Fresh chilled and fresh frozen cephalopods - Product standard

This Standard applies to fresh chilled and fresh frozen cephalopods of the Loliginidae, Sepiidae and Octopodidae families for direct consumption or further processing

Histidine requirement of snubnose silver pompano Trachinotus blochii

Histidine is necessary for the formation and repair of tissues to mitigate the effects of cataract on some fish species. Although the requirements for dietary amino acids of several Trachinotus species have been reported, the quantitative histidine requirement for a cost-effective diet for snubnose pompano or Trachinotus blochii, a high value finfish species in the Philippines, has been limited. A 90-day growth experiment determined the dietary histidine requirement of juvenile snubnose pompano (0.19±0.03 g). Six isonitrogenous, isolipidic, and isoenergetic diets consisted of a control diet with 0% histidine inclusion level (basal histidine level of 0.65%) and five diets with histidine inclusion levels of 0.15 (0.80%), 0.3 (1.1%), 0.45 (1.55%), 0.6 (2.15%), and 0.75% (2.9%). To simulate the pompano whole-body amino acid composition, essential amino acids were added in the diet. Fifteen pompano juveniles per tank in three replicates were stocked randomly in 250-L fiberglass tanks and were fed to satiation for 90 d. When the dietary histidine level and percent weight gain were analyzed via quadratic regression, a dietary histidine level of 1.61 g per 100 g diet or 0.357 g per 100 g protein is required for juvenile snubnose pompano. Moreover, the occurrence of cataracts was not observed in fish fed all dietary treatments.SEAFDEC/AQD under FD-02-F2015T is acknowledged for funding this study

Achieving high production of micropropagated seaweed through optimization of the culture protocol

Kappaphycus and Eucheuma are the two carrageenanproducing red algae extensively cultured and farmed in tropical and subtropical waters. Seaweed production accounted for 5.4 percent of the world’s aquaculture production in 2019, which was over USD 15 billion in value. With this value share, the production of seaweed farming was higher than other aquatic commodities, such as tilapia, carp, shrimps, and others (Cai et al., 2021). The red algae production of the Philippines started in the 1960s (Ronquillo & Gabral-Llana, 1989), and by the early 2000s, the country had become the world’s top supplier of seaweed, particularly Kappaphycus sp., until 2007, when Indonesia outperformed it. Problems and challenges in seaweed farming, including climate change, pests and diseases, and biosecurity issues, caused the continuous decline of the seaweed production yield (Faisan, Sollesta-Pitogo, & de la Peña, 2022). Furthermore, the deterioration of seaweed quality caused by the repetitive use of vegetative cutting methods has also become one of the most pressing concerns in seaweed farming. Unfortunately, this procedure of growing plantlets for farming is one of the most common methods many seaweed farms used in the Philippines and other countries. Research in SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department (AQD) looks into breaking from the conventional method of farming seaweed plantlets and optimizing laboratorybased production. With this, it hopes to create a more sustainable source of propagules, better growth and survival in grow-out, and a higher carrageenan quality in cultured Kappaphycus alvarezii

Nursery and grow-out culture of snubnose pompano (Trachinotus blochii, Lacepede) in marine cages

This manual, titled “Nursery and Grow-out Culture of Snubnose Pompano (Trachinotus blochii, Lacepede) in Marine Cages,” includes culture methods and good practices that are the product of research done at the Aquaculture Department of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center. The manual also tackles practical techniques useful to fish farmers interested in raising pompano in marine cages.This research is funded by SEAFDEC /AQD under the study code DP-03-F2021I

Boosting the sustainability of aquaculture feed for the lucrative business of mangrove crab grow-out culture

Conventional feeds for mangrove crab (Scylla serrata) are highly fixated on the use of fish-by-products (FBC) and other slaughter wastes. These feeds, however, are highly polluting that can easily cause water quality spoilage, and may affect the health of the mangrove crab. They can likewise bring about problems in supply shortage, reliability in quality, and as carriers of disease agents. In order to support the sustainability of the mangrove crab industry in Southeast Asia, there is a need to produce an efficient and viable aquaculture feed for this species. Although SEAFDEC has started venturing into researches with emphasis on crab feed development, it was deemed necessary to work on further improvement of feed formulation with the inclusion of ingredients that are less expensive based on published nutritional requirements and physical properties of mangrove crab. This study assessed the efficiency of the refined crab feed in land-based tanks. Refinement of this feed formulation focused on partial replacement of fishmeal with alternative ingredients such as mussel meat meal. Cholesterol was added to refined crab feed to improve molting processes affecting the growth of the animal (Coloso et al., 2017). The same diet was evaluated for its proximate composition, water stability, amino acid and fatty acid compositions, digestibility of nutrients, attractability and palatability, and its biological effects on cultured mangrove crabs. Overall, results indicated that refined crab feed can potentially be used as sole feed for the grow-out culture of crabs as it can enhance the animals’ growth and survival in tanks

AQD Matters 2023 May - June

In this issue: 1) Training empowers fisherfolks to boost abalone production; 2) Chief Baliao's opinion sought on proposed gov't hatcheries; 3) Backyard fish farmers upgrade skills through training on freshwater aquaculture; 4) SEAFDEC/AQD intensifies round scad research; stocks up on more breeders; 5) SEAFDEC/AQD strengthens teamwork and camaraderie through sports; 6) Coastal cleanup comes to Tigbauan's 2 barangays; 7) Sandfish culture training for the Pacific Communit

Comparison of reproductive aspects of the tropical eel Anguilla bicolor (McClelland 1884) in freshwater and estuarine habitats

The tropical anguillid eel, Anguilla bicolor McClelland, experiences significant growth up to the adult size in both freshwater and estuarine ecosystems, encountering salinity gradients that may impact their reproduction. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the reproductive aspects of A. bicolor collected from Serayu River (freshwater) and Segara Anakan (estuary), Cilacap, Central Java, during July 2020 field surveys. The examined parameters included eye index (EI), fin index (FI), gonadosomatic index (GSI), hepatosomatic index (HSI), and sex ratio of eel specimens in freshwater and estuary. Furthermore, the total length (TL) and body weight (BW) ranged from 260 - 630 mm and 18 - 419 g in freshwater, and 260 - 630 mm and 18 - 447 g in estuary. Significant differences (P<0.01) were observed in the reproductive characteristics between the two habitats (P<0.01), with higher eye index, fin index, gonadosomatic index, and hepatosomatic index in freshwater-caught eels than the values obtained in estuary inhabitants. The mean of these four parameters were 6.99 ± 2.98%, 4.08 ± 0.71%, 1.70 ± 1.13%, and 1.92% ± 1.07 in freshwater, while 3.48 ± 1.60%, 3.45 ± 0.479%, 1.12 ± 0.23%, and 0.28 ± 0.19% were found in estuary. The sex ratio was significantly affected by habitat, with female eels dominating in freshwater (62.5%) compared to estuary (32%). These results suggested that eels in freshwater habitats might exhibit early gonadal maturation compared to those in estuary

Culture of natural food for farmed freshwater fish and prawn larvae

This manual describes the various methods for culturing microalgae and other natural food organisms fed to freshwater fish/prawn larvae that are produced and reared in hatcheries. Hence, it will encourage/ promote the use of natural food organisms be these live and/or processed (concentrated algal pastes), as a means of optimizing larval fish/prawn production. The manual was written purposely for local freshwater fish/prawn hatchery owners/operators and their technicians. The authors prepared the manual for hatchery operators to have a better understanding of how and why there is a need to culture natural food organisms as part of the standard larval rearing protocol and to increase/boost fish and/or prawn seedstock production.Englis

Reproductive quality evaluation of male Indian white prawn Penaeus indicus broodstock-fed diets supplemented with polychaete extracts (Marphysa sp.)

The present study determined the effect of different polychaete extracts, namely, total soluble fraction (TSF), neutral lipid fraction (NLF) and polar lipid fraction (PLF), in the maturation and sperm quality of male Penaeus indicus. Three levels (0.25, 0.50 and 1.00%) of extracts were included using a 3&thinsp;×&thinsp;3 factorial design. Groups fed the basal diet (BD) and fresh-frozen diet served as controls. Extracts in varying doses and control groups did not have a significant effect on broodstock survival (67–87%; p&thinsp;=&thinsp;0.960), maturation rate (42–68%; p&thinsp;=&thinsp;0.615), inter-spermatophore period (8–10&thinsp;days; p&thinsp;=&thinsp;0.505) or sperm viability (97–100%; p&thinsp;=&thinsp;0.819). However, sperm counts of broodstock fed BD (11.70&thinsp;×&thinsp;106 ±1.05&thinsp;×&thinsp;106 per spermatophore) and those fed diets supplemented with polychaete extracts were significantly higher compared to that fed with control fresh diet at 0.73&thinsp;×&thinsp;106± .09&thinsp;×&thinsp;106 (p&thinsp;=&thinsp;0.001). Spermatophore crude lipid was highest in groups fed 0.25% TSF and 0.25% PLF of broodstock (p&thinsp;=1.0 x10−6&thinsp;). Inclusion of TSF (0.25–1.00%) significantly increased the spermatophore crude protein content of broodstock compared to those fed with other diets (p&thinsp;=&thinsp;1.20&thinsp;×&thinsp;10−5). These results demonstrate that NLF and TSF extracts are bioactive components of polychaete which when fed to male P. indicus, can stimulate aspects of sperm production

AQD Matters 2023 January - February

In this issue: 1) SEAFDEC backs gov't bid to put up feed mill plants; 2) SEAFDEC/AQD welcomes Usec Bayate as PH Council Director; 3) SEAFDEC/AQD's expertise in formulating cost-efficient feeds sough