Test fishing for the giant squid Thysanoteuthis rhombus using large jigs was conducted in selected areas around Alabat Island, Quezon Province from May 1991 to October 1992. A total of 92 fishing days and 425.3 fishing hours were successfully completed and 1,650 jigs were set. The total catch was 82 giant squids of total weight 412 kg. Catch per unit effort was on average 0.02 kg/jig-hour or 5 squids/100 jigs, but higher from July to September. Capture of the giant squid by jigs was very seasonal, only from June to October. During these months, fish aggregating shelters were installed to catch pelagic fishes, and these shelters may have attracted the giant squid to Calauag Bay. The sample of 82 giant squids adds considerable information to the biology of this species in Philippine waters. The smallest specimen, caught in August 1991, was 23 cm in mantle length and 750 g in weight. The largest specimen, caught in September 1992, was a male 69 cm in mantle length and 10.3 kg in weight. Of the 66 specimens examined, 31 were males and 35 were females. About 52% of the specimens were sexually mature, 30% were maturing, and the rest were immature. Of the 61 stomachs dissected, 20 were empty, six were full or 3/4 full, and the rest were in between. The giant squid was a fish eater, almost all stomachs containing fish bones, spines, scales, or digested fish meat.

The recommended steps in new product development were followed to utilize bullet tuna maximally. New products were generated, evaluated, and refined. Three product concepts were initially advanced to the product optimization stage; both product and positioning blueprints were created. The products were optimized in terms of the levels and combinations of additives and spices, and the organoleptic properties were evaluated. The new products—bullet tuna loaf, seasoned dried bullet tuna, canned spicy bullet tuna, and canned pet foods—were tested for shelf-life. Tuna loaf treated with potassium sorbate remained acceptable for 29 days at 0°C, whereas untreated samples remained acceptable for 26 d at 0°C, 16 d at 14°C, and 3 d at 35°C. Seasoned dried tuna was still acceptable until 15 d in storage at 0°C and until 6 d at 35°C. Canned spicy tuna remained acceptable after more than a year of storage at 35°C. Cost analysis based on the current retail prices of bullet tuna (P30/kg), additives, spices and other raw materials showed that the production costs were: P19 for 100 g of bullet tuna loaf; P2 for a piece of seasoned dried tuna; and P 12.5 for a can of spicy bullet tuna. Traditional processing methodologies were applied to bullet tuna as raw material. Smoking and dry-salting yield bullet tuna products that can be offered to the consumers at prices much lower than those of the newly developed value-added products.

Technology demonstration was conducted in three selected lowland freshwater ponds in Lucban, Quezon and in three highland ponds in Ifugao. The ponds varied in location, size, water source, and operators. The polyculture system included 60% Nile tilapia, 30% common carp, and 10% bighead carp, seeded at a density of 5/m². Two lowland ponds had total production of 4,737 and 4,416 kg/ha-yr (8.83 kg/m³ and 6.77 kg/m³). One highland pond yielded 2,786 kg/ha-yr (11.14 kg/m³). Survival rates were better in lowland areas, mostly because the farmer cooperators had better training and more experience. Costs-and-returns analysis showed high profitability of tilapia-carp polyculture. With proper management, polyculture can produce fish and increase farmers‘ incomes, even during the off-season for traditional crops.

Milkfish yields in Palawan in 1993–94 were low, only 595 kg/ha-yr on average and ranged 100–700 kg/ha-yr in 35 of 50 farms surveyed. Only seven farms had yields between 1,000 and 1,800 kg/ha-yr. Yields were higher in deeper ponds, and shallowness of ponds was a major constraint to high yields. Farm -gate prices of milkfish ranged from P25 to P55 and averaged P42. The prices of milkfish were on average 43x greater than the price of organic fertilizers (chicken manure) and 6x more than the price of inorganic fertilizers. The income from milkfish made up 10-95% and averaged 53% of the total income of the farmers. One crop cycle a year was the practice in 28 of the 50 farms; 20 farms had two crops, and two farms went for 3–4 crops a year. A crop cycle was 3–4 months long in 14 farms, 5–6 months in 29 farms, and 7–9 months in 7 farms. Crop cycles started with draining and drying the ponds and applying fertilizers to grow natural food. Most of the farms were supplied by tidal water and water exchange in the ponds was done every spring tide in 33 farms. The other farms changed water once a month, once or twice in a crop cycle, or once a year. Application rates of organic fertilizers were mostly less than 1 ton/ha-yr and averaged 515 kg/hayr, but three farms used as much as 1,250 kg/ha-yr, and one farm used 3,000 kg/ha-yr. Half as much inorganic fertilizers were used; the average for the 50 farms was only 211 kg/ha-yr, but one farm used as much as 1,350 kg/ha-yr. The fertilizers encouraged natural food to grow in the ponds. Two of the farms grew mostly plankton, 15 grew the benthic mat lablab, and 33 grew the green filamentous algae lumut. None of the farms used commercial feeds. Stocking rates varied widely among the farms, ranged from 1,000 to 60,000 fry or fingerlings per hectare per year and averaged 8,000/ ha-yr. Two-thirds of the farms stocked less than 7,000/ha-yr, but eight farms stocked fry or fingerlings at much higher rates of 13,000–60,000/ ha-yr. An input use variation model showed that milkfish yield was a function of the ratios of prices of milkfish to prices of organic and inorganic fertilizers; pond water depth and salinity; milkfish income as percent of total income; family size; membership in aquaculture association; and contacts with government‘s extension services and information dissemination system. The surveyed farms ranged from 3 to 40 years old, with 92% under 20 years; they had been in operation 1–23 years, 76% of them for less than eight years. Of the 50 farms in the survey, only nine were private (titled) lands, 34 were covered by fishpond lease agreements (FLA issued by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources), and the others had only survey documents or no papers at all. Farm sizes ranged 0.8–50 ha (average 12.5 ha), and 52% of them were smaller than 6 ha. The private farms were small, only 1–7 ha except one that was 25 ha. The FLA farms were much larger, and 23 of them were 5–50 ha. Large parts of the large farms were not operational, and 90% of the farms used effective areas of less than 7 ha. The low lease fees for FLAs evidently did not encourage farm development to increase yields. The farms had mostly shallow ponds 25–100 cm deep (average 68 cm).

This study reports the parasites found in green mussel (Perna viridis L.) from Ivisan, Capiz, Philippines. Samples were collected monthly from January to December 2009. A total of 360 samples were collected, fixed in 10% formalin in seawater solution, and processed by standard histological techniques that included staining the sections with hematoxylin and eosin (H & E). The water temperature ranged from 24 to 30°C and salinity from 18 to 23 ppt. Microscopic analysis showed that the most prevalent parasites were Nematopsis sp. occurring mostly in connective tissues (46%), metacestodes of Tylocephalum sp. in the mantle (12%), and a turbellarian (4%) and metacercariae in the mantle (4%). Based on these findings, these parasites may not yet be a problem to mussel farming as they were low and caused no apparent damage to the host.

Bangus or milkfish is the national fish of Philippine. Bangus culture is traditionally based on fry collected from the wild. Due to growing demand for fry the bangus industry. The Philippines Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), the Philippine Council of Aquatic and Marine Research and Development (PCAMRD), the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Centre (SEFDEC) and ICLARM embarked of the conditions prevailing in the milkfish fry sector, project workshop was held in 1999. The present report is the outcome of workshop. Report highlights on the issues milkfish production, fry production in hatcheries, fry gathering activities, marketing issues, management of fry gathering grounds and its marketing and the related policy issues.

This manual aims to provide updated information on the diseases of mud crabs initially authored by Lavilla-Pitogo and dela Peña (2004). It includes the name of the disease, causative agent, stages affected, effects on mud crab and methods of prevention and control. Except for the infectious diseases caused by viruses, which can be detected through molecular methods, most of the diseases can be visually diagnosed. Photographs of the external and internal anatomy of a normal mud crab, including the different sexes and species are included to help readers differentiate a normal from a diseased mud crab.

In 1977, scientists at the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Centre (SEAFDEC) in the Philippines became the first anywhere to succeed in breeding milkfish (Chanos chanos) in captivity. The advance was made possible by an IDRC grant, approved in 1974, for a three-year project of research in the breeding and rearing of this important source of protein. The initial grant, for $826,000, was renewed for another three years in December 1978 in the amount of $421,100.

The increase in sea surface temperature associated with climate change can cause tremendous impact on the different life stages of aquatic organisms, particularly on the tropical species. The present study investigates the effect of elevated temperature on hatching rate, growth and survival of larvae and breeders of tropical mollusk, donkey’s ear abalone (Haliotis asinina). Different life stages of abalone were exposed to the following temperature treatments: ambient (29°C), +2°C (31°C), and +4°C (33°C). Hatching rate was significantly reduced when the fertilized eggs were incubated at temperature 4°C above ambient. Increase in temperature at 2°C above ambient can significantly influence the survival of larvae. Significant decline in the survival was observed when the larvae were exposed at temperatures 31°C and 33°C, however bigger larvae were observed in groups reared at 31°C, while those larvae that were reared in 33°C were significantly smaller. Furthermore, reduced growth, feeding rate and survival were also observed in breeders reared at elevated temperature. The result of the study suggests that early developmental stages and reproducing adult abalone were vulnerable to the impact of climate change.

The Second International Conference on the Culture of Penaeid Prawns and Shrimps (SICCPPS) was convened in Iloilo City by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) on May 14-17 1996 to bring together scientists, researchers and industry practitioners to discuss developments and constraints in shrimp culture. Two simultaneous workshops were held after the presentation of scientific papers: the Workshop on Seed Production and the Workshop on Pond Grow-out Culture of Shrimp.