AQD holds training on abalone, marine fish, freshwater aquaculture

Eleven trainees completed AQD’s International training course on abalone hatchery and grow-out which ran 8-28 July. The trainees were from Malaysia (2), Philippines (8), and South Korea (1) with three of them sponsored by GOJ. In this course, lectures and practical sessions included abalone biology, principles of hatchery & seed production, feeds & feeding, principles of sustainable aquaculture, grow-out culture, industry experience of growing abalone, biology & grow-out culture of seaweeds, and financial feasibility & market potential of abalone. The trainees also visited a seaweed farm, AQD’s Dumangas Brackishwater Station, and a private abalone hatchery.

A lone participant from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean attended the month-long Special training on the hatchery of selected marine fishes which started August 10.

From April 23–24, 40 fishfarmers from northern Philippine towns in Rizal were in attendance for the Training on freshwater prawn and tilapia that was conducted in Filipino and in coordination with the Asian Social Institute. The course covered biology, how to rear prawns and tilapia in net cages including feeding management, and socioeconomic considerations in culture and marketing. There was also a practical session on the morphological identification of prawn broodstock and its larval stages.

Another course, Freshwater fish breeding and farming, was held May 17 through June 4, with three international participants. Two were from Burkina Faso, and funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The third participant was from the Freshwater Fishery Research Center (FFRC) in Wuxi, China whose participation is in partial fulfillment of an existing agreement between FFRC and AQD. The course included an overview of freshwater culture, site selection & water quality monitoring, biology & induced spawning, larval rearing & growout, and nutrition & feeding of Asian catfish, freshwater prawn, bighead carp and tilapia.