The potamidid snail Cerithidea cingulata is considered a pest in brackishwater milkfish ponds in the Philippines and has been controlled by the triphenyltin (TPT) compounds Aquatin and Brestan. But TPT is also toxic to other invertebrates, fishes, algae, bacteria and people, and high TPT residues occur in sea foods including milkfish. Thus, control of snails in milkfish ponds should be shifted from reliance on TPT to an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy. To formulate a responsible IPM, studies were conducted on C. cingulata in ponds and mangroves and the available data were synthesized with the relevant information from the literature. The deposit-feeding C. cingulata is a native resident of mangrove areas and becomes a problem in mangrove-derived ponds where the lack of competitors and predators results in 'ecological release' and population explosion. Snail densities ranged 1–470 m⁻² in the mangroves and 100–5000 m⁻² in ponds. In ponds, snails ranged 2–40 mm in shell length; those 25 mm long and 8 mm wide weighed 1 g on average, and had 150 mg flesh. Snails matured at 20 mm long and reproduced the whole year with a peak in Mar–Sep at water temperatures of 24–36 °C. Enriched sediments and stagnant water in ponds allowed fast growth and reproduction, low dispersal and high recruitment of snails. Snails were very tolerant to hypoxia and adverse conditions, but were killed within a week by sun-drying or by salinities of 48–70‰ and within 3 d by ammonium phosphate at 10 g l⁻¹ or urea at 5 g l⁻¹. IPM of snails requires changes in mind sets and perspectives of milkfish farmers and industry supporters and changes in farm practices and management. Snails must be viewed as a resource from which income can be made and employment can be generated. Harvest of snails for shellcraft and other enterprises also effectively removes the spawning population. Complete draining and sun-drying of ponds after harvest kills the adult snails and the egg strings on the bottom. Snails in puddles in the ponds may be killed by the usual nitrogen fertilizers and lime applied during pond preparation. Water input may be timed with periods of low veliger counts in the supply water. These IPM recommendations have yet to be verified.

Fish kills of milkfish Chanos chanos and tilapia Oreochromis spp. now occur frequently in brackish, marine, and freshwater farms (ponds, pens, and cages) in the Philippines. Aquafarms with high organic load, limited water exchange and circulation, no aeration, and high stocking and feeding rates can become oxygen-depleted and allow sulfide from the sediments to appear in the water column and poison free-swimming fish. The sulfide tolerance of 2-5 g milkfish and 5-8 g O. mossambicus was determined in 25-liter aquaria with flow-through sea water (100 ml min^-1) at 26-30 °C and sulfide stock solutions pumped in at 1ml min^-1. Total sulfide concentrations in the aquaria were measured by the methylene blue method and used in the regression against the probits of % survival. Four experiments showed that the two species have similar sulfide tolerance. In sea water of pH 8-8.5, about 163 ± 68 μM or 5.2 ± 2.2 mg l^-1 total sulfide (mean ± 2 se) or 10 μM or 313 μg l^-1 H₂S was lethal to 50% of the fish in 4-8 h, and 61 ± 3 μM total sulfide or 4 μM H₂S in 24-96 h (to convert all sulfide concentrations: 1 μM = 32 μg l^-1). Earthen pond bottoms had 0-382 μM total dissolved sulfide (mean ± sd - 54 ± 79 μM, n - 76); a tenth of the samples had >200 μM. The water column may have such sulfide levels under hypoxic or anoxic conditions. To simulate some of the conditions during fish kills, 5-12 g milkfish were exposed to an abrupt increase in sulfide, alone or in combination with progressive respiratory hypoxia and decreasing pH. The tests were done in the same flow-through set-up but with sulfide pumped in at 25 ml min^-1. The lethal concentration for 50% of the fish was 197 μM total sulfide or 12 μM H₂S at 2 h, but 28-53 μM sulfide allowed fish to survive 6-10 h. Milkfish in aquaria with no aeration nor flow-through sea water died of respiratory hypoxia in 5-8 h when oxygen dropped from 6 to 1 mg l^-1. Under respiratory hypoxia with 30-115 μM sulfide, the fish died in 2.5-4 h. Tests with low pH were done by pumping a weak sulfuric acid solution at 25 ml min^-1 into aquaria with flow-through sea water such that the pH dropped from 8 to 4 in 5 h. Under these conditions, milkfish died in 7-9 h when the pH was 3.5. When 30-93 μM sulfide was pumped in with the acid, the fish died in 2-6 h when the pH was still 4.5-6.3. Thus, sulfide, hypoxia, and low pH are each toxic to milkfish at particular levels and aggravate each other's toxicity. Aquafarms must be well oxygenated to prevent sulfide toxicity and fish kills.

This paper presents the results of the assessment of the environmental condition of a receiving water and demonstrates how the environmental capacity of the system can be estimated based on effluent discharge from milkfish ponds and water criteria from scientific literature and other studies. An estuary (average volume, 295 333 m³; average depth, 1.9 m) in Punta Pulao, Dumangas, Iloilo, Philippines served as discharge and irrigation system for commercial milkfish ponds and experimental/verification ponds owned by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center. Total ammonia nitrogen, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, and chlorophyll a (chl a) were determined monthly (during spring tide) for 4 months. Samples were taken at low and high tides that coincided with the draining and flooding of ponds, respectively. Monthly concentrations of these water quality variables generally increased from the first to fourth month of sampling (April–July 2001) during low tide. Very slight increases were observed during high tide. The magnitude of changes in the diurnal patterns of phosphate, chl a, and dissolved oxygen appeared to be higher at spring tide than at neap tide. This indicates that the inflowing river at low tide (during spring tide) brought effluents containing high amounts of nutrients from ponds located upstream. The water, salt, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), and phosphate (DIP) budgets of the entire estuary were determined following the one-box model by LOICZ-IGBP (2000, LOICZ biochemical budgeting procedure: a tutorial pamphlet. L. T. David, M. L. San Diego-McGlone, C. J. Crossland and S. V. Smith (Eds). Publ. for LOICZ International Project Office, the Netherlands, 29 pp.). The budgets indicate that the system is net heterotrophic and nitrogen (N) fixing during the dry months, but that there could be no environmental impact during the rainy months because of short water exchange time. Results further suggest that the system is a source of N and phosphorus (P) during the dry and rainy months; the condition is largely influenced by the high amount of nutrient inputs in to the river. Linear regression analysis was performed to determine relationship between nutrient concentrations in the system and total DIN or DIP input to the system at low tide. Environmental capacity in terms of the maximum amount of DIN or DIP input to the system was predicted using regression analysis and following set criteria for nutrients, i.e. nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate. At present, the estuarine water quality has already reached its environmental capacity during the dry months. About 945 ha of commercial milkfish ponds are operating upstream, mostly as extensive systems. If these ponds are converted to semi-intensive or intensive systems, it is recommended that the pond area be reduced to 122 ha if the DIP criterion is to be followed so as not to exceed the environmental capacity. Exceeding this environmental capacity may affect production through reduction of fish growth, occurrence of diseases, and fish mortalities.

Opportunities for developing small-scale tilapia industry in the Philippines is hampered by the shortage of good-quality seeds and broodstock. Most small-scale farmers are dependent on distribution centres for improved tilapia seeds that are expensive and not sufficient to meet market demands. An option would be for farmers to develop their own tilapia breeds using simple procedures within their technical and financial resources. This option will also help sustain the diversity of locally adapted domestic stocks of tilapia. The Philippine tilapia production of ~ 122 316 MT can be increased by ensuring a stable supply of quality seeds and transferring suitable technology to fish farmers. The study was carried out in a tilapia hatchery/nursery pond in the Philippines to explore the potential for a farmer-based research on tilapia breed improvement using relatively simple artificial selection procedures. One generation of size-specific mass selection based on the early culling of large fry (collimation procedure) was applied on a Nile tilapia strain, Oreochromis niloticus L., in net cages set in a small earthen pond. Two episodes of directional selection were performed after initial removal of large fry at 21 days. Selection of parents and progeny testing were conducted in hapa and B-net cages set in earthen ponds. The selection resulted in a significant response of 8% for standard length and 29% for weight relative to the control. The crude estimates of realized heritability is ~ 16% for standard length and ~26% for weight comparable with similar studies conducted by other workers.

Studies have shown that the presence of Tilapia hornorum hybrid has antibacterial effect against luminous bacteria. The present study aims to determine the effect of different fish species such as grouper, milkfish and tilapia in polyculture with shrimp on the growth of luminous bacteria. Results showed that stocking of tilapia Oreochromis niloticus hybrid and grouper Epinephelus coioides at a biomass of 500 g/m³ efficiently inhibited the growth of luminous bacteria in shrimp (biomass = 80 g/m³) rearing water and positively affected shrimp survival. Results also showed that the presence of milkfish Chanos chanos at a biomass of 500 g/m³ did not inhibit the growth of luminous bacteria in shrimp (biomass = 80 g/m³) rearing water.

Recently, heavy infestation of caligid copepods occurred among farmed rabbitfish Siganus guttatus, pompano Trachinotus blochii and sea bass Lates calcarifer in the Philippines. In S. guttatus broodstock, Caligus epidemicus, Pseudocaligus uniartus and Lepeophtheirus sigani concurrently caused severe erosion and hemorrhaging of the body surface, fins and eyes of affected fish occurring at 95.78%, 1.52% and 0.70% of the parasite load, respectively, and with associated mortality of the host fish. In marketable-sized T. blochii, L. spinifer caused body lesions that considerably reduced the market value of harvested fish. In L. calcarifer juveniles, infestation with C. epidemicus resulted to loss of appetite, lethargy and stunted growth of affected fish. Because of its pathogenicity, low host specificity and tolerance to brackish water, C. epidemicus poses the highest threat to farmed marine fish in the Philippines. Lates calcarifer and T. blochii are new host records for C. epidemicus and L. spinifer, respectively. This is also the first record of L. spinifer in the Philippines.

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) has been devastating the shrimp industry for almost a decade. This study compares water parameters, alkalinity, and microflora in three ponds on a farm on Negros Island (Philippines) during two production cycles where WSSV infection resulted in an outbreak in 2006 but not in 2005. The total bacterial count of the pond water in 2005 was about twice as high as in 2006. However, luminous bacterial counts were twice as high in 2006 than in 2005 and total presumptive Vibrio, as counted on Vibrio selective thiosulfate citrate bilesalt sucrose (TCBS) agar, was over ten times higher, with a greater percentage of green colonies. More green colonies might indicate a higher concentration of harmful Vibrio bacteria. Total alkalinity for both production cycles was within the normal range while temperature, salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen varied and sometimes fell below or exceeded the acceptable range. In 2006, there were more instances during which the temperature fluctuated 3-4°C within the period of 07:00-17:00, and salinity more often dropped below 15 ppt. Our survey suggests that WSSV outbreak are triggered by water temperature fluctuations of 3-4°C, coupled with low salinity and a high presumptive Vibrio count

In response to challenges that the developing world confront on food security and malnutrition, the last two decades have witnessed increased efforts in genetic improvement to enhance production traits of commercially important aquatic species. From the 1980s to the present, several institutions in developing countries have been engaged in such R&D activity and it is recognized that the collaborative program on Genetic Improvement of Farmed Tilapias (GIFT) has spurred the development of several tilapia and carp breeding programs that now exist in numerous developing countries. The GIFT is a collaborative R&D program conducted by the WorldFish Center (formerly, International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management, ICLARM) and its partners from the Philippines and Norway aimed to develop methodologies for the genetic improvement of tropical finfish of aqua-culture importance. The GIFT project has demonstrated that selective breeding is a feasible, cost effective, and sustainable approach to the genetic improvement of tropical finfish, and also confirmed the importance of a multidisciplinary approach that enabled the assessment of economic viability, social acceptability, and environmental compatibility, thus, creating confidence among planners and administrators, all of which facilitated the transfer of research findings to farming systems in a host of countries. The program and its successors, such as the International Network on Genetics in Aquaculture (INGA), demonstrated that networking and partnership building among national institutions in developing countries, advanced scientific institutions, and regional and international organizations can play a major role in accelerating research and the success of R&D.

Brackishwater pond culture has been a major factor in mangrove loss in Southeast Asia, hence, the need to develop environment-friendly technologies such as mud crab Scylla (Portunidae) culture in mangrove pens exists. This study evaluated the effects of mud crab netpen systems in central Philippines on mangrove macroflora, and the replacement of dietary fish with low-cost pellets. Wild or hatchery-sourced Scylla olivacea and Scylla serrata were stocked at 0.5–0.8 m^-2 in 167–200 m² nylon netpens (2.3 cm stretched mesh) in Avicennia-dominated mangrove habitats. The feeding treatments were: (A) Zarraga: (1) no feeding (natural productivity), (2) no feeding for 1 month+supplementary feeding, (3) fish biomass and (4) low-cost pellets, and (B) Batan: (1) fish biomass and (2) pellets+fish biomass. Feeds were given ad libitum twice daily. Growth and survival rates of S. olivacea in Zarraga pens were not significantly different among treatments, although crabs fed fish biomass had the highest survival, body weight and production. Similarly, growth and survival of S. serrata were not significantly different between the Batan treatments. Economic analysis of the latter gave a 38.5% return on investment (ROI) and 2.6 years payback period (PP) for pellets+fish biomass treatment compared with 27.5% ROI and 3.6 years PP for fish alone. Sensitivity analysis showed an improved economic performance of the pellets+fish biomass treatment by increasing the survival rate. Evaluation of mangrove community structure showed that crab culture reduced species diversity, numbers and biomass of seedlings and saplings, but not of mangrove trees. Therefore, mud crab pen culture is recommended for mangrove sites with mature trees, but not seedlings and saplings, and low-cost pellets can reduce dependence on fish biomass.

Testicular development, gonadosomatic index (GSI), and related steroid hormones (testosterone or T, 11-ketotestosterone or 11-KT, 17α, 20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one or DHP) in serum were monitored during an annual reproductive cycle in tank-reared, hatchery-bred male catfish Clarias macrocephalus to established the season optimum for its artificial propagation. GSI values were highest in June (0.80%), and lowest in December, February, April (0.36%). At most times of the year, lobules in the testis and seminal vesicles were mostly lined with spermatogonia B (SGb) and spermatocytes (SC) and few spermatogonia A (SGa); spermatids (SD) and spermatozoa (SZ) were the least and most abundant of the spermatogenic cells, respectively. In January however, almost equal counts of SGa, SGb and SC were observed, as well as a significant increase in the percentage of SD and corresponding decrease in SZ. Serum 11-KT fluctuated at high levels, with the lowest level in January (159.42 ng/ml), and peak in September (434.72 ng / ml). Serum T levels ranged from 15-25 ng/ml, and were not markedly different throughout the annual cycle. Serum DHP levels were extremely low in January-May, and reached maximum levels in July (0.18 ng/ ml). Seasonal changes in the percentage of spermatogenic cells, GSI and serum steroid hormone profiles showed that captive, hatchery-bred male C. macrocephalus have a continuous reproductive cycle. Although milt release was not observed, males can readily be used as source of milt for artificial propagation at any time of the annual cycle, except in January.