DA, SEAFDEC track tuna and other fishes

Something fishy can’t be all that bad, but you would have to be a little more color-conscious beyond the size big and small of that tuna you just brought in from the market.

If you had, then you stand to get between less than P500 and P11,000 from the Department of Agriculture.

The department’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) on Monday urged fishermen and consumers to return colored tags attached to tanigue, tambakol and other tuna species and get monetary rewards for doing so.

Bureau Director Malcolm Sarmiento Jr. said fishermen and consumers who would turn over yellow, green or orange tags to the government would be paid less than P500 to as much as P11,000 for each tag. The reward, he added, would depend on the color of the tag.

“This tuna-tagging project carries a $10 reward for yellow tag, $50 for green tag and $250 for orange tag. [A tuna species carrying a green or orange tag] has accompanying devices inserted in the body cavity of the fish near the abdomen. [A yellow tag attached to a tuna species] is attached to the back of the fish near the second dorsal fin,” Sarmiento said.

He called on fishermen and consumers to find out if the fish they have caught or bought have tags in them, and if they have, to return such markers to the bureau or to their local government units.

“Any tags found in fishes particularly big-eye, skipjack or yellowfin tuna and other marine fishes [are especially sought], as these are part of scientific studies,” Sarmiento said.

Tagging project

He explained that the three scientific studies aim to help develop a regional management plan for tuna and small pelagic fishes in the Southeast Asian region in order to ensure their sustainability.

The Tuna-Tagging in the Western and Central Pacific project, Sarmiento said, is spearheaded by the Oceanic Fisheries Program under the Secretariat of the Pacific Community based in New Caledonia and funded by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.

The two other similar projects are led in the country by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources through the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, or NFRDI.

The Oceanic Fisheries Program expects that “the tuna-tagging project will provide better information on fishery exploitation rates and population sizes in the Western and Central Pacific. Data to be gathered will allow the improvement of regional stock assessment for the three species [big-eye, skipjack and yellow fin tuna].”

It advised anyone who is able to take hold of a tuna species with a tag attached to it to record its fork length (upper jaw to the fork-end of the tail) and the date and place of capture. The fisheries program said that extra care must be observed in handling the inserted devices.

Other species tagged

Apart from the tuna-tagging project, a similar species-tracking effort is also being undertaken by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) involving small pelagics particularly alumahan (Japanese mackerel), hasa-hasa (short-bodied mackerel, Indian mackerel) and galunggong (round scad).

Along with tunsoy, tawilis and matangbaka, the small pelagics constitute about 50 percent of the country’s total marine catch.

The Philippines and seven other Asian countries in 2008 started tagging five commercially important fish species, among them galunggong and hasa-hasa, in the South China Sea and Andaman Seas as the focus of a three-year collaborative research on migration patterns of small pelagic fishes in these waters.

The government is undertaking this tagging project for mackerel and round scad species in partnership with Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia (the peninsula itself and Sabah and Sarawak), Vietnam and Myanmar.

“Fish-tagging involves the insertion of special number-coded yellow tags at the base of the dorsal fins of individual fishes. The fishes are released back into the sea and their tags will hopefully be returned to the nearest fishery agency by the fishermen who catch them,” Sarmiento explained.

He said that this project is designed to let researchers determine the migratory paths of these species, which, in turn, will eventually lead to the development of a regional management and conservation plans for the sustainability of small pelagic fishes in the region.

- By Ira Karen Apanay, Reporter

New marine hatchery opens in Mindanao

A new marine fish hatchery in Misamis Occidental is now operational through the joint efforts of the provincial government, the Australian government and the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) through its Aquaculture Department (AQD). Headed by Dr. Joebert Toledo, AQD provided the technical support, technology and supervision over the project.

The P8.8-million hatchery was recently inaugurated by President Gloria Arroyo along with DA Secretary Arthur Yap, Misamis Occidental Gov. Loreto Ocampos and Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Rod Smith.

The project, which forms part of the Misamis Occidental Aquaculture Park (MOAP), aims to create direct and indirect employment for coastal fish farmers; promote aquaculture; and help the province become a major provider of agri-aqua products in Northern Mindanao.

The hatchery facilities were built through a joint partnership with the Australian government through the Philippines-Australia Local Sustainability (PALS) program, which allocated P5.56 million for the project.

The Misamis Occidental provincial government shouldered the P2.44 million counterpart fund to complete the hatchery.

"The hatchery is expected to produce an annual output of 576,000 grouper (lapu-lapu or pugapo) fry, which will help guarantee a stable supply of fish for the province," Toledo said in a report to Yap. "Milkfish, red snapper, crablets, seabass, seahorse and other high-value species are also expected to be produced in the hatchery."

The facility is capable of supporting 32 grouper grow-out fish cages that will be placed along the 169-kilometer coastline of Panguil Bay and Murcillagos Bay, Toledo said.

He said this hatchery houses two 160-tonner broodstock tanks supported by a 135-ton reservoir tank. Six 15-tonner Chlorella and rotifer tanks will supply natural food for the 8 larval tanks that will raise 12,000 fry each per run or every 60 days

Director Malcolm Sarmiento of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources earlier pointed out that mariculture parks are not only practical and economical but are also ecology-friendly.

For instance, he said, mangrove trees don't need to be cut to raise bangus in a fish cage. Raising fish in a mariculture park is also cheaper because it costs only about P150,000 to put up a sea cage while development cost for a hectare of fishpond will reach about P1 million.

Moreover, yields can reach as much as 5 tons in a 10x10 meter sea cage inside a mariculture park, which is the same as in a one-hectare fish pond, Sarmiento added.

With production cost of P70.00-P75.00 per kilo, a fish farmer could easily earn some P90,000.00 per cage or a total of P180,000.00 for two cropping periods per year.

To further increase his earnings, a fish farmer can also grow danggit or samaral in seacages tandem with bangus under a system called aqua-polyculture. After one cropping with 1,680 pieces fingerlings, danggit could grow to an estimated 100 kilos, which could easily fetch an additional cash of P8,800.

The DA has been working closely with the SEAFDEC in several fisheries development projects, including the supervision over the culture and importation of Peneaus vannamei or Pacific white shrimp and a three-year collaborative "fish-tagging" project that will focus on determining the migration patterns of small pelagic fishes with the end in view of crafting a regional plan to guarantee the sustainability of these marine resources. - DA Press Office

Australian embassy sets meeting with AQD

Mr. Stephen Scott, Minister and Deputy Head of Mission of the Australian Embassy, visited AQD on January 22, meeting with AQD Chief Dr. Joebert Toledo, Research Head Dr. Evelyn Grace DJ-Ayson, and Administration & Finance Head Atty. Jerry Opinion.

Mr. Scott was mostly interested to know about AQD’s participation on the multi-species hatchery project in Misamis Occidental. He inquired about the contributions of AQD to the project, how the project started, what species will be raised in the hatchery, and what benefits will be gained by the community.

The visit of Mr. Scott to AQD is part of the Australian Embassy’s scheduled appointments to representatives of Philippine government agencies, academe, international and non-governmental organizations to discuss local politics, security, and development issues.

NCSU professor visits AQD

North Carolina State University (NCSU) professor Dr. Russell Borski visited AQD last January 23-27 to discuss on the progress of the existing collaborative project between NCSU and AQD entitled Alternative feeding strategies to improve milkfish production efficiency in the Philippines. Dr. Borski is the Principal Investigator and AQD RD head Dr. Evelyn Grace DJ-Ayson is the host country Co-principal Investigator for the project.

On his first day at AQD, Dr. Borski together with Dr. DJ-Ayson went to Igang Marine Station to see the site of the milkfish cage experiments which will be started this February. The next day, he met with the seaweed farmers in Sibunag, Guimaras. These farmers were beneficiaries of a previous workshop (which is also part of the collaborative project) conducted by Dr. Anicia Hurtado. Dr. Borski also surveyed the seaweed farms in Sibunag.

Dr. Borski had a meeting with Dr. DJ-Ayson, Ms. Milagros Castaños (Devcom head), and Ms. Kaylin Corre (OIC TID head) on January 26 to discuss podcasting as a new extension tool. During the meeting, Dr. Borski also showed his initial efforts on tilapia book review podcast.

Lastly, Dr. Borski conducted a research seminar on Compensatory growth: mechanisms and applications for improving production efficiency of fish at TMS RD AV room on the 27th.

BFS senior staff visits ABOT client

AQD’s Binangonan Freshwater Station (BFS) senior staff Mr. Ruel Eguia visited the brackishwater pond of ABOT (agree-build-operate-transfer aquabusiness) client Mr. Chito Nepomuceno at Magallanes, Sorsogon last January 22-23.

The purpose of Mr. Eguia’s visit was to evaluate: (1) fishpond infrastructure and (2) preparation activities for the farm site. Mr. Nepomuceno is planning to culture milkfish and seabass and considering culturing tiger prawns as well.

Upon AQD’s advise, Mr. Nepomuceno replaced his pond’s primary and secondary wooden gates, fabricated screens and wooden slabs, cleared the dikes of weeds, levelled the pond bottom, readied the ponds for fertilization and liming, repaired eroded dikes, and positioned the pond’s main gate strategically.

AQD joins international symposium on catfish aquaculture

AQD’s Binangonan Freshwater Station (BFS) researcher Ms. Antonieta Evangelista presented a paper on “Growth and survival of Asian catfish Clarias macrocephalus (Gunther) fry reared at different stocking densities and feeding regimes in Laguna de Bay, Philippines” in the international symposium in Can Tho University, Can Tho City, Vietnam. The Catfish aquaculture in Asia: present status and challenges for sustainable development conference was held last December 5-7, 2008.

The conference’s organizer was Can Tho University in collaboration with NACA (Network of Aquaculture Centers in Asia-Pacific) & ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Aquaculture Platform, and PhysCAM Project of DANIDA (Danish International Development Agency). The government and other local institutions in Vietnam also supported the event.

In joining the conference, AQD gained knowledge and gathered relevant information on the economic importance of catfish aquaculture. It also expanded AQD’s network of contacts for future collaborations.

AQD attends symposium on current research trends in fisheries biology

AQD’s Binangonan Freshwater Station (BFS) senior staff Dr. Maria Rowena Eguia, Mr. Ruel Eguia, and Ms. Antonieta Evangelista participated in the international symposium on Current research trends in fisheries biology last January 20. The conference was held at the Philippine Carabao Center, CLSU (Central Luzon State University), Nueva Ecija.

The purpose of the conference is to disseminate results of the collaborative studies by CLSU and the National Taiwan University under the Microsatellite and Otolith (MO) project. Most topics of the presentations are on population genetics as applied in the conservation and management of freshwater fishes.

In joining this event, BFS participants were able to: (1) gather relevant concepts and techniques that can be applied to BFS’s current research projects, and (2) meet researchers who are interested in collaborating with AQD.

AQD participates in ASA-IM seminar

AQD fish health scientist Dr. Edgar Amar acted as chair and moderator of the American Soybean Association-International Marketing (ASA-IM) sponsored technical seminar on ‘Marine fish disease: prevention, maintenance, identification, and treatment.’ AQD’s Dr. Gilda Lio-Po, on the other hand, gave a lecture on presumptive diagnosis of fish mortality outbreaks at the farm-level. The seminar was held in Iloilo Business Hotel, Iloilo City last December 2, 2008.

AQD’s Dr. Mae Catacutan, Ms. Kaylin Corre, and Ms. Delia Tubo also attended the seminar. AQD publications were also sold during the seminar.

AQD conducts rural aquaculture training under the HRD program

AQD is the first among the SEAFDEC departments to conduct the Training of trainers, a series of 10-day courses that is being funded by the Japan-ASEAN Solidarity Fund of the ASEAN Foundation. The training series is under the project Human resource development (HRD) on poverty alleviation and food security by fisheries intervention in the ASEAN region that is implemented by SEAFDEC as a center-wide project.

As Chief Dr. JD Toledo explained, AQD is responsible for the HRD thematic area on rural aquaculture while other SEAFDEC departments will train trainers on local/indigenous institution & co-management and responsible fishing technology (TD), backyard fishery post-harvest technology (MFRD), and inland fisheries development (MFRDMD).

Further, the Chief noted that AQD is offering all of its packaged technologies which are products of 35 years of research work. These technologies, along with AQD’s extension strategies, were presented by 20 AQD senior staff.

Eight participants from SEAFDEC member-countries started the AQD course on 10 November and finished on the 19th. They were joined by an invited participant from AQD’s ICDSA-Northern Samar project and three students from Maejo University (Chiangmai, Thailand) who are undergoing their OJT at Tigbauan Main Station.

After the course, the next task of the eight participants, now fully considered trainers, is on-site training on their choice of technology for the fIsherfolk community they have chosen in their home countries.

Class chair Ms. Hasnisa bt. Hj Abdul Hamid of Malaysia was all praises (“More than I expected!”) for the resource persons and the training staff, though not for the schedule which most of her classmates consider as “tight”. The participants worked through the weekend, conducting participatory rural appraisal of a land-locked but water-rich Dumarao and the coastal Igang community.

The technology selected by the trainers of Thailand, Vietnam, Lao PDR and Indonesia to be “echoed” is freshwater aquaculture. Myanmar chose to focus on mudcrab; and Malaysia on shrimp (Penaeus monodon) and ornamental fish.

The Philippines and Cambodia are preferring combinations of freshwater and marine fish cage farming.

AQD inks agreement with Ecuador’s National Institute of Fisheries

Having very similar goals of responsible aquaculture/fisheries, AQD and Ecuador’s National Institute of Fisheries signed an agreement on 3 December for a two-year collaboration to establish aquaculture facilities (eg. multi-species marine fish hatchery/nursery and demonstration grow-out ponds & cages) and to conduct training (also on marine fishes) in Ecuador. NIF is allocating over US$350,000 for AQD’s technical assistance on species/site assessment, among others.

AQD conducts mudcrab training in Myanmar

AQD scientists Dr. Emilia Quinitio and Dr. Fe Estepa travelled to Yangon to conduct a training on Mudcrab farming and visit a potential site for crab farming from 7 to 11 October at the behest of the GOJ-Trust Fund.

On their first day, the scientists paid a courtesy call on Director General Mr. Khin Maung Aye and Deputy Director-General Mr. Khin Ko Lay of the Department of Fisheries at the Myanmar Federation of Fisheries. The Director expressed his government’s gratitude to the Government of Japan and SEAFDEC for the training course, the first lecture series on mud crab culture to be held in Myanmar.

Recognizing the accomplishments of SEAFDEC in the field of mud crab larval rearing, the Myanmar officials indicated their plan to establish a crab hatchery in their country with the assistance of GOJ and SEAFDEC. They requested another trip for AQD to conduct site selection for the hatchery and hands-on training.

The AQD scientists also met the chairs of the Crab Entrepreneurs Association (Mr. U Knin Oo) and of the Fish Information Services Co. (Mr. Hla Win) and spent the next two days (8-9 October) training 64 participants who represented the private and government sectors. Mr. Hla Win translated some of the vital points in the lectures to Burmese.

The AQD scientists gave an overview of mudcrab industry, and lectured on identification & biology, broodstock management & larval rearing, natural food production, pond preparation, nursery rearing, and grow-out.

Progress of Government of Japan trust-funded projects

On December 9 and 10, proponents and reviewers of Government of Japan Trust-funded projects gathered in Amigo Terrace Hotel, Iloilo City to review the work progress for 2008 and present plans for 2009.

The proponents attending the meeting include scientists and research staff from AQD, RIA-2 of Vietnam, Inland Aquatic Animal Health Research Institute of Thailand, and Research Institute for Freshwater Aquaculture of Indonesia.

The external reviewers were Dr. M Sano (Director of Fisheries Research Agency, Japan), Dr. EC Lacierda (Kagoshima University), Dr. LMB Garcia (University of the Philippines Diliman) and Dr. C Baylon (UP Visayas). They congratulated the study leaders for their “great efforts in implementing the studies as planned.” Since 2009 is the last year of the GOJ-TF 4, they also urged the proponents to construct an information network and share the results of the studies. The manual on viral nervous necrosis (VNN) is one of the awaited results. There would also be the revised textbook on aquatic animal health, revised manual on diseases of penaeid shrimps, new manual on fsh nursery, and new proceedings of the 2007 international workshop on fish disease. Already in press are two manuals: identification of commercially important freshwater prawns, and seed production & grow-out of mudcrab in Vietnam.

Dr. Hiroshi Ogata, AQD Deputy Chief and GOJ-TF manager of aquaculture projects, was also pleased with the progress of the three projects which cover: (1) development of fish surveillance system; (2) development of technologies and human capacity building for sustainable aquaculture; and (3) stock enhancement for threatened species of international concern. The GOJ-TF team is working on VNN and other viruses like WSSV, an “indigenous” probiotics, chemical residues in aquaculture; shrimps & prawns, freshwater prawn, mudcrab, sea cucumber, abalone, angelwing clam, giant clam, rice-fish culture, Kappaphycus, sea bass, seahorses, humpback wrasse; and socioeconomic analysis of stock enhancement and technology adoption.

Meetings in Wuxi, China

AQD Chief Dr. JD Toledo was in China for two meetings.

First at the Freshwater Fisheries Research Center (FFRC) of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences in Wuxi on 29 October to discuss recent developments in aquaculture research which directly affects, and may apply to, farmers; possible felds of research and training activities between the two institutions; and strategies to ensure the effcient exchange of trainees and research staff.

Then at the 9th NACA (Network of Aquaculture Centre in Asia-Pacific) technical advisory committee meeting or TAC9, also in Wuxi, from 30 October to 1 November. TAC9 was hosted by the Freshwater Fisheries Institute, NACA’s Regional Lead Center in China. The objective of the meeting was to formulate the Work Plan for regional aquaculture development for the period January 2009-December 2011.

AQD at the 9th ISEP meeting

Information officers of the SEAFDEC Secretariat and Departments gathered in Singapore just before PCM (30 October to 1 November) to discuss the progress of SEAFDEC’s strategies to enhance public visibility and information dissemination.

The 9th Meeting of the information staff exchange program (ISEP) was held at SEAFDEC’s Marine Fisheries Research Department. Development Communication Section Head Ms. Milagros Castanos and Senior Information Assistant Luisa Pacino represented AQD.

Among others, the 9th ISEP suggested updates to SEAFDEC’s information strategies formulated in 2005, clarified definition and coverage of information/success indicators, and made tentative plans for a survey on the extent of stakeholders’ awareness of SEAFDEC programs.

After the reporting and discussions, the ISEP group visited Nanyang Technological University to meet up with the Director-General of the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre. Dr. Indrajit Banerjee gave practical advice on launching a media campaign, saying that SEAFDEC must first document in one reference all its accomplishments then work with media professionals to package these information for public consumption.

The group went next to one of the library complexes of the National Library Board of Singapore, and was impressed by its full automation and book drop off points. The library collects all books published in, about, or by Southeast Asia; and has spaces for cultural mini-exhibits (on the old writings of Singapore at the time of the visit) as well.