Qualitative analysis of food items in the anterior spiral portion of the oesophagus suggests that adult milkfish feed on both benthic and planktonic materials.

Methods used in the capture, transport and domestication of adult milkfish are described and illustrated.

This account is a brief review of the investigation carried out in India on the various aspects of the biology of the milkfish. It covers the records of observations on the distribution of Chanos fry in the coastal areas, food and feeding of the fish, its growth, maturity, fecundity and spawning, and also certain experimental results on the physiological adaptation of the fish together with the histological structures of its kidney, pituitary and thyroid. While emphasising the paucity of data on the adult milkfish in the wild, the priority areas where information is lacking especially on the spawning ground, reliable identifying characters of the egg as well as on the possible existence of different racial stocks have been discussed.

Study on the natural food of adult milkfish was made from specimens caught from the open sea. The contents of guts from 15 specimens were qualitatively analysed, and both planktonic as well as benthic forms were encounted. The relationship between the gut length and body length has been worked out. Ten out of 15 milkfish examined were also found to be infected with Acanthocephalan parasites confined mainly to the anterior part of the intestine.

The program objective is to breed the milkfish, Chanos chanos (Forskal), in captivity and to raise the fry from the egg, undertaking any research and development which may be necessary to attain that goal. In this, the first year of the project, eight very mature fish were captured and deemed ready for final spawning inducement. One fish (with eggs 0.818 mm in diameter) hydrated and was partially ovulated by two injections of 25 mg salmon gonadotrophin SG-G100. The eggs were not fertilized. The injection procedure or excessive handling and sampling of three other fish resulted in early atresia (reabsorption) of the oocytes. Two fish died from the sampling and handling procedures, and two proved to be too immature with eggs below 0.6 mm in diameter. Preliminary results indicate that oocytes of 0.8 mm and above are at a critical stage (or beyond) at which immediate hypophysation is needed. Injection cannot be delayed. Excessive handling or stress at this stage causes rapid atresia of the oocytes. It appears that oocytes of about 0.7 mm are more suitable for reacting positively to injections. The size of an ovulated egg is about 1.2 mm in diameter. The level and dose rate of SG-G100 used for mullet (20)µg/g body weight) appears too high for the milkfish. A dose of between 12 and 15 µg/g body weight is suggested at present. A resident population of adults of varying ages, numbering over 50 fish, has been assembled. Some were brought from the island of Hawaii to Oahu by land and sea involving 18 hours of travel. All survived the journey. Consequently a small operating satellite field center has been established on Hawaii. A total of 179 dead adult fish have been used for future compilation of age, weight/length, GSI, scale and otolith data. All of the samples are stored. Determination of the GSI for Hawaiian fish indicated a rapid maturation of oocytes and spermatids in June, with a peak spawning period in July and early August. Adult fish have been placed under photoperiod and temperature-regulated conditions to promote maturation out of season. General husbandry methods have been developed for adults in captivity, and a diet formulated which appears to be acceptable. The work on health care is proving to be very informative. Safe handling systems have been developed using ice, and hypotheses made for the results of this treatment and general conditions of stress. Autopsies on dead fish have revealed growths and evidence of heart attack and gastritis. Techniques using commercially available human clinical test kits are proving useful indicators of stress; for example, the presence of hemoglobin and ketones in the mucus increases with stress. Eye lens protein analyses are being undertaken to determine any different racial origins of milkfish.

Growth of young milkfish was studied at different levels of salinity over a period 68 days. Results suggested that young milkfish reared in freshwater or less saline sea water grew faster than in sea water. The increase in body weight was neither due to the increase in water content nor increase in feeding rate. The difference in growth rate might be attributed to the deviation from the original acclimating salinity. Mechanisms of the effect of salinity in retarding or accelerating milkfish growth should be investigated in the future.

The role of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) in the gonadal development of protogynous hermaphroditic grouper (E. fuscoguttatus) was investigated. Recombinant giant grouper (E. lanceolatus) FSH (rggFSH) was produced in yeast. Its receptor binding capacity and steroidogenic potency were confirmed in vitro. Weekly injections of rggFSH to juvenile tiger grouper for 8 weeks (100 μg/kg body weight, BW) resulted in significantly larger and more advanced oocytes (cortical alveolar stage vs. primary growth stage in control). Sustained treatment with rggFSH (20 to 38 weeks at 200 μg/kg BW) resulted in significant reduction in gonad size, degeneration of oocytes and proliferation of spermatogonial cells, indicative of female to male sex change. Gene expression analysis showed that, while initiating female to male sex change, the rggFSH significantly suppressed the steroidogenic genes cyp11b, cyp19a1a and foxl2 which restrained the endogenous production of sex steroid hormones thus prevented the differentiation of spermatogonial cells. Expression profile of sex markers dmrt1, amh, figla and bmp15 suggests that the observed sex change was restricted at the initiation stage. Based on these results, we propose that the process of female to male sex change in the protogynous grouper is initiated by FSH, rather than sex steroids and likely involves steroid-independent pathway. The cortical alveolar stage in oocyte development is the critical point after which FSH-induced sex change is possible in grouper.

The use of artificial substratum made out of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) based biodegradable plastic for penaeid shrimp culture was investigated for the first time. Provision of PHB substratum consisting of PHB type P209 (Biomer, Krailling, Germany) to postlarval whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei (106 ± 52 mg) resulted in significantly higher survival (P ≤ 0.05) of 83.6 ± 3.4% as compared to 73.9 ± 3.0% for postlarvae provided with conventional substratum consisting of polyvinylchloride (PVC) pipes. Results on final weight showed significantly higher weight (P ≤ 0.05) of 1008.2 ± 4.5 mg in postlarval whiteleg shrimp provided PHB substratum as compared to 893.4 ± 30.0 mg for postlarvae provided with PVC substratum. The trends of higher visit and preference by postlarval whiteleg shrimp on 10-day and 70-day aged PHB substrata over 10-day and 70-day aged PVC substrata suggest the importance of PHB substratum as grazing area rather than as shelter. Test conducted on water quality also showed a trend towards higher total ammonia-nitrogen (TAN) conversion from an initial concentration of 1.75 ± 0.0 mg L⁻¹ to 0.35 mg ± 0.04 mg L⁻¹ after 72 h with PHB substratum while using no substratum and PVC substratum lead to TAN concentrations of 1.28 ± 0.06 mg L⁻¹ and 1.23 ± 0.10 mg L⁻¹, respectively. Overall, this study indicates that artificial substratum consisting of PHB-based biodegradable plastic increases the quality of postlarval whiteleg shrimp and that it contributes to maintaining good water quality.

A disaster management plan is essential because it can guide library personnel on what to do in a critical time. Using an eight-part survey instrument, this paper documents the impact of Typhoon Haiyan on 22 academic libraries in Northern Panay, Western Visayas, Philippines and the disaster management practices that were implemented. The results revealed that although the majority of the libraries do not have a disaster management plan, they all had common disaster management practices that enabled them to save parts of their collections. Moreover, the study revealed that librarians lacked knowledge and skills on disaster management. This paper was presented at the 40th International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers (IAMSLIC) Annual Conference, Noumea, New Caledonia, September 14–18, 2014.