This chapter highlights some of the important examples of transgenic fish development. An overview of important steps in fish transgenesis is given. The status of development in the case of transgenic carp, tilapias, Atlantic salmon and mud loach is discussed. Other future applications of transgenic fish are presented. The key research and capacity needs for further development of transgenic fish are also discussed.

We studied the influence of the development of aquaculture in the Philippines on the local economy, focusing on coastal fishers in two towns in Capiz and Iloilo, Panay Island, Philippines. Coastal residents in the two towns closely depend on fishing and aquaculture for both their primary and secondary incomes. The small-scale aquaculture business commenced by coastal fishermen has been expanding particularly after the 1990s. The planting of mangrove trees is promoted and small-scale aquafarming is done by coastal fishermen who exert only small environmental loads. Small-scale aquaculture, including the aquaculture of shellfish, net cage culture, pen culture, and seaweed culture, requires low initial investment and imposes minimal workload on operators in terms of breeding management up to shipment, which is why most coastal fishing people want to continue in the business. On the other hand, pond culture, practiced before the 1990s, promises no further rise in production for several reasons that include overproduction of milkfish and the outbreak of diseases in shrimp and prawn. Under these conditions, small-scale aquaculturists in two towns have established a sustainable aquaculture production system that allows them to maintain mangrove forests, utilize natural recirculation functions and help local residents obtain income.

Arachidonic acid (ArA) was not a minor component, and ArA distributes widely in coral reef organisms. Seagrass had high linoleic acid and linolenic acid levels with low Ara, EPA and DHA levels, while some species of seaweed had intermediate or high ArA levels (5% to 12%). In starfish, sea cucumber and some species of corals, ArA was the first major fatty acid (20% to 30%), but DHA levels were very low. Bivalves, abalone and shrimps had intermediate ArA levels. Total lipids of abdominal muscle and liver of dugong had respectively ArA levels of 7.8% and 11.0%, which were higher than EPA levels (2.4% and 1.6%), but DHA levels (0.4% and 2.3%) were low. It is clear that ArA is a major fatty acid in coral reef animals. The present results suggest that the existence of an ArA-rich food chain may be widespread in coral reef areas, and that the widespread existence of ArA-rich food chain may lead to intermediate or high ArA contents in tropical species.

Fry of tropical marine fish needed for aquaculture still comes mostly from the wild. Thus, fry availability is a major constraint in the development and extension of aquaculture, especially in rural areas of developing regions. Although the mission of hatcheries is to provide a stable fry production and supply for farmers, fry production remains variable due to poor fecundity and low survival. For the last four years (2002-2005), SEAFDEC/AQD and JIRCAS have conducted the collaborative project that was aimed at developing advanced diets for improving egg production/quality (2002-2005) and larvae/fry quality (2004-2005) through dietary manipulation. Larval rearing tests: In 2005, larval rearing tests (4 trials with rotifers) were conducted to investigate the effects of enriched-live food (4treatments: low (CS) and high (DHAPS) HUFA with or without arachidonic acid supplementation) on survival and growth in rabbitfish Sigunus guttatus fry. Fry fed the rotifers enriched with a combination of DHAPS+5% ArA showed the best survival (44.4±4.5% for D17 fry in the 4th trial).Growth was not different among the treatments (CS, CS+5% ArA, DHAPS, DHPS+5% ArA). Broodstock tests: From March, 2005 to January,2006, a feeding test has been conducted to investigate the effects of dietary ArA supplementation (0% for diet 1, 0.3% for diet 2 and 0.6% for diet 3) on egg production and quality of wild-caught and hatchery-bled rabbitfish broodstock. The broodstock spawned 13 times for diet1 (six pairs), 14 times for diet 2 (five pairs) and 17 times for diet 3 (six pairs) during the period of May 2005 to January, 2006. The total numbers ofhatched-larvae were 3,818 x 10³ for diet 1, 4,391 x 10³ for diet 2 and 4,597 x 10³ for diet 3. The % of normal larvae did not differ among the dietary treatments. Considering together with the results of mangrove red snapper (2003) and rabbitfish (2004), the optimum level of ArA incorporation appears to be between 0.5% and 0.7%. Judging from the results of fatty acid analysis, DHA and arachidonic acid should be supplemented to diets at the same time as to make DHA/arachidonic acid ratio appropriate. Thus, the present study clearly shows that dietary arachidonic acid supplementation is very promising for the development of fry production technologies in tropical areas.

The contribution of the Philippines to tilapia production in Asia has increased steadily in the past five years as it addresses hunger and poverty alleviation in the region. Commercial tilapia aquaculture in the Philippines has improved as farmers have become aware of the importance of adopting innovative husbandry technologies. These include the use of intensive culture, using novel feed ingredients, improving the quality of industrial aquafeeds, adopting cost- effective feeding strategies and efficient pond fertilization methods, and culturing improved genetic strains. A case study was conducted to: a) assess current tilapia feed management practices; b) determine recent nutrition-based innovations that include the use of alternative feed ingredients, the adoption of nutritionally complete commercial tilapia feeds, and improvements to feed management practices; and c) evaluate these factors in terms of improved production efficiencies. Thirty-two farmers from selected tilapia cage hatcheries, pond hatcheries, grow- out cages and ponds in Regions III and IV-A (known major tilapia producing regions in the Philippines) were interviewed. The issues addressed included their farm management practices, with particular focus on tilapia feed preferences; quality, procurement and storage methods; and feeding strategies. Their responses were collated and analysed in the context of information simultaneously gathered from the scientific literature, popular publications and relevant websites. The results from the case study highlight the importance of farmers being trained and remaining well-informed about recent improvements in feed technologies and the use of efficient cost-saving feeding strategies to optimize the production of seed and marketable tilapia. Recommendations on how to increase tilapia production through improved feed and feed management practices are described. Finally, recommendations for local regulatory agencies to implement aquafeed quality and nutrient standards are provided.

A review is made of the current situation regarding Penaeus monodon pond culture in the Philippines, examining in particular pond management practices, including site suitability, engineering design, and harvest and post-harvest handling. Problems and prospects in the industry are also discussed, together with some recommendations.

A review is made of diseases of cultured Penaeus monodon , examining the diagnosis and pathology of the disease or disease agents involved and their prevention and control. Both infectious (viral, bacterial, fungal and protozoan) and other (nutritional, toxic and environmental) diseases are considered.

Following a review of first maturation in Penaeus monodon , details are given of endocrine, nutritional and environmental methods of induced maturation used in aquaculture. Broodstock constitution and maintenance operations are discussed and a comparison made of maturation tanks, pens and cages.