studies on salmonid fish that address this issue. They indeed suggest rapid adaptation of hatchery populations, in which reproductive fitness under a natural environment became much lower than that in the wild population after only 1-2 generations of captive breeding. However, the reproductive fitness did not recover after one generation of natural rearing, implying that rapid adaptation to a new environment was not reversible at the same rate. I discuss potential consequences of the irreversible fitness reduction in extensively stocked fish species. Understanding the mechanism behind the irreversible rapid adaptation in fish populations will help us figure out a better, nature-friendly, and hence sustainable means of hatchery operations for human welfare.
• 

  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.
• 

  Conference paper

  First record of Laem-Singh virus in black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) in the Philippines 

  CAM Cruz, PC dela Cruz, PCD Alcala, FGM Tagle, ES Santos, MD Santos & 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

  Laem-Singh Virus (LSNV), a single-stranded RNA virus that causes growth retardation in Penaeus monodon, is also known as Monodon Slow-Growth Syndrome (MSGS) virus. Black Tiger shrimps afflicted with this virus exhibit unusual dark color, a weight gain of less than 0.1 g in 1 to 2 weeks, unusual yellow markings, bamboo-shaped abdominal markings and brittle antennae. It was first detected in Thailand and the virus quickly spread to neighboring Asian countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. The shrimp economy of countries where infections have occurred experienced losses in the export of live shrimps and broodstocks. An earlier study in 2009 reported that LSNV was not present in the Philippines. However, since no follow-up researches were done in the succeeding years, this study was conducted to detect the presence of virus in selected sites of Luzon. Results based on biased sampling method and RT-PCR data indicated that LSNV is indeed present in the country. This is further supported by DNA sequence data, showing 100% identity with LSNV India isolate. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the Philippine isolate clustered closely with other LSNV isolates. The outcome of this study might have implications in the current practices in the Philippine shrimp aquaculture industry.
• 

  Conference paper

  Reproductive biology of christian crabs (Charybdis feriatus, Linnaeus, 1758) in San Miguel Bay, Philippines 

  PM Nieves, NR Olfindo & AM Macale - 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 reproductive biology of Charybdis feriatus was investigated from April 2012 to March 2013 to determine gonad maturity, gonado-somatic index (GSI), fecundity, breeding cycle and size at first maturity. Every month, samples of 30 specimens were randomly collected. Gravimetric and volumetric methods were used to estimate fecundity. Results showed that Charybdis feriatus breeds continuously with a distinct period of reproductive activity during the northeast monsoon. Spawning peaks in January where higher values of GSI, mature, and berried female crabs were observed. Female gonad (ovary) weights range from 0.5 to 18.1 grams while mean GSI of female and male were 7.35% and 6.27%, respectively. Berried females were present year round, the highest occurring in December (50%). Fecundity ranged from 1,513,660 to 6,357,133 eggs. The smallest reproductively active female was 8.3 cm. Fecundity was highly correlated with size (r2=0.92).

  In view of these observations, the following options are recommended for crab fishery resource management: (1) to set a closed season for crab fisheries, (2) to regulate catches by not taking egg-bearing swimming crabs, and (3) to allow egg-bearing crabs to release its eggs and the larvae in fishing grounds and/or marine protected areas.
• 

  Conference paper

  Sustainable aquaculture and resources enhancement in Indonesia 

  S Soetardjo & I Adhitya - 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 a human population of 230 million and a huge potential for marine and fisheries resources development, Indonesia promotes aquaculture as a major sector to accelerate economic growth for rural communities. There are recent initiatives to improve the country's legal framework to mitigate the adverse impacts of aquaculture and make the aquaculture more sustainable.

  The Directorate General of Aquaculture under the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) has the mandate to develop the aquaculture sector of Indonesia. Aquaculture has an important role in the development of its national economy and play a key role in rural development. As aquaculture production expands, there is also a growing concern over the impacts on sustainability of aquaculture and resource enhancement as well as food quality and safety requirements of fish products.

  For this reason, there is a need to improve aquaculture technology and its management system in Indonesia to address the need for eco-friendly production process and food safety concerns while maintaining the sustainability of the country's aquaculture sector. The Indonesian Fisheries Act No. 31 (2004) Amendment No. 45 (2009) mentioned that, among others, the Indonesian fisheries management strategies should include the creation job opportunities, improvement of the welfare of fishers and their communities, and ensuring the sustainability of the country's fishery resources and aquatic environment.

  The most critical factors to achieve sustainable aquaculture in Indonesia are the availability of good quality seed, good practice in grow-out systems, healthy aquaculture environment, fish health management, good-quality products, strategic marketing, and improving marketing and stock enhancement. In addition, it is also a concern that the products from aquaculture should meet the quality standard and product safety. This paper presents a review of Indonesian aquaculture in relation to sustainable practices and management schemes to preserve the aquaculture environment, food safety requirements for aquaculture products, food security and to enhance the biodiversity of fishery resources. A policy that was recently established is the development of the marine and fisheries sector based on the principles of the Blue Economy program of the Indonesian government.
• 

  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

  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

  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.

View more