SEAFDEC Raises Fish Growth Rates
02 February 2012PHILIPPINES - The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center-Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC/AQD) has succeeded in raising the growth rates of 10 marine fish species to help bail out the fisheries sector from its current slump.
SEAFDEC/AQD chief Dr Joebert D. Toledo said the institution has been engaged in research on improved breeding techniques of marine fish to raise output and intensify aquaculture development in the Philippines and other member-countries, reports Tempo.
Dr Toledo said his mandate is to “improve the technologies for the culture of marine fish for sustainable aquaculture development, poverty alleviation in the countryside, and the reinforcement of aquatic resources and food security in the Southeast Asian region.”
The work being undertaken by Dr Toledo is crucial to aquaculture, which is taking up the slack of other fisheries sub-sectors.
Fisheries, which used to be a better performer from 2007 to 2010, slid by 4.1 per cent last year as output for commercial and municipal fisheries declined by 16.3 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively.
Previously, the fisheries subsector was a growth driver for the farm sector but Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said overfishing, illegal catching practices, and climate change conspired to slash its predominant role.
While the fisheries subsector grew value-wise to P225.1 billion, 1.85 per cent more than in 2010, its share in total agricultural output dipped to only 20.7 per cent.
The marine fish species which are the focus of SEAFDEC/AQD’s attention are milkfish, grouper, sera bass, mangrove red snapper, rabbit fish, pompano, kikero, Napoleon wrasse, hybrid red tilapia, and sea horse.
Dr Toledo added that his office has already worked on experiments to develop “reliable breeding techniques for pompano, scat, and Napoleon wrasse to ensure consistent supply of seeds for the species.”
At the outset, the SEAFDEC/AQD chief said some success has been achieved in raising the survival rate of the larvae in the hatchery and improve the quality of fry produced.
“For instance, in milkfish, improving the nutritional quality of the broodstock feed by the addition of more micronutrients and improving the quality of the live feed during the first feeding period are the approaches taken,” he added.
“With regard to Napoleon wrasse, research has continued to focus on ensuring the availability of live food with the appropriate size that will fit the size of the mouth of the larvae during the first feeding stage,” Dr Toledo revealed.
SEAFDEC/AQD also formulated feeds for delicate species like the sea bass.
“Experiments were conducted to improve production performance of sea bass in brackish water ponds during nursery and grow-out phases using AQD formulated feed with higher energy level,” Dr Toledo said.
“Another verification study evaluated the use of commercially-available feeds and AQD feeds (with varying ratio of crude protein and crude fat) on pompano juveniles cultured in ponds,” he noted.
“Polyculture or the growing of two or more kinds of fish/organisms in a single rearing system is one way of increasing pond production and at the same time utilising nutrient wastes,” Dr Toledo stressed.
“The intensive grow-out culture techniques for the polyculture of milkfish and mud crab are in their final stages of refinement. Another polyculture study done in brackish water ponds was the intensive production of red tilapia hybrid and siganid (Siganus guttatus),” he said.
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