after the wave - aquatic commonsaquaticcommons.org/200/1/aquaasia_9_4_2004.pdf · aquaculture asia...

ISSN 0859-600X Volume IX No. 4 October-December 2004

Catfish and conservation

Walking catfish genetics in Thailand Sarawak's indigenous Tor species

Captive breeding of vulnerable Indian Carp

Now available on CD-ROM!

Napoleon wrasse breakthrough!

Live reef fish market trends

After the wave

Aquaculture Asia and NACA extend our condolencesto the millions of people affected by the earthquakeand tsunamis of 26 December 2004. We are deeplysaddened by the event and will work to assist peopleto rebuild their lives and livelihoods, in collaborationwith our partners throughout the region. A consortium oflike-minded organizations has been formed to collaborate in the medium and long-term recovery offarmers, fishers and coastal communities. More inside.

STOP PRESS: REBUILD !

Immediate and currentresponse: CONSRN

Since December 2004, NACA has beencollecting and assessing informationfrom affected coasts in order to informrelief and reconstruction efforts. NACAhas also begun to work with otherorganizations to co-ordinate effortsand to collaborate on certain specificactivities. To this end, the FAORegional Office for Asia and thePacific, the Southeast Asian FisheriesDevelopment Center, the Bay of BengalProgram, the WorldFish Centre, NACAand its STREAM Initiative have formeda Consortium to Restore ShatteredLivelihoods in Tsunami-DevastatedNations, referred to as CONSRN.

Currently, CONSRN provides atsunami news monitoring service,collecting and presenting media clipsrelevant to coastal livelihoods,fisheries and aquatic resources andreporting these daily on consortiumpartner websites. CONSRN haspublished tsunami impact assessmentreports, updated frequently, whichprovide a more in-depth assessment of

the situation on a national basis. Thereis also a discussion forum to publiclydebate emerging issues available onthe NACA website, http://www.enaca.org. Other services will beintroduced as necessary, including theweb-based reporting of plans, activitiesand their outcomes, in order tomaximize co-ordination and minimizeduplication.

Towards NACA’s role inbuilding a strategic

response

In 2001, at the request of its’ 16-nationGoverning Council, the remit of theNetwork of Aquaculture Centres inAsia Pacific was expanded fromaquaculture development alone, toaquatic resources management.Member governments also mandatedthe NACA STREAM Initiative to helpsupport poverty alleviation, to improvecommunications, and to help shapeinstitutions and policies to providebetter services to poorer stakeholders,who forage from paddies and smallwater bodies, glean from shores and

After the wave

The tsunamis of 26 December 2004have devastated many coastalcommunities throughout the IndianOcean. Hundreds of thousands ofpeople have lost members of theirfamilies, their homes and theirlivelihoods. In the short term, thecritical need has been for emergencysupplies of food and water, shelter andmedical assistance. These emergencyrelief efforts are being undertaken byhumanitarian agencies.

In the medium to long term,survivors will begin to rebuild theirlives. It is at this stage that NACA cancontribute. As an intergovernmentalorganization working in developmentcontexts, with its wide network ofprofessionals, NACA has access to theexperience and expertise to assist inrebuilding the shattered livelihoods ofstricken communities, specificallythose dependent on aquaculture andcoastal fisheries.

Ban Nam Kem, Takua Pa district, Phangnga province Thailand. Photo by Simon Funge-Smith.

Continued on inside back cover...

Aquaculture Asia is an autonomous publicationthat gives people in developing

countries a voice. The views andopinions expressed herein arethose of the contributors and do

not represent the policies orposition of NACA

EditorSimon Wilkinson

[email protected]

Editorial Advisory BoardC. Kwei Lin

Donald J. MacIntoshMichael B. New, OBE

Patrick Sorgeloos

Editorial ConsultantPedro Bueno

NACAAn intergovernmental

organization that promotes ruraldevelopment through

sustainable aquaculture. NACAseeks to improve rural income,increase food production and

foreign exchange earnings andto diversify farm production. Theultimate beneficiaries of NACAactivities are farmers and rural

communities.

ContactThe Editor, Aquaculture Asia

PO Box 1040Kasetsart Post Office

Bangkok 10903, ThailandTel +66-2 561 1728Fax +66-2 561 1727

[email protected] http://www.enaca.org

Printed by Scand-Media Co., Ltd.

1

Volume IX No. 4 ISSN 0859-600XOctober-December 2004

Trade, food safety and traceability

2004 has been a year dominated by trade disputes and market access problems. Thistime the hammer has fallen hardest on shrimp, with the industry dogged by antibioticresidues, allegations of dumping, tariffs and falling international prices. Unfortunatelythere are no signs that things are likely to be any different in 2005, in fact, it seemslikely that issues of market access are steadily becoming more difficult and complex.

Global concerns about food safety have clearly been on the rise for some time.When it comes to food consumers the world over have repeatedly demonstrated near-zero tolerance for risk: If a product isn’t perceived as safe, they just won’t buy it. Afood safety issue can also lead to sudden market closure by governments. Theseoutcomes are perhaps most famously demonstrated by bovine spongiformencephalopathy or “mad cow disease”. BSE also demonstrated that nobody benefitsfrom a food safety scare: When the issue broke, beef exporters from non-affectedcountries speculated - with some enthusiasm - that they would be able to capture agreater share of the international market. They were utterly wrong: Consumersvirtually stopped eating beef; there was no international market left to capture; and itwas years before public confidence recovered. Many farmers were forced out ofbusiness.

With this kind of background it is understandable that governments areintroducing more stringent food safety requirements to reduce risk such as lowerchemical residue limits and testing for microbial contamination. Increasingly,governments and the private sector are also taking an interest in traceability: Wheredid this product come from ? How was it processed ? Who handled it ? They want toknow, or at least, to be able to find out. Much cost and disruption can be avoided ifthe source of a problem can be idenfied and the affected product removed. Withouttraceability a whole industry can fall under suspicion due to a problem caused by asingle supplier. Unfortunately, traceability is not without cost, and implementing it inthe Asian context - an industry dominated by large numbers of small-scale producers -is complex and difficult.

Nevertheless, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has just issued itsfinal regulations on the establishment and maintenance of records to protect the U.S.human food and animal feed supply, in accordance with section 306 of theBioterrorism Act. The new regulations require persons who manufacture, process,pack, transport, distribute, receive, hold, or import food to destined for the US toestablish and maintain records. These records must identify the immediate previoussource of all food received, as well as, the immediate subsequent recipient of all foodreleased. The record retention period for human foods ranges from six months to twoyears depending on the shelf life of the food. Records for animal food, including petfood, must be retained for one year. If you are engaged in food-related trade to the USI encourage you to look into the requirements as they could affect your business.Further details (including a fact sheet) are available from the FDA website at:

http://www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html

Wishing you a peaceful and prosperous 2005.

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In this issue

Sustainable AquacultureCaptive breeding of vulnerable Indian carp Cirrhinus reba with Ovaprim for 5conservation of wild populationsU. K. Sarkar, R. S. Negi, P. K. Deepak, S.P. Singh, S.M. Srivastava and Dipak Roy

Conservation of the Asiatic catfish, Clarias batrachus through artificial propagation, India 8B.K. Mahapatra

Genes and Fish: A perspective on breeding and genetics of walking catfish in Thailand 10Uthairat Na-Nakorn

Peter Edwards writes on rural aquaculture: Decline of wastewater-fed aquaculture in Hanoi 13

Research and Farming TechniquesArtificial propagation of the indigenous Tor species, empurau (T. tambroides) 15and semah (T. douronensis), Sarawak, East MalaysiaSena S. De Silva, Brett Ingram, Stephen Sungan, David Tinggi, Geoff Gooley, Sih Yang Sim

Research and development on commercial land–based aquaculture of spotted babylon, 21Babylonia areolata Link 1807, in Thailand: Pilot grow-out operationNilnaj Chaitanawisuti, Sirusa Kritsanapuntu, and Yutaka Natsukari

Aquatic Animal HealthAdvice on Aquatic Animal Health Care: Question and answer on shrimp health 26Pornlerd Chanratchakool

People in AquacultureResearch points to co-management options for poor fisherfolk in Vietnam 28Michael Akester, Le Vien Chi, Davide Fezzardi, Flavio Corsin

Aquaculture development through NGOs 29M.C. Nandeesha

Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture NetworkSustainable, profitable and socially responsible grouper and snapper culture in Komodo 34Trevor Meyer, Sudaryanto, Peter Mous and Jos Pet

First successful hatchery production of Napoleon wrasse at Gondol 37Bejo Slamet and Jhon H. Hutapea

Assessment of the use of coded wire tags (CWT) to trace coral trout 38(Plectropomus leopardus) in the live reef food fish tradeMike Rimmer, Sarah Kistle and Geoffrey Muldoon

Trade and market trends in the live reef food fish trade 40Geoffrey Muldoon, Liz Peterson, Brian Johnston

Page 7

Page 29

Page 13

Page 39

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October-December 2004 (Vol. IX No. 4) 3

Notes from the Publisher Notes from the Publisher Notes from the Publisher Notes from the Publisher Notes from the PublisherPedro Bueno is theDirector-General ofNACA. He is theformer Editor ofAquaculture Asia

Small ponds in peaty soils and carambas on a river

The yield comes up to 1 to 1.2 tonsover a 4-month growing period,according to Pak Hernowo, senior staffof the Jambi Balai Budidaya Air Tawar(BBAT) or Freshwater AquacultureDevelopment Centre, and Mr AgusApun Budhiman, head of Policy andPlanning of the Directorate General ofAquaculture in Jakarta. At 8,000rupiahs/kg (almost 1 US dollar intoday’s rates), the farmers grossincome from a pond per crop would bealmost 1,000 US$. Buyers go to thevillage to purchase the harvest.

The system was started by theBBAT through a small demonstrationpond in the village in the late 90s. AgusBudhiman said he and the former BBAThead Pak Maskur (former head of theJambi BBAT and currently head of theSukabumi Freshwater AquacultureDevelopment Centre in West Java)scouted the area some time in 1996 andsaw possibilities for Pangasius culture.They set up a demonstration pond. Atthat time the BBAT was newlyestablished in Jambi with two researchpersonnel (headed by Mr. Maskur, whohad trained in aquaculture research for

a year in Thailand’s Inland FisheriesInstitute under NACA’s junior scientistprogram). It has since expanded rapidlyin research and development coveragepersonnel and capability (thanks tonational and provincial governmentsupport and Japanese governmentassistance through JICA, which hasprovided good research equipment,including a pilot feed mill, andexpertise). The centre now regularlytrains farmers, produces fish seed itsells to farmers for nursing andprovides technical services to thefishfarmers in water quality monitoring,disease control, feeds and feeding, andoverall cultural management. It alsoproduces fingerlings for release

From a single governmentdemonstration pond set up in 1998,Jambi’s Provincial Fisheries Officer PakHerman said there are now some 350households in the area farming fish thisway, each household normallyoperating 3 to 4 ponds. Adoption of thesystem by the villagers only started in2001, he said. He estimates that thenumber of ponds now in operation totalmore than 20 hectares of water surfacearea. I saw some new ponds being dug.We did not go into the economicbenefits from the system but Agus andHernowo pointed out to me the new,concrete and wooden farmers’ houseswith tiled roofs that have sincereplaced bamboo and thatched roofdwellings of five years’ back. Thefarmers group (kolompok tani), whichincludes the women, work on valueaddition of their farm products (whichstill includes pineapple). We boughtjellied pineapple wrapped in nicelywoven grass bags. The list ofprocessed products announced in awell-maintained community billboardbeside the mosque includes a number

We saw two examples of howaquaculture is improving incomes andenhancing livelihoods of ruralcommunities in two Indonesian villages– one inland, one along a river - in theprovince of Jambi in Sumatra during theProgram Implementing Unit annualworkshop, this time held in Jambi.

The first was a pond culture systemof Pangasius hypopthalmus in a villagecalled Tangkit some 20 kilometers fromthe capital town. The ponds are small,200 square meters, dug on peaty soilsthat used to be planted withpineapples; they cannot be drained asthe water table is very high. Thesystem includes the profuse growth ofswamp cabbage as well as duckweedand, in a few ponds, Azolla to extractthe excess phosphorus and nitrogenfrom the pond water. Moist pelletizedfeed made by the farmers themselvesand based on Jambi’s FreshwaterAquaculture Development Centreformulation, is used. The fish mealcomponent comes from trash fishlanded in a coastal town called KualaTungkal in neighboring Riau, twohours away by truck.

The Governor of Jambi, Honorable Zulkifli Nurin and Director General for AquacultureDr Fatuchri Sukadi release fingerlings of patin and kissing gouramy during thelaunching in Jambi Province of the intensified fisheries development program ofIndonesia.

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of ways the fish is farm- processedmaking them convenient for preparingnative dishes.

The other system is of floatingwooden cages stocked with red tilapiaor the other species of Pangasius,which is a very popular fish in Sumatra.The system is well demonstrated inBatanghari river. There are only around300 cage units in operation in thatstretch of the river encompassed by thecommunity (Pematang Jering). Thepotential is said to be more than 2000.

Jambi’s Provincial Governor Mr.Zulkifli Nurdin and Director General forAquaculture Dr Fatuchri, Sukadi,invited us to a fish-releasing ceremony.5,000 Pangasius jambal seed werereleased along with, 15,000 kissinggouramy (Helostoma teminchi)produced by the Jambi Freshwateraquaculture development centre. Thegovernor also gave severaloutstanding fish cage culturistscitations. A seed transport vehicle (amotorbike equipped with styrofoam-lined tanks that costs around 1,000 US$was donated by the government. Theoccasion also led to a grassrootsdialogue between the community andthe government with some veryarticulate spokesmen from thecommunity on one side and thegovernor, the district head and thefisheries officers on the other side. Thepeople knew exactly what they wanted:Improved roads for better marketing ofproduce, technical assistance to thefish cage culturists, more fish seedtransport units (three more werepromised) and an easy credit scheme.

My visit to Jambi was to take part inthe second yearly UPT (TechnicalImplementing Unit for aquaculturedevelopment) national seminarworkshop routinely conducted since1995 and this time attended by some150 UPT researchers and staff. Themeeting featured presentations of newresearch findings, exchange ofexperiences in implementingaquaculture development activities,examining new concepts and systemsfor promoting technology adoption andrural development projects. Indonesia,which has recently launched itsintensified fisheries developmentprogram aims to raise per capita fishconsumption from the present 22 to 30kg per year, generate more rural jobsand increase exports. Aquaculture is

expected to contribute to more than 30percent of the targets. The followingtechnical information were kindlyprovided by Pak Maskur:

Tilapia Culture:

• Stocking density of tilapia fingerlingper caramba: 1,000 fish

• Size of caramba, average: 4 x 2 x1.5m3

• The culture cycle: 4-5 months/crop• Capital and operational cost per

crop: 2,600,000 rupiah (Constructionof caramba: 1,000,000 and opertionalcost: 1,600,000 rupiah)

• The production per caramba percrop: 350-400 kg

• The price of tilapia per kg: 8,000–9,000 rupiah.

Above: The Jambi Province Governor and other provincial and district officials and DrFatuchri giving awards to five outstanding farmers in the village. Below: Agus Budhiman,Head of Planning and Policy at the Directorate of Aquaculture, Jakarta and Hernowo ofthe Centre talk with one of the hatchery technicians.

Patin (P. jambal) Culture:

• Stocking density of patin in carambaBatanghari river is 1000 fingerlingper caramba

• Sizes of caramba vary, but averagesize is 2 x 3 x 1.5 m3 or 2 x 4 x 1.5 m3

• Culture period is 5-6 months• Capital and operation cost per cycle:

3,000,000 rupiah. (Construction ofcaramba: 1,000,000 and operationalcost: 2,000,000 rupiah. (1 US $: 8,500rupiah)

• The production per caramba percrop: 500 kg

• The price of patin per kg: 6,000-7,000 rupiah on-farm.


Sustainable aquaculture

Captive breeding programs havebecome one of the principal tools usedin attempts to compensate for decliningfish populations and simultaneously tosupplement and enhance yields forfisheries1. Among minor carps,Cirrhinus reba is one of the morepopular food fish and is widelydistributed in India, Bangladesh,Pakistan, Nepal, Burma andThailand2,3,4. In India, it is common inthe Gangetic belt of the northern regionof the country and also in the CauveryRiver of the south. With its initial quickgrowth and local market acceptance itcan be used in pond culture along withIndian major carps. The fish has anattractive appearance due to hexagonalscales over its body surface. Itsmaximum size is reported to be around30 cm in length and 500 g. The fleshdoes not contain many bones and hasa good flavor.

C. reba is a bottom feedingomnivore although the young feedvoraciously on zooplankton and growvery quickly, even faster than theyoung of catla and mrigal. C. reba doesnot spawn in ponds even though theyattain full maturity there. Currently, C.reba is considered as ‘vulnerable innatural waters’ due to a decline in itsabundance, extent of occurrence, areaof occupancy and habitat5.

Though culture, breeding and larvalrearing technology of the major carpshas been available for decades otherminor carps of commercial importancehave been largely ignored. In the longterm it will be necessary to utilizeIndia’s vast water resources in a moreproductive way through thedevelopment of alternative culturesystems with non-conventional fishspecies. Recently, C. reba has drawn

Captive breeding of vulnerable Indian carpCirrhinus reba with Ovaprim for

conservation of wild populationsU. K. Sarkar1, R. S. Negi, P. K. Deepak, S.P. Singh, S.M. Srivastava and Dipak Roy*

National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Canal Ring Road, Dilkusha, Lucknow 226002, India, E-mail:[email protected]; 1: [email protected].

* At. Beldanga, P.O. Singhabad, Dist.Maldah, West Bengal, India

attention as one of the potential newcandidate species for aquaculture andcaptive breeding6,7. There are manywatersheds where major carp culture isnot congenial or technically viable butthese can be effectively utilized forculture of minor carp. Moreover,consumer choice and acceptancerelative to the major carps has to betaken into account for needs-basedculture of this species. A review of theliterature shows that very few attemptshave been made so far on captivebreeding and stocking of this fish infreshwater aquaculture systems.

However, we have successfully carriedout induced breeding trials and aremaintaining a good captive-bredpopulation.

Literature review

C. reba is an annual breeder with asingle spawning period restricted tosouth-west monsoons extending fromMay to July in Assam and Bangladesh,and June to August with a peak in Junein West Bengal. The spawning seasonof C. reba and some common carps ofsouth India commences by the end of

Segregation of broodfish.

6


October, with maximum spawningtaking place in the first half of theseason8. C. reba breeds in the riverCauvery near Bhavani under summerconditions also in the absence of theflood9 from June to Septemberirrespective of the nature of water,weather it maybe turbid flood water orclean non-flooded water, in theafternoon and during the night10. Thespawning grounds may be any shallowsection of the river bed or shallowinundated stretches adjoining the river,and breeding may occur in the wet-bundh under the influence of the run-off water rushed into the tank fromadjoining areas. As in the case of majorcarps certain hydrological conditionsresulting from the riverine flood are themain factors responsible for spawningof C. reba in the river. The shallowwaters affording the optimum range oftemperature (approx. 28-30�C) may be afactor that induces the fish to spawn10.

The potential value of its culture inponds by co-stocking with Indianmajor carps was first pointed by Job11.As a capture fishery, C. rebacontributes a sizeable production fromthe river Ganga and previously alsofrom the river Narmada12.

Study area and techniquesused

Brood fish of C. reba (n = 77) werecollected from river Punarbhava andriver Bhagirathi during November-December and were reared in the farmof a progressive fish farmer at villageBeldanga in the Dist Maldha, WestBengal. The length of the fish rangedfrom 205-255.0 mm and weight of thefish ranged from 205-275 g. The broodfish were stocked in a pond and fedwith rice bran and mustard oil cake (1:1)at the rate of 3% of total body weightof fish per day. The fish attained sexualmaturity in the month of April-May. Innature C. reba mature at the end oftheir first year, when they attain 22.5-25.0 cm in length. Males mature earlierand at a smaller size than females.Mature males and females are easilydistinguished with males identified bytheir reddish genital opening andoozing of milt when a slight pressure isapplied on the abdomen. Females areidentified through a bulging abdomen,soft distended belly and swollenpinkish vent. For the breeding

experiment male and female fish weretaken in the ratio of 2:l and were keptinto separate nylon hapa forconditioning. Ovaprim wasadministered in the evening at the rateof 0.5 ml/kg body weight for femalesand 0.4 ml/kg body weight for males.After injection both males and femaleswere kept in spawning hapa. Eggs werecollected in the early morning and thespent fishes were dipped intopotassium permanganate solution(KMnO4) and then released back intostocking pond. The physicochemicalparameters of water in the breedingpool were analyzed as per standardmethods followed by as per APHA13.

Outcome

Spawning commenced 4 -5 hrs afterinjection and was completed within 6-7hours. A total of 35 liters of eggs werecollected from 50 individuals. The

fertilization rate was on the high sideand ranged from 90- 95%. The averagefecundity was 420,000. The averagediameter of eggs was 2.24 mm andaverage weight was 0.0042 mg. Theeggs were shifted into hatching hapaand some fertilized eggs were kept inplastic tubs under laboratoryconditions to measure the timing ofhatching. Hatching started 10-12 hoursafter injection. Hatchlings measuredabout 3.2 mm in length and absorbedtheir yolk sac within 12 hours. At fourdays hatchlings were around 4.9 mm inlength and 0.012 g. At this stage thespawn were ready to release into awell-prepared nursery pond (0.01 ha)for further rearing. The survival of thehatchlings up to the 4th day was morethan 90 % in both hatching conditions.However after 15 days of larval rearingthe survival rate was reduced to 55%.

Induced breeding trials of C. rebausing carp pituitary extract have been

Above: Male C. reba. Below: Female.



attempted previously14 in thewastewater aquaculture system of ahatchery. The best results obtained inthat study were with primary andsecondary injections of 2 and 5 mg/kgin the females and 2mg/kg in the males.However, no studies have beenpreviously attempted using synthetichormone.

The high rate of spawning,fertilization and hatching we achievedsuggests that the dosage of ovaprimwe used is suitable for use by fishfarmers. As C. reba is one of thepotential food fish among the otherminor carps, it is essential to conservenatural stocks and improve the fishery.Based on our present success thespecies can be bred in captivity and aranching program could be undertakenin selected natural waters for speciesrestoration in collaboration with statedepartments. The introduction of thisfish in freshwater aquaculture pondswith major carps could be a successfulstep towards its commercialization.

Long-term conservation, however, willonly be successful if the causes of itsdecline in wild populations areidentified and remedied.

Acknowledgments

We express our sincere thanks to Dr. D.Kapoor, Director, NBFGR. We are alsograteful to Project Implementation Unit,National Agricultural TechnologyProject, New Delhi for financialassistance.

References

1. Fleming, Iran A. (1994). Captive breeding and theconservation of wild salmon populations.Conservation Biology. 8(3): 886-888.

2. Day, F. (1873). Report on fresh water fish and fisheriesof India and Burma. Calcutta. pp 22,23, 35 and 36.

3. Kapoor, D, Ponniah, A.G. and Dayal, R (2002). FishBiodiversity of India, NBFGR Publication 2002,Lucknow pp 234

4. Jayaram, K.C. (1981). The freshwater fishes of India,Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma and Sri Lanka. Zool.Surv. India, Calcutta 475p.

5. CAMP, 1998. Conservation Assessment andManagement Plan. Workshop on GermplasmInventory, Evaluation and Gene Banking of

Freshwater Fishes. NBFGR, Lucknow at CMPRI,Cochin.

6. Ponniah, A.G. and U.K. Sarkar. Fish Biodiversity ofNorth-East India., NBFGR-NATP Publ. 2000, 2, pp.11- 30.

7. Ayyappan, S. and J.K. Jena (2001) Sustainable-Freshwater Aquaculture in India. Sustainable IndianFisheries, Pandian T.J. (ed.) 2001pp.88-133

8. Chacko, P.I. and Kurian, G.K. (I949a). Feeding andbreeding habits of the common carp of south India.Proc. Indian Sci. Congr. 36(3): 167.

9. Ganapati, S.V. and Thivy, T.F. (1948). On aninteresting case of carp spawning in the riversCauvery and Bhavani in June, 1947. Proc. IndianSci. Congr. 35(3): 208.

10. Alikunhi, K.H. and Rao (1951C). Notes on the earlydevelopment, growth and maturity of Cirrhinus reba(Hamilton). J. Zool. Soc. India, 2(1): 85-98.

11. Job T.J. (1944). Madras rural pisciculture scheme.Annual progress report to the ICAR, Govt. press,Madras.

12. Jhingran, V.G. (1983). Fish and fisheries of India(First addition). Hindustan Publishing Corporation(India), Delhi. 727pp.

13. APHA, A.W., Standard Methods for the Examinationof Water and Wastewater, American Public HealthAssociation, American Water Works Associationand Water Environment Federation, 1998.

14. Dutta, A.K. (2001). Captive Breeding of someeconomical important small fish. NBFGR-NATPPublication 3 Captive Breeding for Aquaculture andFish Germplasm Conservation. Paper no. 12.

Above: Administering Ovaprim hormone. Below: Collection of fertilized eggs from hapa.

Newly hatched larvae of C. reba.

Egg development 5-6 hours afterfertilization.

Measuring eggs of C. reba.

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Conservation of the Asiatic catfish,Clarias batrachus through artificial propagation

and larval rearing technique in IndiaB.K. Mahapatra

Division of Fisheries, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Barapani –793103, Meghalaya, India

The Asian catfish, Clarias batrachuspopularly known as magur is highlypopular in India as an expensive tablefish. It is distributed in Eastern andNorth Eastern India particularly inWest Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Assam andMeghalaya and other Asian countriessuch as Thailand, Philippines,Cambodia, Myanmar and China. Theavailability of wild-caught magur seedis insufficient to meet demand due to acombination of over-exploitation,aquatic pollution, spread of disease,uncontrolled introduction of exoticfishes and habitat modification. Toconserve this species and to sustainlarge-scale culture as an economicproposition, it is becoming increasinglynecessary to take up breeding andlarval rearing of magur under controlledconditions.

We conducted a study of thebreeding and larval rearing of C.batrachus in both on-station and on-farm situations, mainly at Canning,Nimpith and Kalyani of West Bengal.This article documents our successfulexperiences and I hope that it willassist farmers to take up culture of thisspecies and to profit from it.

Identification of maturebrood fish

Mature male and female fish can beidentified by observing their genitalpapillae. A fully mature female looks abit heavier as its abdomen is distendedwith eggs. A male on the other handlooks slender and more streamlined. Inthe females the genital papillae is short,oval and slit-like and protrudes ordraws with even the slightest pressureon the abdomen. In males, the papilla isconical and elongated with a pointedreddish tip and it never draws in.

Selection of Brooders

Farm raised brooders as well asmonsoonal migrating stocks are usedfor breeding. In selecting brooders,care should be taken to assure thatthey are healthy and free from obvioussigns of disease, with barbels intactand at least one year in age and morethan 150g.

Triggering dose of inducingagent to brooders

Two types of inducing agent, carppituitary gland extract (CPE) andOvaprim were used. The ideal dose ofCPE is 20mg / kg body weight for malesand 35mg / kg body weight for females.The ideal dose of Ovaprim is 0.75ml and2ml / kg body weight for males andfemales respectively. The fishes wereinjected near the base of the pectoralfin. After injection, they were kept in acement cistern with aeration. Thefemales were kept under observation todetect the most appropriate time forstripping. This can be determined byholding the female in vertical positionand applying slight pressure to thebelly. The free flowing condition of thefemale is reached when eggs come outspontaneously as soon as the fish istilted backwards from its verticalposition. Usually female fish attain thefree flowing condition of eggs around17 hours after injection.

Milt collection

When the optimum time for strippingwas reached, both male and female fishwere anesthetized by applying amixture of 1:4 clove oil and absolutealcohol @ 5 ml / 50 l of water for easyhandling of the brooders. Deep

Triggering dose.

Milt collection requires removal of testes.

Fertilised eggs.



anesthesia takes 25-30 minutes toachieve. The abdomen of theanesthetized male was cut open and thetwo testicular lobes taken out andquickly cleaned with cotton. Thereafterthe testes were cut into small pieceswith the help of a fine scissor andcollected on a piece of fine meshed netdipped in a small glass bowl filled with0.9% saline solution. The pieces oftestis are then squashed within thepiece of net and the sieved milt iscollected in the bowl containing thesaline solution.

Stripping and Fertilization

The anaesthetized female fish were heldand pressure applied on their belly. Theorange to greenish eggs come out fromthe vent as a spray and were collectedin a clear sterilized enamel bowl. Whilestripping was being done, the miltsuspension (in 0.9% saline solution)was collected with the help of adropper and spread uniformly over thestripped eggs. At the same time, theegg and milt suspension is mixed withthe help of a fine soft brush forfertilization. When stripping andsubsequent addition of milt suspensionwas completed, the bowl wasvigorously shaken for a few seconds toimprove fertilization. Thereafter,freshwater was added in the bowl towash away the residues and washingswere poured out. Milt collection tofertilization should be completed within2.5 minutes. Generally, fertilization ratesof 80 % and 70% were obtained withCPE and Ovaprim respectively if all theconditions remain favourable. Thefertilized eggs are transparent while theunfertilized ones become opaque withinfour to five hours.

Hatching

Fertilized eggs were successfullyhatched in two different waysaccording to the available resources. Inone case, a carp hatchery was used. Inthis method fertilized eggs were spreadfirst on a soft mosquito net frame,which was submerged under flowingwater. In the second method, fertilizedeggs were cleaned through repeatedwashing and water hardened fertilizedeggs then put into a flow throughsystem of glass jars or plastic tubs forfurther development, incubation and

hatching. Generally the eggs hatchwithin 20-24 hours depending upon thewater temperature. The optimum pHand water temperature for successfulhatching was found to be between 7-8and 27-31�C respectively. The optimumhatching percentage can be 75% if theabove management is donemeticulously.

Larval rearing

Larval rearing of C. batrachus can bedivided into three phases.

Phase I: The plastic trays used forthe rearing of hatchling wererectangular in shape (0.4m x 0.25m x0.08m). The hatchlings were usuallystocked in the rearing tanks @1000individuals/liter maintaining a constantflow of water and depth of 6cm. Yolksac absorption is usually completedwithin four days. No food was applieduntil the hatchling reaches the spawnstage (yolk sac absorption) as mouthand other internal organs are fullydeveloped only when the spawn stageis achieved. Decomposed eggs,eggshells and other dirt were siphonedout thrice daily.

Phase II: Larger rectangular plastictrays were used (1m x 0.5m x 0.25m)with continuous water flow and slightlygreater depth of 8cm maintained in therearing tray. Stone chips (0.5cm) wereprovided in the corners and middle ofthe tray as hides to reduce cannibalism.The spawn were usually stocked @100individuals per liter of water. Finelysieved (40-50 um filtered) livezooplankton @ 0.4ml /100 individualswas given daily at 0600, 1200 and 1800.At the time of feeding the water inletand outlet were stopped for about twohours to facilitate feeding. Excreta anddecaying particles were siphoned outthree times daily. After eight days ofrearing, the fish had reached fry stage(16mm in length and 30mg in weight).

Phase III: A cemented cistern (2m x1.5m x 0.5m) was used for the rearing offry. Continuous water flow with a waterdepth of 15cm was maintained. Stonechips (0.8cm) were provided in thecorners and middle as hides to reducecannibalism, along with some waterhyacinth. The fry were usually stocked@25 individuals/liter of water. Finelyminced tubificid worms were fed @ 2%of the total biomass at 0600 and 1800hrs and home made prepared feed at

1200 and 2400 hrs. The artificial feedwas prepared with a mixture ofmolluscan meat (70%), egg (20%),soybean cake (10%) and vitamin Bpremix (500mg / kg feed). Theseingredients were boiled and preparedas a paste like mixture and then vitaminB was mixed in. This prepared feed wasthen applied in the form of dough balls.

Acknowledgement

The author is greatly indebted to theauthorities of Ramkrishna AshramKrishi Vigyan Kendra, Nimpith;Director of Fisheries, Government ofWest Bengal and Director, ICARResearch Complex for NEH Region forproviding necessary facilities.

References and further reading

Thakur, N.K. and Das, P. 1986. Synopsis of biologicaldata on magur, Clarias batrachus (Linn.). BulletinNo. 41, CIFRI, Barrackpore.

Mahapatra, B.K., Sengupta, K.K., De, U.K. Rana, G.C.Datta, A., Basu, A. and Saha, S. 2000. Controlbreeding and larval rearing of Clarias batrachus(Linn.) for mass scale propagation. Fishing Chimes.19 (10&11): 97-102.

Sengupta, K.K., Mondal, B.K. and Basu, D. 1992. A noteon successful breeding of magur (Clarias batrachus)in confinment. Fishing Chimes 12(7).

FreeAquaculturePublications

?www.enaca.org

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What is walking catfish?

Walking catfish, or “pla dook” in Thaiis a common name for a group ofClarias species that are distributedthroughout south, eastern andsoutheastern Asia and Africa. There areat least five Clarias species thatinhabit rice paddies and marshesacross Thailand1, amongst which C.macrocephalus and C. batrachus arethe most common. Walking catfish arethe main ingredient for Thai dishessuch as pla dook foo (crispy deep fried- grilled walking catfish meat),phaadpet pla dook (stir fried walkingcatfish in chilli sauce) or grilled walkingcatfish that is always accompanied bythe famous papaya salad somtam.

History of catfish culture inThailand

Aquaculture of Clarias in Thailand hasbeen expanding and current annualproduction is approximately 82,000 mtworth US$52 million by value2,comprised mainly of hybrid catfish(Clarias macrocephalus x theintroduced African sharp-tooth walkingcatfish, Clarias gariepinus). In thepast, the supply of walking catfishcame solely from the wild catch. Since1960 Thai farmers have developedbreeding and culture technologies forC. batrachus3 despite its relativelylower preference to Thai consumerscompared to C. macrocephalus.Farmers produced C. batrachusbecause it was hardy and grew faster

A perspective on breeding and genetics ofwalking catfish in Thailand

Uthairat Na-Nakorn

Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Fisheries, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand 10900Dr. Uthairat Na- Nakorn is a Professor at the Kasetasrt University of Thailand. She is the Head of the Genetics Laboratory

in the Faculty of Fisheries.

Clarias macrocephalus and C. batrachus. The distinct difference is shape of skull(arrows): the occipital process of Clarias macrocephalus is round while that of C.batrachus is pointed.

resulting in higher yield per unit area ina shorter culture period than C.macrocephalus (19-60 t/ha within 4months for C. batrachus vs 6-19 t/ha in6-8 months for C. macrocephalus)4.

The breeding techniques for C.batrachus were developed using localknowledge of farmers. The breedingmethod described here was reported bySitasit5. However, it has not beenwidely practiced since 1987 due to thereplacement of Clarias batrachus inthe culture system by the hybrid.

The breeding farms producing C.batrachus are confined mainly to theSamutprakarn area where rice paddies(1-2 ha) were modified by diggingditches 2-3 metres deep and 3 metreswide around the inner sides of the rice

paddy. Small and shallow ditches weredug along the field to createrectangular platforms approximately 3metres wide. Holes of 20-30 cm indiameter and 20 cm deep were dug at 1m interval throughout the platforms.Then grass was allowed to grownaturally. Around mid Februarybrooders of mixed sexes were stockedinto the large ditch while the rest of thepond was exposed. After 2-3 weeks orwhenever water was available, pondswere flooded. The flooding of thepreviously exposed soil coupled withholes and available grass rootsstimulated spawning. Each pair of maleand female fish occupied a hole andspawned shortly after flooding. Thewhole system was left untouched for a



systems. C. batrachus was stocked inearthen ponds of approximately 0.3-2ha. The catfish were fed trash fishmixed with rice bran and water waschanged occasionally. The culturesystem was not hygienic due toextremely poor water quality. However,the fish are able to tolerate extremeconditions of low oxygen due toaccessory air breathing organs in thegill cavity. Although extremely highyield per unit area was achieved,culture of C. batrachus was ratherrisky due to frequent disease outbreaksand its low price during the outbreak.

Successful commercial artificialbreeding of C. macrocephalus wasachieved around 1985, some 25 yearsafter the technology was developed ina laboratory6. Despite the successfulproduction of fry and the high price ofthe species, culture of C.macrocephalus was limited by severalfactors including slow growth, diseaseoutbreaks, and a remarkably low yieldcompared to C. batrachus4.

Genetic approaches toimprove quantity andquality of production

Attempts to improve performance of C.macrocephalus with the application ofgenetic principles had generally failed.Selection programs were establishedbased on individual’s phenotypes(“mass selection”). Although efficiencyof this method is usually low, itrequires less facilities and resourcescompared to other techniques such as“family selection” in which manyfamilies of fish have to be separatelymaintained. Mass selection to improvegrowth rate of C. macrocephalus gavepositive results with improvements of11.8% by weight and 2.3% by lengthachieved after three generations7.However the program was not pursuedfurther. Mass selection for diseaseresistance (i.e. to Aeromonashydrophila) was carried out at theDepartment of Aquaculture, Faculty ofFisheries, Kasetsart University andresulted in improved survival rate afterdisease challenges8. The program wasterminated after only two generationsdue to mass mortality of the selectedfish caused by other pathogens. It islikely that response from massselection declined in successivegenerations due to a reduction of

A

B

3 m ditch spawning hole shallow ditch

pond bank

A diagram showing a typical Clarias batrachus breeding pond: a) top view, b) crosssection

01020304050607080

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000Fig.1 Annual production of catfish from aquaculture in Thailand from 1990-2000 (unit: 1,000 mt).

period of 9-12 days until fry were seen.If sufficient amount of fry wasobserved the water level was lowereduntil the breeding holes becamepartially exposed and fry were collectedby scoop-net. Each breeding cycle

produced approximately 125,000-2,200,000 fry/ha.

During that period aquacultureproduction of Clarias was primarily C.batrachus. The culture area was mainlyin Suphanburi, a province west ofBangkok that has extensive irrigation

12


variance of traits, or overwhelmed bynegative correlated response and/orinbreeding9.

Chromosome manipulationtechniques were also employed toimprove growth rate by inducingtriploid sterility. Surprisingly, thegrowth rate of triploid C.macrocephalus did not improve overthat of the diploid counterpart despiteits sterility10. Induction of gynogenesisproduced all female C. macrocephalus11, 12

which was preferable due to presenceof eggs at harvest. However, thetechnique was not commerciallyfeasible due to the low hatching rate ofthe gynogenetic fry.

A turning point in catfish farming inThailand, from a production view point,was reached when the sharp-toothAfrican catfish Clarias gariepinus wasintroduced in 1987. It was not wellaccepted by consumers because of itsunfamiliar features and poor fleshtexture. Subsequently, it washybridized with the native C.macrocephalus to improve growth anddisease resistance of the latter. Thehybrid with maternal genome from thenative catfish showed improved growthrate over C. macrocephalus althoughno significant heterosis wasobserved13. Anecdotal information alsosupported improved disease resistanceover C. macrocephalus while theoverall appearances and flesh texturewere improved through inheritancefrom the maternal species i.e. the C.macrocephalus.

Impacts of the hybrid onnatural populations

As the culture of the Clarias hybridexpanded, the abundance of the nativespecies declined. Although thedestruction and rapid alteration ofhabitats could have been one of themajor causes for such a decline,possible adverse impacts from theescaped hybrids cannot be ignored.Recently, C. batrachus was listed as athreatened species of Thailand14. Theallozyme surveys of naturalpopulations of C. batrachus acrossThailand have revealed a high level ofgenetic differentiation betweenpopulations while the variation withinpopulations was rather small15. Thefindings indicated contributions of asmall number of parents occupying

isolated habitats.Besides the destruction and rapid

alteration of habitats, impacts of thehybrid between C. macrocephalus andC. gariepinus that escaped from farmsto natural waters in all probabilityaccelerated and or contributed to areduction of abundance of nativecatfishes. The hybrid may have out-competed the native species due to itsaggressive feeding behavior. Moreseriously, introgression of C.gariepinus genes into genomes of C.macrocephalus has been detected incentral Thailand16 and in other areas17.Such introgression can eventually leadto extinction.

Attempts have been made tosterilize the hybrid by induction oftriploidy18. Unfortunately the triploidhybrid was not completely sterile andgrowth performance did not improve.Until now no measures have beenundertaken to avoid further adverseimpact of the hybrids on biodiversity.

Further Studies

It would be extremely difficult tosuddenly stop farmers from culturingthe hybrid catfish in Thailand.Aquaculture of the hybrid can bediscouraged only if high performancestrains of pure C. macrocephalus wereavailable. Thus a genetic improvementprogram is currently underway at theDepartment of Aquaculture, Faculty ofFisheries, Kasetsart University, aimingto improve the growth and diseaseresistance of C. macrocephalusthrough within- family-selection withthe aid of microsatellite genetic markersdeveloped by Na-Nakorn et al19.

While culture of exotic species israpidly expanding, culture of nativespecies such as walking catfish wouldprovide an alternative way to reduceadverse environmental impacts causedby alien species. Therefore, eachcountry should extend more effort ondeveloping culture systems for nativespecies with sufficient concern ongenetic management of cultured stocks.In addition to increasing the incomefrom aquaculture, the use of nativespecies could contribute to theconservation of native species.

References

1. Inland Fisheries Division, 1970. Fishes of TheFamily Clariidae Found in Thailand. Department ofFisheries, Bangkok.

2. DOF, 2003. Fisheries Statistics 2000. Departmentof Fisheries, Bangkok.

3. Csavas, I., 1994. Status and perspectives of culturingcatfishes in east and southeast Asia. Review paperpresented at the International Workshop onBiological Bases for Aquaculture of Siluriformes, 23-27 May, 1994. Montlellier, France.

4. Na-Nakorn, Uthairat. 2001. Walking Catfish;Breeding and Culture. KU Press, Bangkok. (In Thai)

5. Sitasit, Prasert. 1981. Local method for breeding andnursing of Clarias batrachus fry. Thai FisheriesGazette 34(3): 327-336. (In Thai)

6. Na-Nakorn, U., 1982. History of aquaculture inThailand. Thai Fisheries Gazette, 36(1), 24-31. (InThai)

7. Jarimopas, P.,Kumnan, A., Wongchan, J., 1989. Massselection of Clarias macrocephalus Gunther forgrowth. pp.177-191, in Final report, Fish GeneticsProject (Phase II). National Aquaculture GeneticsInstitute, Bangkok.

8. Na-Nakorn, U., W. Rangsin and S. Witchasunkul.1993. Suitable conditions fort Induction ofgynogenesis in the catfish, Clarias macrocephaluseggs using sperm of Pangasius sutchi. Aquaculture,118: 53-62.

9. Falconer, D.S., 1983. Introduction to QuantitativeGenetics 2nd ed. Longman Group Limited, New York.

10. Na-Nakorn, U., Lakhaanantakun, A., 1993.Comparison between the performance of diploid andtriploid Clarias macrocephalus. pp. 79-86, In FishGenetics and Its Application to Aquaculture andFishery Management. BIOTROP Spec. Publ. No. 52.

11. Na-Nakorn, U., Chantsawang, S., Tarnchalanukit, W.,1993. Response to mass selection for resistance toAeromonas hydrophila in Clarias macrocephalus.J. Appl. Aqua. 4 (4): 65-74.

12. Na-Nakorn, U. 1995. Comparison of cold and heatshocks to induce diploid gynogenesis in Thaiwalking catfish (Clarias macrocephalus) andperformance of the gynogens. Aquatic LivingResource, 8: 333-341.

13. Nukwan, S., Tangtrongpairoj, M., Lawonyawut, K.,Veerasidth, P., 1990. Cross breeding between Clariasmacrocephalus and Clarias gariepinus. pp. 553-567, in Proceedings of the 28th Kasetsart UniversityConferences, Kasetsart University, Bangkok. (inThai)

14. Office of the Environmental Policy, 1997.Proceedings on Biodiversity Management inThailand. Ministry of Science and Environment,Bangkok. p.52.

15. Atha-insi, A., Na-Nakorn, U., Ngamwongchon, S.,Pichitkul, P., 2002. Genetic diversity of Clariasbatrachus in Thailand. pp.113-120, in Proceedingsof the 39th Kasetsart University Conference, FisheriesSection. 5-7 February, 2002. Kasetsart University,Bangkok. (in Thai)

16. Senanan, W., Kapuscinski, A.R., Na-Nakorn, U.,Miller, L.M., 2004. Genetic impacts of hybrid catfishfarming (Clarias macrocephalus x C. gariepinus)on native catfish populations in central Thailand.Aquaculture, 235: 167-184.

17, Na-Nakorn, U., Kamonrat, W., Ngamsiri, T., 2004a.Genetic diversity of walking catfish, Clariasmacrocephalus, in Thailand and evidence of geneticintrogression from introduced farmed C. gariepinus.Aquaculture, 240, 145-163.

18. Na-Nakorn, U., Rangsin, W., Boon-ngam, J., 2004b.Allotriploidy increases sterility in the hybridbetween Clarias macrocephalus and C. gariepinus.Aquaculture, 237: 73-88.

19. Na-Nakorn, U., Taniguchi, N., Seki, S., Estu, N.,Kamonrat, K., 1999. Microsatellite loci from Thaiwalking catfish, Clarias macrocephalus and theirapplication to population genetics study. FisheriesScience: 65(4): 520-526.



Previous columns dealt with peri-urbanaquaculture in Kolkata, South Asia(April – June 2003, Vol. VIII, No. 2) andin Southeast Asia (July – September2003, Vol. VIII, No.3). Recently underthe auspices of a DFID funded projecton “Capacity-building for effectivedecentralized wastewater management”implemented by a UK consultancycompany (GHK International) withpartner organizations in Hanoi, Vietnamand Dhaka and Khulna, Bangladesh, Iwitnessed recent developments inwastewater-fed aquaculture. In thiscolumn, I’ll present my impressionsfrom Hanoi on fish culture andcultivation of aquatic plants; in thenext issue of the magazine I’ll discusswastewater-fed duckweed in Khulna.

Wastewater in Hanoi is stilldischarged without treatment, althoughplans to install conventionalwastewater treatment plants are to beimplemented, into a network of riversthat flows to the south of the citythrough Thanh Tri district, andeventually into the Red river. Farmers

through experience accumulated overthe past four decades have developedwastewater-fed aquaculture involvingeither a polyculture of finfish (mainlythe Indian major carp rohu, the Chinesesilver carp and tilapia) with or withoutrotation with rice, or aquatic vegetables(mainly water mimosa and waterspinach). A large number of individuals,especially people of lower socio-economic status, are involved inproduction and marketing of wastewater-fed produce, either part or full-time.Produce is also consumed by a largenumber of people, especially the poor.

In terms of gender, while men areespecially involved in fish culture andin transportation and wholesalemarketing of fish, women predominatein the farming and transportation ofaquatic vegetables on bicycles andmotorcycles. Women also dominateretail and purchase of produce inmarkets.

I first visited wastewater-fedaquaculture in Thanh Tri district in1991 with Drs Le Thanh Luu and Do

Peter Edwards is a consultant, part timeEditor and Asian Regional Coordinator forCABI’s Aquaculture Compendium, andEmeritus Professor at the Asian Instituteof Technology where he founded theaquaculture program. He has nearly 30years experience in aquaculture frombeing based in the Asian region. E-mailaddresses: [email protected];[email protected].

Decline of wastewater-fedaquaculture in Hanoi

Encroachment of housing developmentson wastewater-fed fish ponds.

Encroachment of Hanoi on wastewater-fed aquatic vegetable fields.

Lady farmer explaining how to cultivatewater mimosa on wastewater.

Construction material yard built on aformer fishpond.

14


While the map for 2001 in the Hanoicity Master Plan indicates large areasof fish ponds, as observed during myrecent visit, none were indicated forHoang Mai district for 2020. Most ofthe government support foraquaculture is to be for high-valueaquaculture species such as red tilapia,river catfish and giant freshwaterprawn. The emphasis is to be on newtechnologies in aquaculture withincremental development in line withindustrialization and modernization.The trend is to be conversion ofwastewater-fed fish culture intoorganic fish culture with intensiveculture. The fish species component isto change to high quality seed andsome special aquaculture species.

The area devoted to growingwastewater-fed terrestrial vegetableshas declined even more than that ofponds and aquatic plant fields inHoang Mai. This is because the higherand drier land formerly used tocultivate terrestrial vegetables wasmore likely to be built on first thanlower waterlogged land used foraquatic vegetables and fish culture.Furthermore, Hanoi has a program topromote “safe vegetables” in threeother districts of the city. Although it isrecognized that use of nightsoil, septictank sludge and wastewater asfertilizers on vegetables is stillwidespread, it is not recommended.Guidelines for safe vegetables specifybetter management of pesticides andno nightsoil or wastewater, althoughuse of composted livestock manure isallowed.

Although rapid change of land useto urban development with anassociated marked increase in landvalue is the main factor in the on-goingdemise of wastewater-fed aquacultureand agriculture in Hoang Mai district,there are other factors involved. Theincreasing content of industrialeffluents in the total wastewater streamhas a significant adverse effect on bothfish growth and survival. Farmersreported that fish ponds could onlysafely accommodate 10-30%wastewater by volume, much lowerthan previously, due to suspected toxicchemicals. The Chairman of thePeople’s Committee of Yen Socommune told me that farmers recentlylost 2 tonnes of fish in the pondadjacent to his office because of mass

mortality due to poisonous wastewater.Farmers now have to supplement lowvolumes of wastewater with otherfertilizers such as livestock manure,although little is available, and readilyavailable beer and wine residues asfeed. As the price of pelleted feed ishigh, farmers lose money if they usethem to raise relatively low-valuewastewater-fed fish.

Furthermore, the quality of fishraised on wastewater is said to be poor,with a bad smell and taste because ofindustrial chemical effluents in thepreviously mainly domestic wastewater.As most fish raised in wastewater-fedponds are also small, they are difficultto sell in the increasingly sophisticatedHanoi markets. Wastewater-fed fishsupplied as much as 40% of Hanoi’sdaily requirement for freshwater fish inthe past but now they are mainlymarketed in remote rural areas, mainlyfor poor people, in central and northVietnam. In contrast, most wastewater-fed aquatic vegetables are marketed inHanoi. Although consumers areconcerned about quality as well asprice of aquatic vegetables, most areunaware of their origin.

Wastewater-fed aquaculture appearsto be a transient phenomenon of pre-industrial and early industrial societiesin which reuse of wastewater is sociallyacceptable because of high populationpressure and scarce resources. Oncethe economy starts to expand rapidly, aseries of factors constrains wastewaterfed aquaculture: Increasing shortageand value of peri-urban land; decliningquality of wastewater as a nutrientsource due to increasing contaminationwith industrial effluents and associateddeclining quality of produce;increasing demands of more affluentconsumers for large and oftencarnivorous species even though theseare higher priced than wastewater-fedfish; and ability of farmers to meet thedemand for alternative farmed speciesbecause of availability of seed throughR & D and pelleted feed from agro-industry. However, Vietnam has manycities that are at an earlier phase ofdevelopment and in some of whichwastewater reuse occurs and still hasrelevance.

Van Hiep. Although I have visited onoccasion since, I was shocked by therecent rate of change with the rurallandscape of fields and ponds rapidlybeing converted into one of brick andconcrete. Under the first phase of theHanoi Master Plan for sewerage,drainage and environmentalimprovement, wide drainage canals,storage reservoirs and a pumpingstation have been installed in areasrecently occupied by wastewater-fedfish ponds. Buildings are sprouting likemushrooms all over the district, rightup to the water’s edge of fish ponds.Large blocks of buildings co-exist withthe remaining fields. Women aquaticvegetable farmers interviewed, withoutexception, fear that urbanization willsoon encroach onto their fields withthe loss of their livelihood.

The old Thanh Tri district hasrecently been divided into two. Thenorthern half in which most wastewaterreuse takes place was renamed as anew district, Hoang Mai and declaredan urban area in November 2003. TheChairman of the People’s Committee ofYen So Commune, one of the majorwastewater-fed aquaculture areas,confirmed that the fish pond area haddeclined over the last 10 years due touse of land for construction. “The cityis moving here” he exclaimed!

Lady farmer transporting water spinachfrom wastewater-fed fields.

Women selling water spinach and watermimosa raised on wastewater on a Hanoimarket.


Research and farming techniques

There is an increasing realisation, aneed and a trend to explorepossibilities of culturing indigenousspecies. This becomes a reality only ifspecies with a culture potential can beartificially propagated. This articlesummarises the success story ofartificial propagation of two veryimportant mahseer species, of highvalue and with high culture potential,carried out in Sarawak, East Malaysia.Furthermore, this is a good example ofan international collaboration ofresearch & development, in whichNACA also played a role.

Introduction

Tor species, commonly known asmahseers, are widely distributed inAsia, in the Himalayan and South-eastAsian regions, in the trans-Himalayanregion (of Pakistan, Nepal, India andMyanmar) and in South-east Asia(including Thailand, Lao PDR,Cambodia, Vietnam, southern China,Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatraand Java). The habitats of Tor speciesrange from mountainous streams andrivers to fast flowing rivers in theplains, often preferring clear, swift-flowing waters with stony, pebbly orrocky bottoms (Shreshtha 1997).Currently about 16 species of Tor havebeen described, but the taxonomy ofsome remains uncertain andcontroversial. Some of the Tor species

Artificial propagation of the indigenous Torspecies, empurau (T. tambroides)

and semah (T. douronensis), Sarawak,East Malaysia

Sena S. De Silva1, Brett Ingram2, Stephen Sungan3, David Tinggi3, Geoff

Gooley2, Sih Yang Sim4,1

1. School of Ecology & Environment, Deakin University, Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia 3280; 2. Department ofPrimary Industries, Snobs Creek, Private Bag 20, Alexandra, Victoria, Australia 3714; 3. Indigenous Fisheries Research

& Production Centre, Inland Fisheries Division, Department of Agriculture, Tarat, 94700 Serian, Sarawak, EastMalaysia; 4. Network of Aquaculture Centres Asia-Pacific, PO Box 10400, Kasetsart Post Office, Bangkok 10903,

Thailand.

are considered to be excellent sportfish and Ogale (2002) described T.khudree, “as a sport fish, that providesunparalleled recreation to anglers fromall over the world, better than salmon”.Mahseers are often mooted as potentialcandidates for aquaculture, especiallyin the wake of the recent push towardthe culture of indigenous species;mahseers are highly prized in most ofAsia, and are sought after as food fish.

One possible factor hindering theculture of Tor species is thedependence of wild caught mature fishfor artificial propagation, which lays afurther stress on ever dwindling naturalpopulations due to habitat degradationarising from forestry and associateddevelopments. Breeding techniques arebeing developed for several Torspecies in a number of countries. Mosthatchery production of Tor juveniles,

5 days post-hatch (total length = 12.24 mm).

Pond-rearedempurau at 60weeks old (totallength=250 mm,weight = 180 g).

94 hours postfertilisation, 1 post-hatch (total length= 9.82 mm).

16


including T. khudree, T. mussullah, T.putitora and T. tor for stockingprograms, are derived from hand-stripping mature spawners caught fromreservoirs, lakes and rivers duringspawning seasons with or without useof hypophysation (Kulkarni 1971;Tripathi 1977; Sehgal 1999; Ogale2002). More recently, research withthese species has focused on inducingspawning in captive, pond-heldbroodstock. Joshi et al. (2002) andGurung et al. (2002), successfully hand-stripped domesticated T. putitorabroodfish without use of hormoneswhile Nandeesha et al. (1993) inducedspawning in pond-reared T. khudree.

Joshi et al. (2002) also reported naturalspawning in a pond-held T putitora.

Empurau, T. tambroides also knownas kelah or belian, and semah, T.douronensis are indigenous toSarawak, East Malaysia, and are themost valued freshwater fish species ofthe State. These two species aredistributed throughout southeast Asiafrom Indonesia to southern China(Kottelat et al. 1993; Zhou and Cui1996; Roberts 1999). Empurau andsemah have significant cultural andeconomic importance in Sarawak, beinghighly prized and valued by indigenouscommunities. However, both speciesare now threatened in the wild due toenvironmental degradation and over-fishing. Consequently the Governmentof Sarawak embarked on a research anddevelopment program on the artificialpropagation of the two species, when itestablished a special facility in thisregard, the Indigenous FisheriesResearch & Production Centre (IFRPC),in Tarat, Serian. Many attempts weremade to artificially propagate these twospecies at this facility, using pond-reared broodstock, but with littlesuccess. The pond reared broodstockwas originally caught from the wild asfingerlings and some of the broodstockwere over eight years old, and weighedmore than 20 kg.

In the above context the Division ofInland Fisheries, Department ofAgriculture, Sarawak, in conjunctionwith the School of Ecology &Environment, Deakin University,Victoria, Australia, commenced a R & Dproject on the artificial propagation /captive breeding of these two species,under the leadership of Professor SenaS. De Silva. The project commenced inJuly 2001 and this paper entails theapproach undertaken and thesuccesses of the project.

Empurau and semah were caughtfrom both the Limbang (4o4.6’N;115o17.7’E to 3o52.6’N; 115o21.7’ E) andAdang (4o4.54’N; 115o18.92' E to 4o6.27'N; 115o21.5' E) rivers, and transferred tothe IFRPC. The bulk of the fish werecollected over the period 1990 to 1993and ranging in weight from about 200 gto 2.5 kg. These stocks, considered tobe the broodstock were grown andmaintained in either concrete or plastic-lined ponds (0.014-0.145 ha, 1.6-1.86 mdeep), or circular tanks (1.9-3.0 mdiameter, 0.9-1.1 m deep) with a

Stripping and dry fertilizing.

Above & below: Empurau brood fish can be up to 20 kg.



constant flow water and supplementaryaeration. Ponds and tanks were stockedwith fish of both sexes. Stockingdensities ranged from 0.25 to 0.5 fishm–2, depending on size and condition ofthe facilities.

The approach

The first step under the collaborativeproject was to get an insight into allforms of information that were availablewith the IFRPC. As always, there was alarge amount of data that had beencollected over the years, most fromlandings. The archival data was sievedthrough and analysed, particularly inrelation to gonadal maturity. Thegonadal maturation data, andestimations of gonadosomatic index(GSI), indicated, as expected of mostriverine species, that the mainspawning season of the two specieswas related to the rainy season,perhaps with two peaks in the year. Thedata also enabled a deduction of themean maturation size of the twospecies, and it was also evident thatmature, running ripe males were presentin the riverine populations to someextent almost throughout the year. Eggdiameter distributions of preservedovaries indicated that semah andempurau, in all probability, are serialspawners capable of spawning severaltimes in a season, provided that key

environmental stimuli (i.e. monsoonalrains, etc.) are present. However, it isuncertain which is/are the real cues,except to suggest that rains/flow rate inthe river had a major influence.

Previous artificial induction attemptsusing hypophysation techniques,which are routinely effective for mostcultured finfish species, have not beensuccessful. The primary reason for thisappears to be that the ova did notmature beyond stage IV and hence theineffectiveness of hypophysing. It wasconsidered that the inability to reachmaturation could be related tonutritional factors and so the diets onwhich the potential broodstock weremaintained were analysed. Thisrevealed that the fish were maintainedon sub-optimal diets and that none ofthe diets given to the broodstock hadsufficient amounts of highlyunsaturated fatty acids, in particular,eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA: 20:5n-3),docosahexaenoic acid (DHA: 22:6n-3)and arachidonic acid (AA: 20:4n-6).Consequently, from January 2002, thefish were placed on a diet formulatedfor Murray cod, Maccullochella peeliipeelii from Australia (De Silva et al.2004), which was thought to fulfil thenutrient requirements of the two Torspecies, of which little is known, and tohave had a fatty acid profile suitablefor maturation of most fish species.The broodstock condition improved

Table 1: Dimensions of semah and empurau broodfish, eggs and larvae

and in April 2002 a few individualswhen cannulated were found to haveova in Stage IV and V maturity stages.

The next step was to determinewhich was the most effective hormoneto be used. In this regard differentdosages of the hormones, and differentmethods of introduction were assessedthrough a series of controlled trials onboth empurau and semah. In the trialsmature females (induced to spawn)from 600 g and from 2,500 g andrunning ripe males, from 300 g and 850g for semah and empurau respectivelywere used. All broodfish wereindividually pit-tagged (passiveimplant transponder), so as to enablereliable and accurate inventory control.

The various hormone treatmentsand dosages used were: Carp PituitaryGland (CPG) (4 mg/kg followed by 8mg/kg 17-27 hours later) humanchorionic gonadotropin (HCG)(Pregnyl�, Organon Laboratories Ltd)(300 iu/kg); and Ovaprim (SyndelLaboratories Ltd) (0.5 ml/kg) andOvaplant (Syndel Laboratories Ltd) (75and 150 mg pellets, 21-71 mg/kg).Combinations of hormones wereadministered in separate intra-musculature injections below thesecond dorsal fin. Males were given asingle injection of either HCG (250 iu/kg) or Ovaprim (0.2-0.25 ml/kg), or notinjected. After injection, females andmales were placed together in 2000 litre

Parameter Semah Empurau Mean Range Mean Range Mature females (induced to ovulate) Total length (mm) 519 440-635 678 610-749 Fork Length (mm) 456 385-565 575 500-660 Weight (g) 1499 600-3,300 3817 2,500-4,900 Mature males (running ripe) Total length (mm) 402 265-520 599 545-660 Fork Length (mm) 345 210-457 515 465-580 Weight (g) 851 300-2,300 2414 850-3,900 Eggs Diameter of stripped eggs (mm) 2.48 2.00-2.90 2.69 2.20-3.08 Weight of stripped eggs (mg) 11.1 6.8-16.1 13.3 9.5-18.8 Diameter of water-hardened eggs (mm) 2.92 2.52-3.28 3.21 2.88-4.44 Larvae Total length (mm) 8.79 7.29-9.38 9.08 7.40-10.21 Notochord length (mm) 8.78 8.54-9.07 9.37 8.96-9.69 Yolk -sac length (mm) 5.06 4.56-5.33 5.79 5.42-6.15 Yolk-sac breath 2.90 2.46-3.23 2.95 2.40-3.23 Yolk-sac depth 1.76 1.38-2.03 1.92 1.67-2.19 Yolk-sac depth 0.84 0.75-0.90 1.09 0.94-1.25

18


covered concrete tanks that weresupplied with a constant flow of waterand aerated. In all instances broodfishwere handled with anaesthetic (MS222; 1: 10,000) and in saline baths forprophylactic purposes, to reduce stressand reduce risk of infection.

The latent period was defined as thetime between injection and stripping ofgametes. To determine if ovulation hadoccurred, female semah and empurauwere anaesthetised and pressure wasapplied to the abdomen to determinewhether eggs could be stripped fromthe fish. These examinationscommenced as early as 17.75 hours,though the bulk were 22-28 hours afterthe first injection, while latestexamination occurred as late as 67hours. During this period fish wereexamined up to four times.

Spawning induction

A total of 66 female empurau and 139female semah were treated withhormones. Both pond-held and tank-held empurau and semah were inducedto ovulate. Ovaprim was the mostsuccessful treatment for inducingovulation in both species. Of the 130females that were injected withOvaprim, 55% of empurau and 24% ofsemah ovulated, while 42% and 10% ofempurau and semah that were injectedwith Ovaprim, respectively, producedeggs that hatched (Fig. 1). In contrast,eleven females were injected with CPG,but one semah only ovulated, and ten

females were injected with HCG butnone ovulated. Of the 54 females thatwere implanted with Ovaplant, threesemah ovulated and were stripped, butno eggs hatched.

Ovaplant pre-treatment

Thirty-six female empurau and 98female semah were pre-treated withOvaplant, 14-50 days (mean 31 days)prior to commencing spawning trials.Use of Ovaplant greatly improved thesuccess rate of spawning inductionusing Ovaprim (Fig. 1). A total of 60%of female empurau received bothOvaplant and Ovaprim treatmentsovulated, and 50% of injected fishproduced eggs that hatched. Incontrast, 38% of female empurau thatwere treated with Ovaprim onlyovulated, while 13% of injected fishproduced eggs that hatched. This trendwas less clear for semah, 24% of fishovulated for each treatment, while 9%and 12% produced eggs that hatched.

Ovaplant dose rates ranged from 21to 71 mg/kg, though fish that receiveddose rates of 31-60 mg/kg (empurau)and 28-68 mg/kg (semah) ovulatedfollowing Ovaprim injection. A higherpercentage (31%) of semah thatreceived a high dose of Ovaplant (>45mg/kg) ovulated following Ovapriminjection, but for empurau there was noclear relationship between dose rate ofOvaplant and spawning inductionfollowing Ovaprim injection.

Above & left: Make-shift hatchery jarsused in the trials

3.7 hours post fertilisation (3.13 mmdiameter). Bl= Blastodisc; Yc = Yolk cell.

72 hours post fertilisation (3.29 mmdiameter). Py = Primary yolk sac; Sy =Secondary yolk sac.

Empurau that were implanted withOvaplant 25-50 days were more likely tobe induced to ovulate followingOvaprim injection (67-69% of fish), andproduce eggs that hatched (56%-67%of fish) than did fish implanted 14-24days prior to Ovaprim injection(ovulation = 38% of fish, produce eggsthat hatch = 25% of fish) (Fig. 2).Although 40% of semah that wereimplanted with Ovaplant 14-24 daysprior to Ovaprim injection ovulatedfollowing Ovaprim injection, no eggshatched. A lower proportion of semahthat were implanted with Ovaplant 25-50 days were induced to ovulatefollowing Ovaprim injection (20-22% of



fish), but some fish produced eggs thathatched (9-15% of fish) (Fig. 2).

Eggs were hand-stripped from fish23-53 hours post-injection (at 26-30�C),but hatch rates were greatest in eggsstripped 23-26 hours post-injection.The number of eggs stripped rangedfrom 30 to 2,150/kg (mean 875 eggs/kg)and 45-4,460 eggs/kg (mean 960 eggs/kg) for empurau and semah,respectively.

The number of eggs that could bestripped from the one female followinginitial stripping declined significantlywith time. The number of eggs insubsequent strippings was <1% to 56%(mean 24%) of initial stripping.

Eggs and embryonicdevelopment

Embryonic development of other Torspecies have been describedpreviously (Kulkarni 1971; Desai 1972;Kulkarni 1980). Stripped eggs, prior tofertilisation were firm, and pale yellowto dark golden orange in colour. Semaheggs were “pale” in colour whereas“pale”, “medium” and “dark” colouredeggs were stripped from empurau.There was no obvious relationshipbetween broodstock diet and eggcolour in the present study. Further,there was no apparent relationshipbetween hatch rate of empurau eggsand egg colour.

Semah eggs were slightly smallerthan empurau eggs. Prior to fertilisationeggs were 2.0-2.90 mm (mean 2.48 mm)and 2.20-3.08 mm (mean 2.69 mm) forsemah and empurau, respectively.Within 15 minutes of fertilisation, eggsswelled in diameter by up to 20%. Afterthis, egg diameter did not change overthe remaining incubation period. Water-hardened eggs were spherical,demersal, non-sticky and translucent.The surface of the eggs wascrenulated. Development rates weresimilar for semah and empurau.

Eggs were incubated in tilted plasticjars with flow-through water directed tothe bottom of the jar to ensurecontinuous rolling motion of the eggs;thereby avoiding fungal infection.Hatching occurred 69-90 hours post-fertilisation. At hatch larvae were 7.3-10.2 mm TL and commenced feeding 4-5days post-hatch. Juveniles were rearedin static greenwater ponds. For fish upto 18 weeks of age, SGR’s were 1.5-

3.4%/day and for older fish (18-52weeks of age) were 0.1-1.2 %/day (Fig.3). At 60 weeks of age, empurau rearedin one pond (AP11) were 100-270 g inweight (mean 179 g) (Fig 3). Theseresults represent the first successfulcaptive spawning and rearing of bothspecies.

Conclusions

Historical date (from Sungai AdangStation, Sarawak), anecdotal reportsand results from the current studysupport the view that both empurauand semah are asynchronous orintermittent spawners capable ofspawning at several times per year,providing that key environmentalstimuli are present. In the presentstudy, one female semah was inducedto ovulate four months after beingstripped. Studies of pond-reared fishhave shown that T. putitora can breedmost months of the year (Gurung et al.2002), but the frequency at whichsingle females could spawn in a singleyear is unknown. Subhan and Hafeez(1998) suggested T. putitora undertookat least two spawning episodes eachseason. Shreshtha (1986) found that T.putitora ovaries possessed three sizeclasses of eggs, the proportions ofwhich varied throughout the year.Asynchronous spawners possess bothprimary oocytes and heterogenouspopulations of vitellogenic oocytesthat may undergo final oocytematuration on several occasions duringthe annual spawning season (Tyler andSumpter 1996). Results from the presentstudy support the view that mahseerare asynchronous spawners and thatsingle females could spawn at leasttwice in a season.

Further research is required toimprove and refine spawning andrearing techniques and associatedfacilities to mass-produce juveniles forstock enhancement purposes. In thepresent study inducement of spawningin semah was considerably moredifficult than for empurau, and thequantity of deformed larvae (>14%) ineach spawn was more than desirable. Inparticular research should focus onbroodstock nutrition and refinement ofhormone treatments. Joshi et al. (2002)fed an artificial diet to domesticated T.putitora that contained 35% protein at2%/day, and subsequently reported

natural spawning in a pond-held fish. Itis likely that the ability to inducespawning in captive, domesticatedstocks of empurau and semah willimprove over time as the nutritionalrequirements of broodstock are met andspawning and associated husbandrytechniques are improved. Also, there isa need to determine optimal rearingprotocols for juveniles and yearlings.While the present study showed thatempurau and semah can be grown inearthen ponds, there is a need toevaluate stocking densities, dietaryrequirements and feeding strategies toenhance growth and survival. Onlyafter these aspects have beendetermined should commercialisation ofthe culture of these two species bepromoted.

The captive breeding study issupplemented with a study on thegenetics of the broodstock, usingmolecular genetic techniques, togetherwith the genetic diversity of other Torspecies. It is believed that this studywill enable to provide useful insightsinto management practices forsustaining the genetic diversity ofbroodstock, ensure that geneticdiversity of wild stocks are not overlyinfluenced by stock enhancementusing captive bred young for futureconservation purposes, and that it willalso shed light on the taxonomy andphylogeny of Tor species. In thisregard this will be the first time in theregion when the aquaculturedevelopment of an indigenous specieshas taken in to consideration geneticaspects, and therefore biodiversityissues, from inception.

This article is based on extractsfrom a manuscript submitted to thejournal Aquaculture Research by theseauthors.

References

De Silva, S.S., Gunasekera, R.M., and Ingram, B.A. (2004).Comparisons of the performance of intensively farmedMurray cod in response to newly formulated dietsversus commercial diets, and fillet chemicalcomposition of farmed and wild fish. AquacultureResearch 35: 1039-1052.

Desai, V.R. (1972). Notes on the early larval stages ofTor putitora (Ham.). Journal of Zoological Societyof India 24: 47-51.

Gurung, T.B., Rai, A.K., Joshi, P.L., Nepal, A., Baidya,A., Bista, J., and Basnet, S.R. (2002). Breeding of pondreared golden mahseer (Tor putitora) in Pokhara,Nepal. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 431: 147-159.

Joshi, P.L., Gurung, T.B., Basnyat, S.R., and Nepal, A.P.(2002). Domestication of wild golden mahseer (Torputitora) and hatchery operation. FAO FisheriesTechnical Paper 431: 173-178.

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Kottelat, M., Whitten, A.J., Kartikasari, S.N., andWirjoatmodjo, S. (1993). Freshwater Fishes ofWestern Indonesia and Sulawesi. Periplus Editions,Hong Kong. 221 pp.

Kulkarni, C.V. (1971). Spawning habits, eggs and earlydevelopment of Deccan Mahseer, Tor khudree(Sykes). Journal of the Bombay Natural HistorySociety 67: 510-521.

Kulkarni, C.V. (1980). Eggs and early development ofTor tor Mahseer. Journal of the Bombay NaturalHistory Society 77: 70-75.

Nandeesha, M.C., Bhadraswamy, G., Patil, J.G., Varghese,T.J., Sarma, K., and Keshavanath, P. (1993).Preliminary results on induced spawning of pond-raised mahseer, Tor khudree. Journal of Aquaculturein the Tropics 8: 55-60.

Ogale, S.N. (2002). Mahseer breeding and conservationand possibilities of commercial culture. The Indianexperience. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 431: 193-212.

Roberts, T.Y. (1999). Fishes of the cyprinid genus Tor inthe Nam Theun watershed (Mekong Basin) of Laos,with description of a new species. The RafflesBulletin of Zoology 47: 225-236.

Sehgal, K.L. (1999). Coldwater fish and fisheries of theIndian Himalayas: Culture. FAO Fisheries TechnicalPaper 385.

Shreshtha, T.K. (1986). Spawning ecology and behaviorof the mahseer Tor putitora (Hamilton) in theHimalayan waters of Nepal. In: J.L. Maclean, L.B.Dizon, and L.V. Hosillos (Eds), The First AsianFisheries Forum. Proceedings of the First AsianFisheries Forum, Manila, Philippines, 26 31 May1986. Pp 689-692.

Shreshtha, T.K. (1997). The Mahseer in the Rivers of NepalDisrupted by Dams and Ranching Strategies. Mrs.Bimala Shrestha, Kathmandu, Nepal. 259 pp.

Shrestha, T.K. (1994). Migration and spawning of goldenmahseer in Himalayan waters of Nepal. Journal ofFreshwater Biology 6: 71-77.

Subhan, F., and Hafeez, M.A. (1998). Gonadal maturationand breeding biology of the Putitora mahseer, Torputitora Hamilton (Teleostei) from Rawal Lake,Islamabad. Pakistan Journal of Zoology 30: 341-353.

Tripathi, Y.R. (1977). Artificial breeding of Tor putitora(Ham.). Journal of the Inland Fisheries Society, India9: 161.

Tyler, C.R., and Sumpter, J.P. (1996). Oocyte growth anddevelopment in teleosts. Reviews in Fish Biologyand Fisheries 6: 287-318.

Zhou, W., and Cui, G.-H. (1996). A review of Tor speciesfrom the Lancangjiang River (Upper Mekong River),China (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). IchthyologicalExploration of Freshwaters 7: 131-142.

0 0 0 0

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Effects of different hormone treatments on induction of spawning (shaded) and hatchingsuccess (clear). (a) Empurau. (b) Semah. (Ot & Om = Pre-treatment with Ovaplantfollowed by spawning induction with Ovaprim).

Figure 1a:

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Percent of fish induced to spawn (shaded) and percent of fish induced to spawn andsuccessfully hatch (clear) for fish that received Ovaplant at different time (14-24, 25-35& 36-50 days) prior to induction of spawning with Ovaprim. (a) Empurau (b) semah

Figure 2:

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From an aquaculture point of view, thespotted babylon, Babylonia areolatahas many desirable biologicalattributes for profitable aquacultureproduction including fast growth, highsurvival, low FCR, and relatively simpleculture techniques. Considerableinterest has recently developedregarding the commercial aquacultureof spotted babylon in Thailand. Variousaspects for land-based grow-out ofjuvenile spotted babylon to marketablesizes were investigated in large-scaleculture. This research is necessary todevelop an economically viableaquaculture operation with regards todecreasing the maintenance time andproduction costs of spotted babylonduring grow-out phase. A pilot land-based grow-out operation based on aflow-through seawater system wasdeveloped to pilot large-scaleproduction using the optimal cultureprotocols from previous studies.Thereafter, the economic analysis of

Research and development on commercialland–based aquaculture of spotted babylon,Babylonia areolata Link 1807, in Thailand:

Pilot grow-out operationNilnaj Chaitanawisuti1, Sirusa Kritsanapuntu2, and Yutaka Natsukari3

1. Aquatic Resources Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand 10330; 2. Department ofBioproduction, Prince of Songkla University, Suratani, Thailand 84100; 3. Faulty of Fisheries, Nagasaki University,

Bunkyo-Machi, Nagasaki, 852-8521 Japan.

the pilot growing-out operation will beconducted and the culture techniquestransferred for the commercialapplication of this species in Thailand.

Culture system design

The culture system used was based ona flow-through seawater system.Hatchery-reared juvenile B. areolatawere grown indoors in rectangularcanvas rearing tanks measuring 3.5 x4.5 x 0.8 m3 with 15.7 m2 total bottomarea. The water depth in the rearingtank was 50 cm. Each tank was suppliedwith flow-through of unfiltered,ambient natural seawater at a rate of150 litres hour-1. Salinity andtemperatures ranged from 29-30 ppt and29-32oC, respectively. Natural light wasused to provide a 12:12 h light : darkcycle. The culture tank bottom wascovered with a 5 cm layer of coarsesand (0.5-1.0 mm mean grain size) assubstrate. The substrate was cleaned

with a water jet and sun dried for 6hours at 30-day intervals.

Juvenile spotted babylon werecultured for 240 days between Januaryto August. The juveniles used in thegrowth and survival trials wereproduced in the university hatcheryaccording to as the methods describedby Chaitanawisuti and Kritsanapuntu(1997). Individuals from the samecohort were initially graded by size inorder to minimize differences in shelllength and to prevent possible growthretardation of small babylon whencultured with larger individuals. Thesnails used for the present experimentwere graded to the same size with anaverage shell length and body weightof 9.6 mm and 0.2 g, respectively, anddivided into duplicate batches of twoculture treatments. They were reared in3.5 x 4.5 x 0.8 m rearing tanks asdescribed above. Initial stockingdensity was 350 individuals m-2, with5,500 individuals per tank. Size grading

Feeding of juvenile spotted Babylon in rearing tanks.B. areolata with average body weight of 9.0 g obtained from aflow-through seawater system.

22


was not conducted for all treatmentsthroughout the grow-out period. Snailswere fed ad libitum with fresh meat ofcarangid fish, Selaroides leptolepis,once daily at 09:00 hrs. The amount offood consumed was recorded daily.Uneaten food was removed andweighed after the animals stoppedfeeding.

Growth data

Over 240 culture days, average growthrates in shell length and body weightwere 3.86 mm month-1 and 1.47 gmonth-1. At the end of the experiment,average shell length increment andbody weight gain were 30.9 mm and11.8 g. Average survival rate exceeded95.7% and the feed conversion ratiowas 1.6. The snails can reach themarketable size of average body weightof 9-10 g within a 6-7 months cultureperiod. Based on continuous and year-round production, all 10-growoutponds are stocked out in the firstmonth with the first harvest at sixmonths. Five days were allowed forpond cleanup and restocking. Eachpond is harvested twice during a 1-yearcycle. Based on growth data from thepilot study, 95% of the snails were ofmarketable size on day 180 at anaverage weight of 9.0 g. The averageweight of yield was 49.5 � 12.3 kg perpond (495 kg per cycle), and totalannual yield was 990 kg. Spottedbabylon have some attributes desirablefor commercial culture. These includefast growth, high survival, low FCR,and relatively simple hatchery andculture techniques. However, a cultureperiod more than 240 days fromseedling to market is relatively long.

Economic analysis for pilotgrow-out operation

Fifty five thousand hatchery-rearedjuvenile spotted babylon (averagebody weight of 0.30 g) were stocked ata density of 350 snails m-2 (5,500 perpond) as per the culture system andrearing conditions described above.Thirty percent of individual snailweights were sampled for growthmeasurements at 30-day intervals and agrow-out duration was 180-day cycle.On the last day individual the finalweight and feed conversion ratio ofspotted babylon averaged 9.0 � 0.8 g

Table 1: Parameters used for economic analysis of grow-out operation of spottedbabylon using flow-through culture system.

and 1.8 � 0.4, respectively. Table 1summarizes production and harvestdata used for the economic analysis.Duration of grow-out and averageweight at harvest is based on theresults of the pilot study.

The initial investment required forconstruction of the grow-out facilitywas US$ 4,528.8 (table 2). Constructionof the building and grow-out pondswere the largest cost components,representing 51% and 20% of the totalinvestment cost, respectively. Thesetwo components of the hatcheryrepresent 71% of total investmentrequirements The laboratory equipmentand water supply are the second mostexpensive items in equipping thehatchery, representing 15% and 10% ofthe total investment, respectively.Annual ownership costs wereestimated to be US$ 676 with annualoperating costs estimated at US$ 3,947.Total annual cost for the marketablesize production of spotted babylon

culture was US$ 4,624 (Table 3). Annualownership and operating costsaccounted for 15% and 85% of the totalannual cost, respectively. The twomajor ownership cost items weredepreciation and interest on investmentaccounting 13% and 2% of total annualcost, respectively. The hired labour andspotted babylon juveniles are thehighest variable costs, accounting for30% and 27%, respectively, of the totalannual costs. Electricity and feed werethe second most expensive operatingcost items representing 12% and 10%of total annual cost. The costassociated with producing spottedbabylon marketable sizes is expressedas US$ per kg, with costs per kg atselected final weight presented in Table4. The cost of producing 990 kg ofmarketable size snails in this hatcherydesign was estimated at 4.66 US$ perkg. Under conditions of 95% survival,final weight of 9.0 g and selling price of5.8 US$/kg showed the best results in

Parameter Value

Farm size:

• Total farm area (m2) 300

• Pond size (m) 3.5 x 4.5 x 0.8

• Total pond area (m2) 157

Stocking data:

• Average initial weight of juvenile (g) 0.30

• Stocking density (no. m-2) 350

• Stocking density (no. per pond) 5,500

Harvest data:

• Duration of growout (days) 180

• Pond preparation (days) 5

• Average number of crops per year per pond 2

• Average final weight (g) 9.0

• Survival (%) 95

• Feed conversion ratio 1.8

• Average yield per pond (kg) 49.5

• Average yield per crop (kg) 495

• Total annual farm yield (kg) 980.4

Sale price:

• Sale price (US$/kg) 4.5-5.8



this study. Gross return at these levelsis 5,747.2 US$ (Table 5) and net returnfor production is US$ 1,128 (Table 6).Return on capital and management isUS$ 1,803.2 (Table 7). Cash-flowbudgets were developed to examineprofitability in relation to the timing ofexpenditures and earning. Under theseconditions, a constant selling price ofUS$ 5.8 / kg results in a positive cashflow by year four. The proposedenterprise is marginally feasible if costscan be lowered considerably bytargeting production and verticallyintegrating hatchery and grow-outoperations.

The feasibility of producing spottedbabylon marketable sizes in pilotcommercial grow-out operationcontinues to be examined. Although

Table 2. Initial investment requirements of ten grow-out ponds for spotted babylon marketable sizes in flow-throughculture system.

Rearing tanks of 3.0 x 3.0 m with flow-through seawater system for grow-out of juvenilespotted Babylon to marketable sizes.

Item Cost (US$) % total cost

Buildings (roof and concrete floor of 300 m2) 2,298.90 50.78

Pond construction (ten 3.0 x 4.5 x 0.5 m canvas ponds) 919.50 20.30

Laboratory equipment (freezer, water quality devices, and lab equipment) 689.70 15.24

Water supply and drainage (seawater pump (2.7 kW) and pipe, valves, couplings) 459.80 10.14

Aeration (air blower of 2 kW and airline) 160.90 3.54

Total cost 4,525.80 100

Table 3. Annual enterprise budgets for a ten-pond aquaculture facility for spotted babylon. A stocking density of 400 per m2

and a wholesale price of 5.8 US$ per kg are assumed.

Item Value % variable (US$) Percent of total cost

Variable costs (US$)

Repair and maintenance 135.8 3.42 2.92

Hired labours 1,379.3 34.96 29.85

Feed 482.8 12.21 10.44

Juvenile purchase 1,264.4 32.06 27.37

Electricity 551.7 13.97 11.93

Interest on operating capital 133.5 3.38 2.88

Total variable costs (US$) 3,947.5 100 85.39

Fixed costs (US$)

• Depreciation 583.8 86.37 12.62

• Interest of investment

capital

92.8 13.63 1.99

Total fixed costs (US$) 676.6 100 14.61

Total annual costs (US$) 4,624.1 100

24


Table 4. Estimated total annual cost for production of spotted babylon marketable size at selected final weights and 95% ofsurvival rate.

Table 5. Gross return* for production of spotted babylon to marketable sizes at selected final weights and prices, assuming95% survival.

returns are small, production with 95%survival and selling price of US$ 5.8 perkg is economically feasible under theassumptions employed. This studypresented a positive net return andreturn and a payback period of lessthan ten years, which are often used asbusiness investment criteria. Therelative attractiveness of an investmentshould also include an evaluation ofmarkets and realistic sale, site selection,technology and managementrequirements. In Thailand, live spottedbabylon fetches prices ranging fromUS$ 9.2 - 13.8 / kg at seafoodrestaurants and US$ 5.5 - 6.5 / kg atfarm outlets. Under the conditions usedin this study (juvenile price of US$ 0.02/ juvenile, production feed price of US$0.3 /kg, stocking density of 400 /m2, andsale price of US$ 5.8 / kg) farming ofbabylon snail resulted in a net return

Final weight (g) Number of snail per kg Production (kg) Total annual cost

(US$)

Cost per kg (US$)

7.0 142 774.6 4,619 5.96

7.5 133 827.0 4,619 5.59

8.0 125 880.0 4,619 5.25

8.5 117 940.2 4,619 4.91

9.0 111 990.9 4,619 4.66

9.5 105 1,047.6 4,619 4.41

10.0 100 1,100.0 4,619 4.19

10.5 95 1,157.9 4,619 3.99

and return on investment of US$1,128.2 and 0.39, respectively. Theproposed 10-growout ponds operationis economically feasible under theseconditions. Reducing the culture periodto five months and reducing thejuvenile cost to 0.01 US$ per individualwould improve the economicallyfeasibility of the operation. Aerationand/or water exchange are necessaryfor flow-through culture system andhave been accounted for in the presenteconomic analysis. Targetingproduction, high-value markets andareas could also improve profitability.

With regard to production,profitability indices were mostsensitive to changes in average finalweights and survival. In general, snailsare rendered unmarketable by stuntingand deformities, characteristics whichare presumably genetically-based, and

which are related to low growth rates(i.e. final average weights) andsurvival. Based on pilot productiondata, results of an economic analysis ofa proposed 10-pond production systemfor spotted babylon suggested that theenterprise would be commerciallyfeasible at current market prices for 9.0g snails, marginally feasible at 8.0 g,and uneconomical at 6-7 g. Costs canbe lowered considerably by reducingthe culture period, improving growthand survival, using locally hatcheryand grow-out operations. Verticalintegration of a hatchery operationwith the grow-out phase wouldsubstantially improve economicfeasibility. This economic analysis isintended as a guide and must bemodified to reflect individualsituations.

Sale price (US$ per kg)

Final weight (g) Production (kg per year) 4.5 5.1 5.5 5.8

7.0 774.6 3,485.70 3,950.50 4,260.30 4,492.70

7.5 827.0 3,721.20 4,217.70 4,548.50 4,796.60

8.0 880.0 3,960.00 4,488.00 4,840.00 5,104.00

8.5 940.2 4,230.90 4,795.00 5,171.10 5,453.20

9.0 990.9 4,459.10 5,053.60 5,449.90 5,747.20

9.5 1,047.6 4,714.20 5,342.80 5,761.80 6,076.10

10.0 1,100.0 4950.00 5,610.00 6,050.00 6,380.00

10.5 1,157.9 5210.60 5905.30 6,368.50 6,715.80

* Computed for each level of final weight ranging 7.0 to 10.5 g and sale price (US$ 4.50 to 5.80).



Table 6. Net return* for production of spotted babylon marketable sizes at selected final weights and prices, assuming95% survival.

Table 7. Return on capital and management* for production of spotted babylon to marketable sizes at selected final weightsand prices, assuming 95% survival.



7.0 774.6 -1,133.30 -668.50 -358.70 -126.30

7.5 827.0 -897.80 -401.30 -70.50 117.60

8.0 880.0 -65.90 -13.10 22.10 48.50

8.5 940.2 -388.10 176.00 552.10 834.20

9.0 990.9 -159.90 434.60 830.90 1,128.20

9.5 1,047.6 95.20 723.80 1,142.80 1,457.10

10.0 1,100.0 331.00 991.00 1,431.00 1,761.00

10.5 1,157.9 591.60 1,286.30 1,749.50 2,096.80

Net return* was calculated from the gross return minus to the total amount cost (US$4,624.10).



7.0 774.6 -458.30 6.60 316.30 548.70

7.5 827.0 -222.80 273.70 604.50 852.60

8.0 880.0 16.00 544.00 896.00 1,160.00

8.5 940.2 286.90 851.00 1,227.10 1,509.20

9.0 990.9 515.10 1,109.60 1,502.90 1,803.20

9.5 1,047.6 770.20 1,398.80 1,817.80 2,132.10

10.0 1,100.0 1,006.00 1,666.00 2,106.00 2,436.00

10.5 1,157.9 1,266.60 1,961.30 2,424.50 2,771.80

* Computed for each level of final weight ranging 7.0 to 10.5 g and each selling price by subtracting annual operating cost

(3,947.50 US$) from gross returns.

References

Chaitanawisuti, N. and Kritsanapuntu, A. 1997. Effectsof stocking density and substrate presence on growthand survival of juvenile spotted babylon, Babyloniaareolata Link, 1807 (Neogastropoda: Buccinidae).Journal of Shellfish Research, 16: 429-433.

Chaitanawisuti, N. and Kritsanapuntu, A. 1998. Growthand survival of hatchery - reared juvenile spottedbabylon Babylonia areolata Link,1807(Neogastropoda: Buccinidae), in four nurseryculture conditions. Journal of Shellfish Research. 17:85-88.

Chaitanawisuti, N. and Kritsanapuntu, A. 1999. Effectsof different feeding regimes growth, survival and feedconversion of hatchery-reared juveniles of thespotted babylon Babylonia areolata Link 1807, inflow-through culture system. Aquaculture Research.30: 589-593.

Chaitanawisuti, N. and Kritsanapuntu, A. 1999. Growthand production of hatchery-reared juvenile spottedbabylon Babylonia areolata Link, 1807 culturedto marketable sizes in intensive flow-through andsemi-closed recirculating water system. AquacultureResearch. 31: 415-419

Chaitanawisuti, N., Kritsanapuntu, A. and Natsukari, Y.2001. Comparative study on growth, feed efficiencyand survival of hatchery-reared juvenile spottedbabylon Babylonia areolata Link, 1807 fed withformulated diets. Asian Fisheries Science. 14: 53-59.

Chaitanawisuti, N., Kritsanapuntu, A., and Natsukari,Y. 2001. Growth trials for the polyculture of hatchery-reared juvenile spotted babylon Babylonia areolataLink, 1807 in flow-through seawater system.Aquaculture Research. 32: 247-250.

Chaitanawisuti, N., Kritsanapuntu, A. and Natsukari, Y.2001. Effect of feeding rates on the growth, survivaland feed utilization of juvenile spotted babylonBabylonia areolata Link, 1807 reared in a flow-through culture system. Aquaculture Research. 32:689-692.

Chaitanawisuti, N., Kritsanapuntu, A. and Natsukari, Y.2002. Effects of different types of substrate on thegrowth and survival of juvenile spotted babylonBabylonia areolata Link, 1807 reared in a flow-through culture system. Asian Fisheries Science. 14:279-284.

Chaitanawisuti, N., Kritsanapuntu, S. and Natsukari, Y.2002. Economic analysis of a pilot commercialproduction for spotted babylon Babylonia areolataLink, 1807 marketable sizes using a flow-throughculture system in Thailand. Aquaculture Research.33: 1-8.

26

Aquatic animal health

6. Low quality feed. Mostly the problem is the stability offeed pellets in water. This has not been commonlyreported for some time, and it is not a serious problem forgrowth of shrimp.

I have a shrimp farm in Rachaburi province and the waterbecomes turbid from soil, particularly after in newly-filledponds after it rains. It prevents the shrimp from eating,what can I do?

The colloid sediments are mostly a problem in newlyexcavated ponds and are made worse by rain after thesediment is washed in. They prevent sunlight frompenetrating the water causing the plankton to die andleading to low oxygen levels and high ammoniaconcentrations. Farmers can avoid this problem by checkingthe water quality in the area before culture starts. It ispossible to use a chemical to precipitate the fine sedimentsfrom the water column.

I stocked my shrimp in August – September in Tradprovince and cultured for 70 days. During this time therewas a lot of rain and the shrimp reduced their rate of foodconsumption by more than 50 %. Afterwards the shrimpwere weak and thin, and even though the climate returnedto normal the shrimp did not increase eating again. Atharvest time my production was 20-30 % lower thanestimated in every pond. I do not know where I lost theshrimp and I didn’t see any shrimp die during cultureperiod. What happened?

This problem is common in every area and usually happensin the cold season when there isn’t any sunshine for severaldays or after several days of rain. These events cause theshrimp to eat less or stop altogether, which adversely affectstheir health, leading to disease and cannibalism. To preventthis problem the farmer should plan to culture shrimp in amore suitable season and also to harvest before the onset ofthe cold season. If this is not possible then during theculture period the farmer can use fresh food in place ofpellets at night. The use of highly concentrated fish sauce toimprove the smell of pellets and make them more attractive tothe shrimp is one method that can be applied.

Dr Pornlerd Chanratchakool is ashrimp health and productionmanagement expert. He lectures in thejoint NACA/AAHRI annual trainingcourse on shrimp health management.

Advice on Aquatic AnimalHealth Care: Question andanswer on shrimp health

Pornlerd Chanratchakool

Aquatic Animal Health Research Institute, Department of Fisheries, ThailandEmail: [email protected]

In this issue we have selected some of the many questionsthat Dr Chanratchakool receives from farmers in Thailand,that may be of general interest to farmers elsewhere.

I am farming P. monodon and for the first 80 days, theshrimp have grown well but when I changed the pellet to alarger size (No. 5), the shrimp started to grow slowly. Whatis the cause of this problem ? (This question was asked inAmpher ranod, Singkla province during September –October).

Slow growth of shrimp can be caused by many factors, someof which may interact to affect growth. Farmers shouldconsider recent events, the season, and conditions in theculture area. Some of the main factors are:1. The condition of culture area, sediment deposits in the

pond, water exchange frequency and water quality affectthe shrimp and, if conditions are not good, cause them toreduce feeding or to stop eating altogether. The last factoris often important, as the pond bottom will start to becomedirty after several months of culture, which can lead waterquality to deteriorate.

2. High stocking density of PL can place pressure on thenatural food supplies and environment in the pond. If thewastes have not been removed the pond may becomepolluted. If there is an excessive plankton bloom it maycrash leading to a lack of oxygen and high ammonia in thepond as the bloom decomposes.

3. Changes in weather. Heavy rain or lack of sun for a longperiod, strong wind or monsoon can all cause the shrimp tostop eating. If there is a storm or monsoon in an area for 4-5 days, it will affect the growth of the shrimp and it maytake them at least 7-10 days to recover.

4. Salinity. In the dry season water salinity sometime risesabove 35 ppt. and the water cannot be exchanged. This cancaused a fluctuation in water colour due to planktoncrashes that can affect the shrimp. In the rainy season, theopposite may occur – low salinities may be a problem onfarms using low salinity culture and this may also causefluctuations in plankton populations.

5. Sampling weight of shrimp. At present there is usually 2-5% of slow-growing shrimp (2-3 g) in ponds when cultureperiod is 70-80 days, with a normal shrimp weighing about10-15 g. In this case, we should not include the weight ofthese shrimp for calculation of the amount of food.


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28

People in Aquaculture

The Ministry of Fisheries and DanishInternational Development Assistance(DANIDA) are promoting sustainablebrackish water and marine aquaculturefor farmers and fishing communities infive coastal Provinces in Vietnamthrough a project called SUMA orSupport to Brackish water and MarineAquaculture. SUMA operates underthe Fishery Sector Programme Support(FSPS) that began in 2000. It promotesan enabling environment for pro-pooraquaculture to become an economicallyviable livelihood option for poorcoastal communities. It has seven“outputs” including research, which ismeant to diversify aquaculture.Research has produced promisingresults with benthic marine animalssuitable for the co-management ofseabed resources by artisanal fishingcommunities. Some of these speciesinclude sea cucumber (Holothuriascabra), seaweed (Kappaphycusalvarezii), abalone (Haliotis asinine),otter clam (Lutralia philippinarum),hard Clam (Meretrix meretrix), seaurchin (Tripneustes gratilla), greenmussel (Perna viridis) and trochus(Trochus niloticus). They would begood for aquaculture-based fisherystock enhancement. Other species asalternatives to unsustainableaquaculture include sandbass(Psammoperca waigiensis), cobia(Rachycentron canadum) andswimming crab (Portunus pelagicus).

Most of the work has been carriedout in Khanh Hoa province (Figure 1)and the alternative aquaculture specieswork at the Research Institute forAquaculture Number 3 (RIA 3), theInstitute of Oceanography, Universityof Fisheries and Sub-Institute forOrganic Material Science whilst thework with otter clam involves theResearch Institute for Marine Fisheriesin Hai Phong.

Research points to co-management optionsfor poor fisherfolk in Vietnam

Michael Akester1, Le Vien Chi2, Davide Fezzardi3, Flavio Corsin4

1. Senior Advisor, SUMA, DANIDA, email [email protected]; 2. National Director, SUMA, MOFI, [email protected]; 3. Socio-Economist, SUMA, email [email protected]; 4. SUMA/NACA, email

[email protected].

Based on the findings from a studycommissioned by SUMA to theInstitute of Oceanography entitled‘Distribution and Status of marineLiving Resources Around Diep SonIslands (Khanh Hoa Province) –Management Solutions’ and a series ofparticipatory meetings with the localcommunities, an area has been selectedfor the co-management of the benthicorganisms listed above (See Figure 2map of Van Phong Bay, Khanh HoaProvince). The focal point for thisinitiative will be a marine sanctuary or‘no take area’ around which there willbe an area for stock enhanced benthicresource management, in turnsurrounded by an area where moreintensive aquaculture practices can becarried out. For seabed resourcemanagement to succeed the initiativemust have a good legal premise: Thecommunity needs to be assignedexclusive user rights for the resourcefor a significant period. This workfollows the successful results obtainedelsewhere in Khanh Hoa by theInternational Marinelife Alliance (IMA)at Trao Reef and the Marine ProtectedArea project at Hon Mun supported byMOFI, DANIDA and IUCN.

Two poor fishing communities, fromVan Than and Van Thang Communes inVan Ninh district, Khanh Hoa province,took part in the initial benthic resourceassessment as a precursor for the co-management experiment. For decadesfisherfolk from these communities havecollected benthic organisms as a partof their livelihoods. But increasingpressure on natural resources has leftlarge areas of seabed denuded of thenatural flora and fauna, leaving fishingcommunities looking for alternativesources of income, which,unfortunately, often involvesdestructive practices such as thecollection of wild lobster seed for

Fig. 1: Map of Vietnam including the 5Provinces where SUMA is operating.

Fig. 2 : Van Phong Bay in Khanh HoaProvince. The red circle shows DiepSon Islands as a co-management site.

grow-out systems in pens or cagesbased on ‘trash fish’ feeding. This hasdepleted the natural lobster stocks(Panulirus ornatus), degraded theenvironment, and led to over-fishing of



Sea-cucumber (Holothuria scabra)broodstock at the Research Institute forAquaculture No.3.

Sea-urchin (Tripneustes gratilla) producedat the Research Institute for AquacultureNo.3.

several species of fish and crustaceanscaught for lobster feed. The overalleffect is species biodiversity reduction.

To date the research results havedeveloped cost effective methods forquality seed production fromhatcheries for sea cucumber, and sandbass with the likelihood of producingseed on a commercial scale for seaurchin and abalone in early 2005. Workinvolving the substitution of fish mealwith green mussel silage will assistpoor farmers to produce black tigershrimp (Penaeus monodon)broodstock in cages previously usedfor the unsustainable lobster grow-outsystems (Consultancy on FeedDevelopment for Shrimp Broodstock,Vietnam July 2004).

At a recent Fishery ResearchConference sponsored by SUMA todiscuss the main research topics: Seedproduction, culture models, disease,artificial food and resource protection,the notion of developing a VietnameseFishery Research Forum linked with aregional initiative for ‘CommodityGroups’ was proposed, based on themain mariculture species groups:Finfish, crustaceans and molluscs. TheForum would facilitate exchange ofinformation and coordination of the

Aquaculture development efforts untilrecently have been largely undertakenby the government agencies. However,with good results demonstrated in theculture of some of the aquatic speciesand the proven benefits of aquacultureto provide families with income and/orfood, the NGO sector has begun toidentify aquaculture as a potential areathat can be used to benefit poorpeople. Successful examples emergingfrom countries such as Bangladesh,India, Cambodia and Vietnam haveamply demonstrated that aquaculturecan provide viable livelihood options

Aquaculture developmentthrough NGOs

Farmers as ScientistsThis is a series anchored by M.C. Nandeesha. It describes farmer-driven

innovations and experiences.

Dr M.C. Nandeesha is Head of theDepartment of Aquaculture, College ofFisheries, Central Agricultural UniversityTripura, India. Email [email protected]

efforts to promote needs basedresearch as a basis for pro-pooraquaculture diversification. Thecommodity groups would bestakeholders dealing with the samecommodity. It would be part of a widerregional initiative of the Network ofAquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific(NACA). The formation andsubsequent networking of thesecommodity groups would stimulate thecommunication between researchinstitutions, producers and processors/exporters in order to harmonize effortstowards stimulating sustainableaquaculture production. The creationand networking of commodity groupswould also lead to better informationexchange with similar groups in theregion.

The MOFI/DANIDA Fishery SectorProgramme Support will enter a secondphase from January 2006 and it isenvisaged that co-management planswill feature high on the list of activitiesdesigned to promote sustainablelivelihoods in the Vietnamese coastalProvinces.

More information about SUMA isavailable from http://www.mofi.gov.vn/suma, and on FSPS from http://www.mofi.gov.vn/fsps.

to many people when the sciencebased aquaculture activity isundertaken. Even the landless peoplecan be gainfully employed by creatingaccess to water bodies for such groupsof people and employing techniqueslike cage and pen culture.

On the global scale , the enormouspotentials of NGOs for aquaculturedevelopment was highlighted in the keynote address of Mr. Michael New to theWorld Aquaculture conference held inBrazil in 2003. This was the first attemptto project the potential opportunitiesavailable in helping the poor through

some of the proven technologies to theworld’s largest society of aquacultureprofessionals. Aquaculture’sdevelopmental stages can be traced tothe patterns of agriculture developmentwherein initial hunting for food fromnature turned into the identification offood crops and development of suitableagronomic practices. With capturefisheries showing marked decline orstagnation in many places around theworld, aquaculture is gradually beingrecognized as an alternative to cater thefood necessities of the growingpopulation. Further, with the increasing

30


population pressure and declining landresources, the potential of the vast,unexploited sea as an area to providefood for the growing population in thecoming years is being recognized.Although mariculture technology is stillin its early stages of experimentationand development, good rewards havebeen obtained from initiatives made toproduce healthy seafood. In thefreshwater and brackish water sectors,proven technologies for various speciesgroups have now become available andthey are being used to help people inimproving their economy and foodsecurity, through a number ofgovernment programs. However, withthe resource constraints and operationaldifficulties, as the governments areunable to reach large section of thepopulation , other agencies must play anessential role to exploit the potential ofaquaculture to the optimal level and onsustainable basis.

Recognition of NGOs role inrural development

NGO developmental history can betraced to the role of missionaries sincethe 16th century. Secular NGOs startedemerging to counter the difficultcircumstances arising from war ,famine, floods , etc., which causedenormous pain to the people and thatthat could not be easily handled bygovernments in position. The formationof the Red Cross in the 18th centuryand emergence of few NGOs such asSave the Children, OXFAM, CARE ,World Vision and others to address theemergent necessities of the sufferinghumanity demonstrated the potential ofthese movements of people withcollective effort and common vision.Hence, in general , NGOs are known forworking under difficult circumstancesand generally are practical in theirvision and approach. Today , severalagencies recognize the positivecontribution of NGOs in societaldevelopment and the World Bank hasdefined the NGOs as “independent ofgovernment , characterised primarilyby being humanitarian or cooperativein nature rather than with commercialobjectives . These organizationsengage in activities to relievesufferings , promote the interests of thepoor , protect the environment ,provide basic social services , or

undertake community development”.

A dedicated session onAquaculture development:

The role of NGOs

Recognising the increasing number ofNGOs in aquaculture development andtheir positive contribution to thesector, during the World Aquaculturetriennial conference held in Hawaii inMarch, 2004 , a separate half a daysession on Aquaculture work of NGOsin developing countries was organizedby Mr. Michael New and myself assession chairs. A good number ofpapers presented in the sessiondetailed the contributions made byNGOs in aquaculture development invarious countries of Asia and Africa.The outcome of the sessionhighlighted the role played by NGOs indemonstrating the benefits ofaquaculture in different countries andthe potential opportunities available forthe development of aquaculturethrough NGOs by circumventing thegeneral problems encountered in theexisting approaches. The session alsohad the opportunity to listen about theformation of a new NGO dedicated foraquaculture development and named“Aquaculture without Frontiers”. Abrief summary of the papers presentedin the session is presented below.

Emergence of NGOs inAquaculture sector

A lead paper presented by myself alongwith Mr. Michael New summarized thehistorical account of the development

Group photo of participants in the special session on Aquaculture development: Therole of NGOs.

of NGOs and the role of some indemonstrating aquacultures potentialin poverty alleviation. In Cambodia ,the OXFAM group of NGOs along withFOS , Belgium, assisted to set up a fishseed production and research center inthe 1980s. The long term commitment ofthese organizations in developingaquaculture technology with theparticipation of farmers demonstratedthe viability of farmer participatoryresearch in developing a good numberof practical fish culture technologies.Small scale aquaculture techniquesdeveloped to help poor farmersresulted in several NGOs using theconcept to increase fish availability indifferent parts of the country. Similarlyin Bangladesh, the work carried out byCARE has demonstrated the viability ofrice fish culture as a component of theintegrated pest management systemand has proved its utility in very manyways ranging from nursing of fish seedin the field to produce table size fish.Thousands of farmers haveexperimented with the technology andare deriving benefits from such asystem. The organization has alsosuccessfully tried the concept offarming systems approach in extensionwherein all components of the systemare given the required importance andthe wastes emerging from one systemare effectively used as an input foranother system. Pond fish productivityhas been increased substantially byfocusing on building the knowledge offarmers on the science behind theadvocated technology . The mostvisible impact of aquaculture in termsof poverty alleviation is seen with the



Ms. ChusakWuthiwaropas fromThailand making apresentation onhelping farmerswith improved feedtechnology.

Dr. Mark Prein narrated the opportunitiesto reach large population by empoweringNGOs and partnering with them with welldefined programs.

Dr. Anwara Begum Shelly from CARITAS ,Bangladesh highlighted the benefits ofshrimp culture, particularly to women.

Mr. Pedro Bueno ofNACA emphasizedthe benefits offarmer-basedorganizations inaquaculturedevelopment.

farming of freshwater prawn on theSouthwestern part of the country. Morethan one hundred thousand familiesare involved with activity and risk offarmers has been reduced by educatingthem about sustainable farmingtechniques. Some families have beenable to come out of the poverty byearning additional income fromaquaculture.

World fish centerexperience with NGOs

World Fish Center (WFC) has beenspecifically promoting partnerships asone of the areas of its workingphilosophy. NGOs are recognized asable partners that can reach largesections of the population costeffectively with the new informationthat can help in improving theireconomy. The rich experience ofworking with more than 50 NGOs inBangladesh has helped theorganization to evolve procedures onpartnerships that can be used by otherorganizations with similar interests.Partnerships with NGOs have helped inreaching large numbers of farmersthrough their existing excellent deliverymechanisms. The aquacultureproductivity of several thousandfarmers has been increasedsignificantly. During 2003 alone, morethan 30,000 demonstrations wereconducted using 35 NGOs. Thesedemonstrations have been found to beuseful in empowering farmers withknowledge and practical skills. Withfocus on women, the efforts made inpartnering with such a large number ofNGOs has helped in building thecapacity of these NGOs in addressingthe issues related to gender inaquaculture. In Africa too, partnershipsare paving the way to exploreaquaculture development throughNGOs. The work carried out in Malawiwith some NGOs has set a very goodexample of creating sustainableaquaculture systems in Africa. Basedon the experience gained , partnershipwith NGOs in various other countrieswhere the are active is being promoted.WFC has released publications thathelp in understanding the potential ofNGOs and pathways to ensuresuccess. Shared vision andcommitment to help the poor inalleviating poverty are few of the most

important criteria to have productivepartnerships.

Best Management practices/ Basic Management

practices of aquaculturethrough farmer groups:

NACA experience

The initiative of NACA (Network ofAquaculture Centres ( NACA) , anintergovernmental organization set upan Asia in promoting the formation offarmer based organizations at thecommunity level has given another newdimension to the development ofaquaculture. These community basedorganizations are essential to build thegroup cohesiveness and find solutionsto the common problems throughcollective efforts. These are anotherform of NGO which can either functionindependently or link with larger NGOs.The efforts made by NACA to preparea list of farmer based organizations invarious NACA member countries inAsia is a first attempt to documentsuch organizations involved inaquaculture activities. The recentinitiative of NACA on aquaticresources management strategies hasgiven further boost to promote thesegrass roots level organizations. Theexperience gained by NACA throughthe STREAM Initiative among the tribal

populations in the Jharkand State onthe eastern part of India is anilluminating example on how the foodsecurity of the people can bestrengthened through a collectiveapproach. Another most successfulintervention has been made in Andhra

32


Pradesh in the Southern part of Indiawhere farmers have been sufferingheavy economic losses from diseaseproblems encountered in shrimpfarming. Building farmer basedorganizations at the village levelthrough the formation of Aqua clubsand helping them to implement bettermanagement practices for shrimpculture has resulted in farmers beingconsiderably more successful in shrimpculture. Such successful examples offarmers organizations are also evidentin various other Asian countries suchas Vietnam, Sri Lanka and thePhilippines. The experience ofBangladesh in building suchcommunity based organizations andproviding support to them throughlarger NGOs is another model worthy ofexperimentation in other regions. Newapproaches need to be evolved andtested to reach these grass root levelorganizations in terms of their need forinformation at the right time , capital forinvestment and access to marketinformation and markets, etc.

The 2002 Governing Councilmeeting of NACA held in Lankawi hasmade explicit recommendations toprovide organizational and technicalsupport and advice wherevernecessary for the formation of farmer-based organizations. The lessonslearnt from European based farmerorganizations in influencing policiesand programs are used to strengthenthe intervention strategies of NACA.

CARITAS experience inBangladesh

More than two decades of experienceof CARITAS in Bangladesh haveshown the potential of aquaculture inpoverty alleviation. Shrimp farming,which is generally perceived as a richfarmer activity requiring largeinvestment, has been demonstrated asan activity that can also be undertakenby poor farmers, through a collectiveeffort and making available requiredcredit and other inputs. The income offamilies involved in aquacultureactivities was doubled by using anintegrated approach with an emphasison wise use of resources available onthe farm . The organisation of creditthrough the formation of self-helpgroups and assisting them with thenecessary technical and social

information has helped these poorfarmers to derive benefits fromaquaculture. CARITAS has alsointervened to target women specificallyand as result more than 40% of theirproject participants and beneficiariesare women.

ACIAR support toaquaculture activities

through World Vision inThailand

The Australian Centre for InternationalAgricultural Research providedsupport to World Vision Internationalto help farmers farmers in NortheastThailand to develop low cost feedsusing locally available materials inplace of commonly used trash fish inhybrid catfish culture. The results ofthe study carried out by the NGO inpartnership with the Department ofFisheries and farmers demonstrated thebenefits of using various locallyavailable ingredients like snail meat ,rice bran and corn meal along withother ingredients like soybean meal,fish meal and vitamin and mineral mix.The study results demonstrated thebenefits of using these feedingredients to increase the productivityof hybrid catfish culture. Communitybased centers were established to trainfarmers on feed production using thenew technology. The work carried outby World Vision is a good example todemonstrate the benefits ofintervention strategies that are basedon good research.

Opportunities foraquaculture development in

Africa through NGOs

Dr. Joseph Molnar from AuburnUniversity, USA reviewed the role ofNGOs in African aquaculturedevelopment and highlighted the needto develop technologies in partnershipwith farmers using farming systemsconcepts and approaches. Suchapproaches are known to help instrengthening capacity of farmers tofind solutions to problems bythemselves. He also further emphasizedthe need for developing programs andpractices that are gender sensitive andto empower women to truly derive thebenefits from the new activity. Anumber of projects initiated in Africa

for the development of aquaculture hadfailed as they attempted a top downapproach with no consideration to theissues of operational viability and longterm sustainability. However, recentsuccessful efforts through NGOs havegiven hopes to introduce this newactivity in the continent and integrate itwith the existing farming systems.World Fish Centre has experience insome of the African countries ,particularly in Malawi, in promotingfamily-scale aquaculture, nowrecognized as a good example forfurther development of aquaculture inAfrica.

Government perceptions ofNGOs

Cambodian Government FisheriesDirector , Mr. Nao Thouk narrated onhow NGOs have helped in developingthe Fisheries Sector even whenCambodia was isolated from theinternational support. Fish is animportant component of the Cambodianpeople’s diet and livelihoods. With theimprovements in the data on thecontribution of the fisheries sector tothe national economy, it is nowderiving good support from theGovernment. Many major programs ofaquaculture development in thecountry are carried out by NGOs.Annual meetings of NGOs with theDepartment and planning of activitieshas resulted in avoiding wastage ofresources. The role of NGOs inincreasing the fish seed availability bysetting up local seed production unitsat the community level with emphasislaid on empowerment of women withknowledge and skills of fish culture,such as those provided to men in thecommunity and promotion of integratedsystems of aquaculture as a componentof the ongoing farming system wererecognized as the significantcontributions of NGOs.

Aquaculture withoutFrontiers

The concept of forming an independentorganization to help in the developmentof responsible aquaculture has nowbecome a reality with the initiativetaken by Mr. Michael New to establishan international NGO called“Aquaculture without Frontiers”. The



Mission statement of the organizationis “Aquaculture without Frontiers is anindependent non-profit organizationthat promotes and supportsresponsible sustainable aquaculture inthe alleviation of poverty by improvinglivelihoods in developing countries”.The organization, which has thefoundation group members drawn fromvarious countries and organizations,but in their individual capacity hasdeveloped the concept , organizationalstructure and operational strategy tomake this as an unique organizationwith global approach.

The organization will work on thefollowing principles1. Provide assistance from individuals

in the existing aquaculturecommunity utilizing all age strata,from students to retirees , asappropriate.

2. Support responsible and sustainableaquaculture practices.

3. Concentrate on forms of aquaculture(and associated activities) that havepotential to alleviate povertythrough the enhancement oflivelihoods.

4. Recognise and support the role thatwomen play in aquaculture andlinked activities.

5. Target grass root farmers.6. Be culturally sensitive , non-

discriminatory and non-aligned inreligion and politics.

7. Carry out projects that are carefullymonitored and assessed forefficiency.

8. Be transparent and accountable.The organization also has developedan operational strategy that includes:1. Promote and introduce practical

techniques.2. Demonstrate appropriate technology

, including responsible resource useand integration with other incomeand food generating activities.

3. Assist in product development forconsumption and sale / marketing.

4. Provide technical and managementtraining for small scale farmers, farmworkers , extension workers,agencies (including NGOs) workingto develop aquaculture.

5. Increase awareness of theimportance of the aquaticenvironment , animal welfare , andthe potential of aquaculture.

6. Help to build capacity for seedsupply.

7. Promote the development ofmicrocredit schemes.

8. Maximise the potential of naturalproductivity.

9. Avoid ecosystem degradation byturning eutrophication intoproductivity.

10.Work for long term stability , not justshort term relief.

The proposed activities of theorganization , with limited resources,can only be carried out only when thereis active support from aquacultureprofessionals. With the continuingdemonstration of aquaculture’spotential and increasing investment inaquaculture education, research anddevelopment, formation of such anindependent organization at this stageis recognized as an important step inthe right direction. In another specialmeeting held with all those interestedin the formation of this organizationduring the conference, the groupendorsed Mr. Michael New to continuethe effort in the formation of theorganization. More details on theorganization can be found atwww.aquaculturewithoutfrontiers.organd Mr. Michael New can be contactedat [email protected].

Conclusion

Public opinion on the ability of NGOsto reach the poor under challengingcircumstances is increasing. NGOs withclear vision , mission and goalscoupled with democratic andtransparent operating principles andpractices have been largely successfulin many parts of the world. In all cases,examination of history clearlydemonstrates that the initiatives takenby some of the committed group ofindividuals have been largelyresponsible for the healthy growth ofsuch institutions. Today, Red Cross,Save the Children, OXFAM, CARE,World Vision and others that wereinitiated to address problems in someparts of the world have grown tobecome global institutions. Some ofthese NGOs today operate with largebudgets, most of which is contributedby the people. This clearlydemonstrates that people supportorganizations once they are convincedwith their commitment to transform thelives of the disadvantaged.

The growth of aquaculture scienceand the increasing number ofaquaculture professionals throughoutthe world has created newopportunities for professionals toprovide benefits to the poor. Hence,formation of AwF was viewed byeveryone as a timely initiative. Thesession while recognizing the positivecontributions already made by some ofthe NGOs through aquaculture, alsotook note of a few of the failures. Inmany instances, such failures havebeen largely due to inexperience of theNGOs and initiation of aquacultureactivity for the short term economicgains instead of having long-termcommitment to the discipline. Anumber of precautionary approacheswere suggested to ensure the greatersuccess of NGO work at the field level.They included the properunderstanding and assessment ofpeoples necessity, identification ofproper intervention strategies based onthe capacity and needs of people,provision of adequate knowledge topeople on the system to enable farmersthemselves to decide on theappropriate actions and trials, to avoidaquaculture systems that are risky ,and provision of credit through selfhelp groups to ensure availability ofinputs at the right time.

The participants recognized that thespecial session, organized for the firsttime to document the positiveexperiences of NGOs in aquaculturedevelopment, has helped in identifyingthe potential opportunities available inthis field. It was felt that such platformsshould be created more often to createawareness and promote the speedygrowth of aquaculture with theparticipation of NGOs. Based on thesuggestion, in the upcoming WorldAquaculture Meet in Bali during May2005 ,another special session onAquaculture Development – the role ofNGOs II is planned. It is expected thatthe session will provide furtheropportunities to learn from each othersexperience of NGOs in aquaculturedevelopment from different parts of theworld. Those interested to participatein this session may please contact meat [email protected].

34

Marine finfish

With over 17,500 islands, and anestimated 80,000 km of coastline,Indonesia has long been recognized ashaving enormous potential for marinefish cage culture. However, a shortageof marine hatchery capacity as well as alack in capacity to address technicalchallenges and to develop sustainablefish culture businesses have meant that

Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network

MagazineSustainable, profitable and socially

responsible - building a ‘triple bottom line’grouper and snapper culture industry in

Komodo

Trevor Meyer, Sudaryanto, Peter Mous and Jos Pet

South East Asia Centre for Marine Protected Areas, Jl. Pangembak No.2, Sanur,Bali, Indonesia, e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected], websites: www.tnc-seacmpa.org/, www.komodonationalpark.org, www.nature.org/international.

existing cage culture of marine fish hasfallen far short of its potential.

The Nature Conservancy, a US-based conservation organisation, hasdeveloped a model for regional marinefish cage culture industries inIndonesia. A pilot hatchery and grow-out project, based just north ofKomodo Island, eastern Indonesia, has

Aerial view of Loh Bongi.

Collaborating organizations

Network supported by:


Marine finfish

Marine Finfish AquacultureMagazine

An electronic magazine of theAsia-Pacific Marine Finfish

Aquaculture Network

ContactAsia-Pacific Marine Finfish

Aquaculture NetworkPO Box 1040

Kasetsart Post OfficeBangkok 10903, Thailand

Tel +66-2 561 1728 (ext 120)Fax +66-2 561 1727

Email [email protected] http://www.enaca.org/

marinefish

EditorsSih Yang Sim

Asia-Pacific MarineFinfish Aquaculture Network,

c/o [email protected]

Dr Michael J. PhillipsEnvironmental Specialist &

Manager of R&D, [email protected]

Simon WilkinsonCommunications Manager,

[email protected]

Dr Mike RimmerPrincipal Fisheries Biologist

(Mariculture & StockEnhancement)

DPIF, Northern Fisheries CentrePO Box 5396

Cairns QLD 4870Australia

[email protected]

Above: The hatchery. Below: Shots of the grow out facility.

now been operational since January2003, and has demonstrated thetechnical feasibility of the model withthe first harvest of 500kg of estuarygrouper Epinephelus coioides in June2004. The pilot project is scaled toproduce 25 tonnes of live grouper andsnapper annually, but the successfuldevelopment of the project into aviable operation will require its up-scaling to a production capacity of

around 200 tonnes. Consequently, TheNature Conservancy is now looking forpartners to assist in the transformationof this pilot project into a triple bottomline business – namely profitable,sustainable and socially responsible.

The cage culture operations willsupply live grouper and snapper to theHong Kong-based live reef fish trade.Market prices for live fish are high –typically between US$5 to US$30 perkg depending on the species – and anexisting network of mobile fish buyersensures that the live product can besold at the farm gate, with no need forinvestment in processing, packing orexport. In fact, the fish farm modeldescribed here was developed as partof a wider goal to contribute to thetransformation the entire live reef fishtrade to a sustainable practice.

The hatchery

The pilot project described here aims todemonstrate the viability of a fishculture industry of this type in remoteparts of Indonesia and other parts ofSoutheast Asia.

The species of fish selected forculture were chosen taking intoaccount the market price, ease ofculture and local availability ofbroodstock. At Komodo, five speciesof fish are currently maintained asbroodstock – estuary grouperEpinephelus coioides, tiger grouper E.fuscoguttatus, humpback or mousegrouper Cromileptes altivelis,mangrove jack Lutjanus

36

Marine finfish

argentimaculatus and seabass Latescalcarifer. All were caught as juvenilesor adults over the last five years inlocal waters, and thus are not threat tothe genetic integrity of the local stocks,and avoiding the need of importingbroodstock and eggs, with itsattendant risk of disease introduction.In addition, a stock of leopard coralgrouper Plectropomus leopardus haverecently been included in thebroodstock facility.

The broodstock are maintained incages throughout the whole egg-production cycle. Techniques havebeen developed to allow egg collection,and excellent broodstock condition andminimal stress result in all fish speciesmaintained (with the exception ofseabass) spawning naturally, withoutthe need for hormonal manipulation.This helps ensure good egg qualityand high hatching rates.

The hatchery itself consists of ashore-based flow-through system.Water is drawn from the sea throughsand filters, then directly to thehatchery and live feed productionfacilities. Water quality is excellent,with a temperature range of 26-31C, andsalinity of 34 ppt. After passingthrough the hatchery, the water passesthrough a system of simple settlementponds that act as a trap for particulatematerial and as a natural biologicalfilter, before being returned to the sea.

Phytoplankton and rotifers (bothsmall and super-small strains) areproduced by way of batch cultures,using open mass-productiontechniques. Such systems result inmodest productivity levels, but, mostimportantly, are simple and workable –necessary requirements if suchhatcheries are easily replicated in otherremote parts of Southeast Asia. Puremaster cultures of algae and rotifers areavailable from research institutes inIndonesia, and imported products suchas enrichment diets, Artemia cysts andhigh quality larval feeds are readilyavailable from local agents.

Live feed production facilities, andthe fish larval rearing and nurseryunits, are constructed from locallyavailable materials, using localcontractors, wherever possible. Smallculture volumes are maintained infiberglass tanks, whilst larger massproduction volumes use concretetanks.

Fish larvae are reared in 10 cubicmetre tanks, and maintained on a dietof enriched rotifers, Artemia and highquality larval diets until weaning at 40– 50 days of age, after which fish aregraded and transferred to the nurserysection of the hatchery, where fish aregrown-on to a size suitable for transferto cages. Larval rearing protocols arebased on those developed at GondolResearch Institute for Mariculture, Baliand are thus proven, workabletechniques, with typical larval survivalrates of successful batches varyingbetween 1 and 10%. The hatchery itselfhas been built in a modular form,allowing the replication and scale up ofthe existing facility with a minimum ofdisruption and at a minimum cost.

Grow-out farms andcommunity involvement

A key part of this fish culture model isto use local communities in the cagegrow-out of the grouper and snapperproduced by the hatchery. Suchcommunities are often well placed to dothis, typically being located in suitablecoastal locations for cage culture aswell as having prior experience ofholding live fish in cages, or at least infishing. Consequently, this model has afurther function in providingalternative livelihoods to communitiespreviously reliant upon destructive reeffishing practices, and thus reducingthe fishing pressure on vulnerablestocks of reef fish and the associateddamage to coral reef communities.

Two community grow-out units hadbeen established by July 2004, with thefirst harvest of grouper carried outduring June 2004. Cages and relatedinfrastructure are made from low cost,locally available materials such aswood and plastic drums, and are,therefore, restricted to shelteredlocations, in close proximity to the localcommunity involved in their operation.Each grow-out unit is scaled to rear upto six tonnes of grouper and snapperper annum.

Future development

The Komodo Fish Culture pilot projecthas successfully overcome a number ofmajor technical challenges, and hasshown that an operation of this type istechnically feasible. The project is now

ready, therefore, to enter its mostcritical and exciting phase:Transformation into a triple bottom linebusiness that is not only profitable butthat also benefits local people and isenvironmentally sound. As a globalnon-governmental, non-profitorganization, The Nature Conservancyfully realizes that this transformationmust be driven by the private sector,with the Conservancy only in asupporting and catalytic role. Theapproach to this process is that theConservancy will carry out a finalfeasibility study, which will support theformation of a business group that willtake over and up-scale the fish culturefacilities and that will operate as anindependent business. Fish culturecompanies who are interested inbecoming involved in businessdevelopment are invited to contactTrevor Meyer (tmeyer@tnc,org) orPeter Mous ([email protected]).

Mouse grouper Cromileptes altivelis.

Juvenile tiger grouper, Epinephelusfuscoguttatus.

Changing the nets.


Marine finfish

Napoleon wrasse (Cheilinusundulatus) is one of the mostexpensive live fish for consumption inAsian markets, especially Hong Kong,Singapore and China. Nowadays, itscapture and export is protected in manyAsian countries, including Indonesia.The Research Institute for Maricultureat Gondol, Bali, Indonesia, initiatedresearch on hatchery productiontechnology for Napoleon wrasse in1997. Captive broodstock beganspawning in 1998, and numerousattempts were made to rear the larvae.After many years of research ongonadal development, spawning andlarval rearing, RIM researchers finallyproduced 120 juvenile Napoleonwrasse in 2003, the first reportedhatchery production of this species.

Rearing Napoleon larvae is moredifficult compared to other marinefinfish such as snapper and grouper.The difficulty reflects the small size ofthe newly hatched larvae and theirsmall mouth gape. Egg diameter is only620–670 �m, total length of newlyhatched larvae is 1.5–1.7 mm, andmouth gape at initial feeding is only133 �m.

RIM researchers attribute thesuccessful larval rearing to the

Figure 2: Egg production by Napoleon wrasse broodstock at Research Institute for Mariculture from 2000 to 2003.

Figure 1: Growth pattern of Napoleon wrasse larvae.

Total Number of eggs (x 1000)

01,0002,0003,0004,000

5,0006,0007,0008,0009,000

10,000

Aug-0

0

Oct

-00

Dec

-00

Feb

-01

Apr-

01

Jun-01

Aug-0

1

Oct

-01

Dec

-01

Feb

-02

Apr-

02

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Aug-0

2

Oct

-02

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-02

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-03

Apr-

03

Jun-03

Month

Nu

mb

er

of

Eg

gs

Total Number

of eggs (x 1000)

-

5.00

10.00

15.00

20.00

25.00

30.00

35.00

D-0

D-3

D-5

D-8

D-1

4

D-1

7

D-2

5

D-3

5

D-4

7

D-7

5

D-1

00

Age (day)

TL

(m

m)

Floatin

g

Free swimming

Bottom & hiding

First successful hatchery production of Napoleon wrasse

at Gondol Research Institute for Mariculture, BaliBejo Slamet and Jhon H. Hutapea

provision of high quality feed tobroodstock, resulting in good qualityeggs. In addition, researchers wereable to provide good quality andappropriately sized live food (40-80�m)to the larvae during the initial feedingperiod before the yolk and oil globulewere exhausted.

RIM researchers note that growth ofNapoleon wrasse is extremely slow; ataround 6 months of age the juvenileswere only 5–6 cm total length. Thisfeature may limit their attractiveness foraquaculture, despite the high price ofthis species in the live reef food fishtrade.

38

Marine finfish

This activity forms part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC) endorsed project to developIndustry Standards for the Live ReefFood Fish Trade – a collaborativeproject of the Marine AquariumCouncil (MAC) and The NatureConservancy (TNC).

As part of food quality and safetyrequirements of developing thestandard, traceability of the fish frompoint of capture through to therestaurant has been identified byconsumers of the live reef food fishtrade (importers, wholesalers) as anissue of importance. This controlledtagging experiment was undertaken toassess the potential to implementtraceability in the live reef food fishtrade (LRFFT) in terms of ‘tracking’ thefish from point of capture to markets inHong Kong.

Coral trout (mainly Plectropomusleopardus) are captured using hookand line and transported live tocollection facilities in the major portsalong the coast of Queensland. Fromhere they are loaded into live shipmentbins and transported live to HongKong by air, in oxygenated bins. FromHong Kong they are either sold to localrestaurants, or transhipped to mainlandChina.

Tagging, holding andtransport

Tagging

An essential approach to any taggingof high-value marine finfish is that itdoes not significantly devalue the fish.The high wholesale and retail pricesobtained in the live reef food fish tradeare based in part on the aestheticappeal of the fish, which includescolour and general appearance. For thisreason, the use of external tags was

rejected for this experiment as externaltags typically cause significant damageto the skin, and over time often causeunsightly ulcerations. The wounds maydirectly lead to fish health problemsbecause they provide a site forpathogen access.

The tags used in this study werecoded wire tags manufactured byNorthwest Marine Technology Inc.

(NMT). Advantages of these tags overtraditional plastic skin-penetrating tagsis that they are (1) small, (2) bio-compatible, and (3) nothing remainspenetrating the skin, thus preventingaesthetic damage and improving fishhealth. With no protrusion, the tagsused in this study allow the wound toheal, removing any infection path.

Binary coded wire tags allow decimal coding (etching) that allows for either batch orindividual identification. Above: A tag is being inserted into the lower mandible of fish.Below: An electronic wand is used to read the tag on receipt in Hong Kong.

Assessment of the use of coded wire tags (CWT) to tracecoral trout (Plectropomus leopardus) in the live reef food

fish trade

Mike Rimmer1, Sarah Kistle1 and Geoffrey Muldoon2

1. Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Northern Fisheries Centre, PO Box 5396, Cairns,Queensland 4870, Australia; 2. Marine Aquarium Council, c/- Level 6, Northtown Tower, 280 Flinders Mall, Townsville,

Queensland 4810, Australia.


Marine finfish

Coded wire tags were injected in the mandible of eachfish using a Handheld Multi-shot Tag Injector. Fish wereroutinely checked immediately after tagging, using aHandheld Wand Detector to determine that the tag had beeninjected. A full transport bin load of fish (280 fish, ~350 kgtotal weight) was tagged for this study

Due to a technical difficulty with the tag injector, onlyabout 150 fish were tagged on Day 1 with the remaining 130fish being tagged on Day 2. A tagging rate on Day 2 ofaround 150 fish per hour was achieved although the hourlyrate would likely improve with experience.

Pre-transport holding

After tagging, the tagged fish were kept in a 10 m3 circulartank in a recirculating system, and held at about 20oC(standard holding practice for Australian live reef food fishtraders). The 150 fish tagged on Day 1 were checked for tagretention on Day 2 with the retention check takingapproximately 15 minutes for the 150 fish. Of those fishchecked, two had lost tags. Both these fish were retaggedprior to shipment.

Transport

All 280 fish were loaded into a standard live fish transport‘oxygen’ bin. These bins are around 0.8 m3 capacity and cantransport 300–350 kg of live coral trout for around 12 hourstotal transport duration. Oxygen is supplied to the fishduring transport from a self-contained pressurised oxygengas cylinder, and excess oxygen bleeds off from the bin tothe outside atmosphere.

The fish were loaded onto a commercial flight fromCairns, Queensland, Australia to Hong Kong, China, at 0900(GMT+10) and were offloaded in Hong Kong at 1900(GMT+8) for a total transport duration of 12 hours. The fish,once unloaded in Hong Kong were given approximately 30minutes to re-condition and acclimatise before beingchecked for tag retention. The rechecking the entire of batchof 280 in Hong Kong took 30 minutes.

Results and Discussion

Tag retention on receipt in Hong Kong was 278 fish out of280 (96%). There was no mortality of transported coral trout.

It is likely that tag retention could be improved withadditional experience. Some adaptation of the tag placementwas required during the initial part of the tagging exercise sothat the morphology of the fish assisted in the ease ofneedle/tag insertion. This decreased the fish handling timeand reducing the likelihood of damage to the fish as well astagging equipment. The initial tag site was to the centre ofone side of the fish’s mandible, which was found to bedifficult to penetrate, causing the tagging needle to bend.The crevice towards the tip of the fish’s mandible provided anatural guide for the tagging needle and a fleshier area fortag placement.

Below: Pack-out of live leopard coral trout from land basedholding tanks into oxygenated bins and air transport containersfor transhipment by air to Hong Kong.

Continued on page 45

40

Marine finfish

Introduction

Live reef food fish are currently sourcedfrom more than 20 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, some, located close to theprincipal demand centre of Hong Kong,having been in the trade for some timewhile other more distant countries areonly recent, and infrequent, participants(HKCSD, unpublished data). Totalrecorded imports of LRFF into HongKong, China (Hong Kong) and thePeople’s Republic of China (PRC), whiledeclining from the peaks of the late1990s, have remained stable since then(Figure 1).

Recent estimates, based on declaredimports of LRFF into Hong Kong, putthe annual volume of trade into HongKong at 13-14,000 tonnes, with a retailvalue of approximately US$400 million.As there is no requirement for the

approximately 100 Hong Kong licensedlive-fish transport vessels to declareimports entering Hong Kong by sea,these estimates are almost certainlylower than actual imports, which aremore likely to be 15-20,000 t annually.The total regional trade has beenestimated to be as high as 30,000 t peryear (Sadovy et al. 2004).

A range of undesirable economic,environmental and social outcomeshave often been identified as beingassociated with the trade, with thefocus mainly on environmental issues.These include over-exploitation ofcoral reefs and coral reef fishes and theenvironmentally damaging aspects ofsome harvesting techniques, includingcyanide fishing, targeting of spawningaggregations and the capture ofimmature fingerlings and juveniles forgrow-out (Cesar et al. 2000; Sadovy

and Vincent 2002). Other aspects of thetrade are not well understood andwould benefit from further research,particularly demand issues.

On the demand side, the futuremarket potential for wild-caught andcultured live reef product is largelyunknown. As incomes in Asia rise overthe next decade and product sourcedfrom aquaculture become more readilyavailable, there is an expectation thatconsumer demand for LRFF willlikewise increase. The trade, however,is susceptible to the economicenvironment, as evidenced in adownturn during the Asian economiccrisis from which it has not yet fullyrecovered, and more recently, althoughto a limited extent, as a result of theSevere Acute Respiratory Syndrome(SARS) outbreak.

Trade data

Although the LRFF trade has beenflourishing for several decades,economic and trade information isscant. Prior to 1997, data on the LRFFimports into Hong Kong were coarsewith both marine and freshwater livefish categorized broadly as either foodor ornamental fish. The HarmonizedCode System (HCS) used in HongKong to monitor food imports wasimproved in 1997 to identify live reeffood fish categories. Refinement of theHCS in 1999 enabled LRFF imports tobe distinguished by key species andcountry of origin, further improvingmonitoring capacities. Tradeagreements between Hong Kong andPRC provide for low tariffs on LRFFentering PRC through Hong Kong, withthe result being that upward of 60% ofall LRFF entering Hong Kong are re-exported to the PRC. With lower tariffson foodstuffs likely when the PRC joinsthe WTO as expected, LRFF may soonenter the PRC directly. At present, thereis limited capacity to record andmonitor such imports.

High value species include highfin grouper, humphead wrasse, giant grouper, leopardcoralgrouper, and spotted coralgrouper. Other grouper include the green grouper, tigergrouper and flowery grouper. Other marine fish include wrasses, parrotfish andmangrove snapper. Source: Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department (HK CSD)and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (HK AFCD).

Trade and market trends in the live reef food fish trade

Geoffrey Muldoon1, Liz Peterson2, Brian Johnston3

1. CRC Reef Research Centre Limited, PO Box 772, Townsville QLD 4810, Australia. Email: [email protected]. Advanced Choice Economics P/L, 30 Dean Road, Bateman WA 6150, Australia. Email: [email protected].

3. Asia-Pacific School of Economics and Government, Australian National University. Email: [email protected].

Figure 1: Annual volumes of reported imports of all live reef food fish into HongKong, China 1998-2003.


Marine finfish

Total recorded imports into HongKong have remained relatively stablesince 1999, when import volumesdeclined considerably relative toprevious years (Figure 1). The HongKong economy remained fairly robustfor the duration of the Asian economiccrisis that began in 1997, and onlybegan to show signs of a downturnfrom the end of 1998. This downturncoincided with a fall in declared importsof approximately 30 per cent in 1999,mainly in the categories of the lower-value “other marine fish” and “othergroupers”. In 2003, while total importsinto Hong Kong rose slightly (less than0.5%), the SARS epidemic during thatyear may have influenced consumerdemand for particular species. In 2003,the volume of high-value imports fellby 15 per cent. In contrast imports ofthe lower-value “other marine fish”category, which had declined three offour previous years, rose 10 per cent.The results are described in more detailin the next section.

Import volumes of majorspecies by country of origin

The main exporting countries of wild-caught and farmed live reef fish remainmainland PRC; Thailand; Indonesia;Philippines; Australia; Malaysia; VietNam; and Taipei, China. Indonesia,Malaysia, Philippines, and Australia arethe major exporters of high- andmedium-priced wild-caught live reeffish, while smaller quantities areexported from Thailand, Cambodia, VietNam and the Maldives4. The largestquantities of farmed grouper areexported from Thailand and Taipei,China5, mainly green grouper, while thePRC is the dominant supplier of othermarine fish and snooks and basses.Infrequent and irregular exports ofLRFF, mainly coral grouper and othergroupers have also been reported fromFiji Islands, Marshall Islands, PNG,Seychelles, Singapore, and SolomonIslands6.

The volumes of imports into HongKong of all major high- and medium-priced groupers and hump-head wrasseduring 1999–2003 are shown in Figure2. Indonesia and the Philippines aremajor suppliers of most species,although exports of coral groupers,green grouper, and flowery groupersfrom Indonesia have all declined during

this period. Since 1999, total imports ofcoral groupers have increased by morethan 60%, with new Australian exportsmaking up more than 85% of thisincrease up to 2002. In 2003 Australianimports of coral grouper declined byalmost 34% while coral grouper importsfrom the Philippines rose by almost50% and total imports fell only slightly.In contrast, total imports of greengrouper had declined by 35% from 1999to 2002, primarily on the back ofsignificantly lower exports fromThailand. In 2003, green grouperimports rose by more than 30%, withexports from Thailand in 2003 morethan doubling. During the period 1999to 2003, total imports of tiger grouperhave more than tripled while totalimports of flowery grouper havedeclined by almost two-thirds. Theseresults are discussed in more detail inthe context of the SARS epidemic in thenext section.

Market trends and recenteconomic events

In general, the market has contractedsomewhat over the past five years,becoming more focused on fewerspecies - primarily the high-value andmid-priced groupers. The main causesof these past and likely future marketshifts are thought to be:• Overall improvements in transport

technology and access to airtransport that have helped toincrease imports of high-valuespecies. This has been reinforced byrelative increases in variable costs(fuel, fish feed, ship maintenanceand insurance) of transporting fishto markets by sea7.

• A decline of ~40% in the LRFFmarket since 1998. This fallingdemand has led to weaker retailprices, making the purchase andtransport of lower-priced fish thatmake up the bulk of importsfinancially unviable, resulting inHong Kong traders reducing volumeof imports by sea.

• Increased aquaculture production oflower-priced “groupers”. Grow-outof undersized wild-caught fish hasexpanded considerably in SoutheastAsia. The increase in grow-out fromhatchery production is seen as apositive industry development, butthere is growing concern over the

parallel increase in grow-out of wild-caught juveniles for market8.

• Downturn in general businessbecause of international healthscares such as SARS and Ciguaterapoisoning.

The remainder of this section willpresent empirical and anecdotalevidence on trade impacts of SARS toillustrate the vulnerability of supplycountries to events and economicconditions in the major demand centreof Hong Kong.

Anecdotal evidence suggests anumber of market responses to SARSinfluenced these changingconsumption patterns. Following thefirst SARS reports in Hong Kong,restaurants began reportingcancellations of banquet bookings.Restaurants are traditionally the placewhere the higher-value and medium-value species are purchased andconsumed, and so consequently muchof their product is imported fromoverseas sources. With the number ofpatrons dining out at these restaurantsfalling markedly, many restaurantsclosed down for the duration of theSARS scare and, with the lowerdemand for high- and medium-valuefish, many traders stopped buying fishfrom overseas suppliers. Conversely,with consumers preferring to eat fish athome as opposed to dining out, thedemand for the lower-value anddomestically caught fish is thought tohave increased9.

The impact of the SARS epidemic,during April and May of 2003, onindividual species can be examined bylooking at trends in both prices andimport volumes across recent years.There were no real discernable impactsof SARS on the import prices of mosthigh-value and mid-value species (seeFigure 1 caption), including leopardand spotted coral grouper, highfingrouper, green grouper and tiger andflowery grouper (Pet-Soede et al. 2004).The SARS epidemic however, doesappear to have had an impact on thedemand for a subset of high-valuespecies and other grouper species.Figure 3, which compares monthlyimports in 2003 and monthly importsaveraged across the years 2000-2002,illustrates declines in imports of fourkey species or species groups in themonths affected by the SARS epidemic.In April and May of 2003 imports of

42

Marine finfish

Figure 2: Import volumes for 6 species imported into Hong Kong, by country of origin for 1999–2003

Note: Those countries that make up the “other” category vary by species. In most cases, these countries do not export regularly.Countries that export several species include Cambodia, PRC, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Source: Hong Kong Census andStatistics Department, Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, and International Marinelife Alliance (Hong Kong).

-

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Year

Ex

po

rts

Vo

lum

e (

kg

)

Australia Indonesia Philippines

Malaysia Vietnam Other

0

400,000

800,000

1,200,000

1,600,000

2,000,000

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Year

Exp

ort

s V

olu

me (

kg

)Thailand Philippines Malaysia

Taiwan Indonesia Other

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Year

Ex

po

rts

Vo

lum

e (

kg

)

Philippines Indonesia Malaysia

Maldives R Other

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Year

Exp

ort

s V

olu

me (

kg

)

Thailand Philippines Indonesia

Maldives R Other

-

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Year

Ex

po

rts

Vo

lum

e (

kg

)

Philippines Indonesia Australia

Malaysia Other

-

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Year

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Figure 3. Total monthly volume of imports of four major species or species groups: a) leopard coral grouper, b) greengrouper, c) tiger grouper, and d) flowery grouper imported into Hong Kong, China from 2000 through 2003. Monthly importvolumes have been averaged across the years 2000–2002.

Source: Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department and Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, andInternational Marinelife Alliance (Hong Kong).

leopard coral grouper were 34 per centand 48 per cent lower, respectively,than the average annual imports overthe years 2000-2002. Imports were alsolower for green grouper and “tigergrouper” species in April (39% and11% lower, respectively) and May (16%and 1% lower, respectively). Whileimports of flowery grouper were 48 percent lower in April than the 2000-2002average, imports in May were 31 percent higher than the 2000-2002 average.While recognising that the SARS eventwas likely a market demandphenomenon, it is possible that supplyconstraints influenced these observeddeclines in import volumes10.

During the SARS outbreak, importsfrom countries in closer proximity tothe Hong Kong market did not declineby as much as those from countriesfurther away, compared with previousyears. For example, imports of leopardcoral grouper from the Philippines werenot significantly lower than the 2000-2002 average, while imports of this

species from Australia dropped byroughly 50 per cent in both April andMay 2003. One reason might be thatproximity implies lower transport costs,and hence lower total import costs,while another would be the availabilityof substitute markets. In Australia,local wholesalers reported beach pricesbeing offered to fishers for live fish aslow as 15 Australian dollars (AUD) perkilogram during the peak of the SARSoutbreak, compared with an averageprice in April and May across all yearsfrom 1997 to 2002 of AUD 25.1 andAUD 25.9, respectively (G. Muldoon,unpublished data; T. Must, FishWholesaler, personal communication).According to several wholesale buyersspoken to during and after the SARSoutbreak, many fishermen in Australiaeither sold their fish fresh or frozen11 todomestic and overseas markets ratherthan live, or did not fish at all duringthis period.

Pet-Soede et al. (2004) noted in aprevious issue of this Bulletin that

prices of two high-value species,leopard coral grouper and highfingrouper, showed little, if any, change inprice in response to SARS. They did,however, note substantial pricereductions in beach prices received byfishers in Indonesia for live grouper.Similarly discounted prices were“offered” to fishers in Australia, withbeach prices during the SARS outbreak40 per cent lower than average pricesfor those months over the previous fiveyears (G. Muldoon, unpublished data).Although only anecdotal accounts areavailable for the Philippines, live fishexporters noted that beach prices paidto fishers fell by 20 per cent during theSARS outbreak (B. Cheng, personalcommunication). These discrepanciesin price variations in response to SARSthat were experienced by participantsin supply and demand countries maybe cause to point to market distortionsand profit taking by retailers in HongKong, at the expense of fishers andmiddlemen in supplying countries.

44

Marine finfish

Source: International Marinelife Alliance (Hong Kong).

Figure 4. Monthly retail prices in Hong Kong of four major species or species categories: a) leopard coralgrouper, b) greengrouper, c) tiger grouper, and d) flowery grouper, imported into Hong Kong, China from 2000 through 2003. Monthly retailprices have been averaged across the years 2000–2002, while monthly retail prices for 2003 are only available until July ofthat year.

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Such inferences, however, based onthese observations and with limitedknowledge of the dynamics of supplyand demand, would be difficult tosubstantiate.

A similar picture emerges for abroader range of species, including mid-value species, such that available datado not provide strong evidence of aSARS impact on price. Figure 4compares monthly retail prices in 2003with monthly retail prices averagedacross the years 2000-2002 for fourspecies of grouper. Ignoring SARSimpacts, what is of interest is that for allspecies, with the exception of April forthe leopard coral grouper, monthly retailprices in 2003 were lower than thecorresponding monthly retail pricesaveraged across 2000-2002. Thisreinforces the anecdotal evidenceprovided by traders of a downwardtrend in prices for the whole trade.Again, discerning whether these pricevariations may be demand or supplyresponses is difficult based on availabledata. While prices in 2003 were lower forall species illustrated, patterns of import

volumes were not consistent. Forexample, leopard coral grouper importsincreased relative to the previous year in2000 (44%) and 2002 (11%) but werestable in 2001, while tiger grouperimports increased in 2000 (36%), 2001(16%) and 2002 (21%). In contrast, greengrouper imports decreased in 2000(13%), 2001 (5%) and 2002 (20%), as didflowery grouper imports in 2000 (45%),2001 (7%) and 2002 (12%). A hypothesisthat declines in import volumes shouldlead to price increases is not borne outhere. A more likely premise is that themarket overall is depressed, as is theHong Kong economy generally. Furtherinvestigation would be required toestablish whether the discrepancies inmonthly import volumes between yearsand corresponding price movementsare, in general, supply and/or demandresponses.

Conclusions

Hong Kong remains the majordestination for consumption of LRFF,despite declining import volumes,

depressed prices and occasionalhealth-related demand impacts. Ofgrowing interest is the expandingmarket associated with increasedincomes in mainland PRC. This growthis expected to continue into the future,placing increased pressure on suppliesof LRFF. It has been observed however,that increases in present yields of highand medium-value LRFF species fromthe wild are limited by the biologicalconstraints on total grouper production(Sadovy et al. 2004).

Aquaculture has been identified asboth an alternative livelihood toengaging in often-destructive fishingpractices and as a means of meetingfuture demand for the “high- andmedium-value” grouper species whenmany fish stocks in Southeast Asia areshowing signs of severe depletion. It isestimated that approximately 40 percent of all LRFF in the trade aresupplied from aquaculture, althoughthe majority of these fish come fromgrow-out of wild-caught juveniles tomarket size. Any benefits fromsubstituting wild-caught with cultured


Marine finfish

Collaborators

The following organizations andcontacts are focal points forcommunication in the network:

Hong KongDr Jim Chu,[email protected]

IndiaDr Mohan Joseph Modayil,[email protected]

IndonesiaDr Ketut Sugama,[email protected] Muhammad Murdjani,[email protected]

IranDr Shapour Kakoolaki,[email protected]

MalaysiaCoastal marine fish cultureMr Ali bin Awang,[email protected]

Fish qualityMr Ismail Ishak & Mr [email protected] /[email protected]

Low food chain speciesMr Hussin bin Mat [email protected]

PhilippinesMs Prescilla B. Regaspi,[email protected] Marygrace C. Quintero,[email protected]

species depend on how successfullythe mariculture industry relieves itsdependence on wild stocks forjuveniles and trash fish for feedthrough increased hatchery productionand development of new diets (Sadovyet al. 2004). Moreover, the marketimpacts, and specifically price impacts,of this substitution may havesignificant effects on fisher income.

Footnotes

1. CRC Reef Research Centre Limited,PO Box 772, Townsville QLD 4810,Australia. Email:[email protected]

2. Advanced Choice Economics P/L, 30Dean Road, Bateman WA 6150,Australia. Email:[email protected]

3. Asia-Pacific School of Economicsand Government, AustralianNational University. Email:[email protected]

4. Hong Kong Census and StatisticsDepartment, Hong KongAgriculture, Fisheries andConservation Department

5. Both hatchery produced and wildcaught grow-out fish.

6. Johannes and Riepen, 1995; Shakeeland Ahmed, 1997; Yeeting 1999a;1999b; Johannes and Lam 1999;IMA Hong Kong, unpublished data.

7. Patrick Chan, personalcommunication.

8. In some regions, primarily juvenilesare caught and grown-out locally,and sold when they attain marketsize.

9. Patrick Chan (Chairman, Hong KongChamber of Seafood Merchants),personal communication.

10.Supply constraints in sourcecountries may be related to weather(monsoon, high winds) or seasonalvariations in catch rates.

11.Beach prices for frozen and wholefresh fish during April and May of2003 remained steady at betweenAUD 16.00 and 19.00 per kilogram,depending on the weight of the fish

References

Cesar, H.S.J., Warren, K.A., Sadovy, Y., Lau, P., Meijer, S.and van Ierland, E. 2000. Marine markettransformation of the live reef fish food trade insoutheast Asia. p. 137-157 In: H.S.J. Cesar (ed).Collected essays on the economics of coral reefs.Sweden: CORDIO.

Johannes, R.E., and M. Lam. 1999. The Live Reef FoodFish Trade in the Solomon Islands. SPC Live ReefFish Information Bulletin 6:7–14.

Johannes, R. E. and M. Reipen. 1995. Environmental,Economic and Social Implications of the Live ReefFish Trade in Asia and the Western Pacific, A studyfor the Nature Conservancy. Noumea, South PacificForum Fisheries Agency.

Pet-Soede, L., Horuodono, H. and Sudarsono. 2004.SARS and the live food fish trade in Indonesia: Someanecdotes. SPC Live Reef Fish Information Bulletin12:3-9.

Sadovy, Y.J. and Vincent, A.C.J. 2002. Ecological issuesand the trades in live reef fishes. p. 391-420 In: P.F.Sale (ed). Coral reef fishes: Dynamics and diversityin a complex ecosystem. San Diego: Academic Press.

Sadovy, Y.J. et al. 2004. While stocks last: The live reeffood fish trade. Manila: Asian Development Bank.147 p.

Shakeel, H., and H. Ahmed. 1997. Exploitation of ReefResources, Grouper and Other Food Fishes in theMaldives. SPC Live Reef Fish Information Bulletin2:14–20.

Yeeting, B. 1999a. Live Reef Food Fish Developmentsin Fiji. SPC Fisheries Newsletter 8:25–36.

Yeeting, B. 1999b. Live Reef Fish Development in Fiji.SPC Live Reef Fish Information Bulletin 6:19–24.

(Continued from page 39)

Conclusion

This feasibility study ablydemonstrated the efficacy of tracinglive reef fish from their port of originusing coded wire tags. Whilst thisrepresented a positive step towardaddressing food safety and health inthe consumption of live reef food fish,the characteristics of the LRFFT implythat additional testing be undertaken toidentify the most suitable taggingapproach for widespread applicationthroughout the LRFFT. Given that thetrade is artisanal in nature, comprises alarge number of fishers who aregeographically dispersed over a wide

area, and has numerous sites forlanding and holding fish catches beforeshipment, the tagging method used willneed to be relatively simple to use andinexpensive to operate.

Acknowledgments

We thank Adam, Chris and the rest ofthe staff at Kenneth Aquamarine,Cairns, for their assistance withtagging and checking the fish. Wethank Kenneth Vy (KennethAquamarine Products) for providingsupport and assistance in both Cairnsand Hong Kong. We also thank thestaff of Northwest Marine TechnologyInc. particularly Lee Blankenship andStan Moberley for their support.

46

Calendar

Pacific Fish Technologists, 31January – 3 February 2005,

Vancouver BC, Canada

The theme of the conference isWeaving the Net of Sustainability –How Do We Flourish & Nourish?

In order to achieve sustainability theecology, economy and society must beviewed as individual pieces of twinethat are woven together to make a tightand complex net. When looking at thenet it is not possible to see thebeginning or end of any particulartwine as they are all integral parts ofthe final mesh. Likewise it is difficult totouch one twine within the net withoutvibrating others.

Whether you are attending thisconference from an academia,processing, harvesting, environmentalor governmental agenda all of thetopics covered will be of relevance. Ourgoal is simple, to ensure the fishingindustry continues to FLOURISH, sothat all of us are NOURISHED!

We’re planning a program to coverseafood quality, contaminant issues,nutrition & health benefits, regulationsand marketing issues. Visit theconference website for the call forpapers and further details, http://www.pft2005.org/. Contact [email protected].

Workshop on AntibioticResistance in Asian Aquaculture

Environment, 24-25 February2005, Chiang Mai, Thailand

The workshop is organized by Foodand Agriculture Organization (FAO),Network of Aquaculture Centers inAsia (NACA), Department of Fisheries(DOF) and the Southeast AsianFisheries Development Center(SEAFDEC). The workshop will

For more events listings the NACA Events & Training page at

http://www.enaca.org/modules/extcal/

address the following topics: 1. Antibiotic resistance in Asian

aquaculture – the Asian perspective.2. Antibiotic resistance in Asian

aquaculture – the Europeanperspective.

3. The antibiotic resistance problem –perceptions at the level of individualcountries.

4. The EU-funded Asiaresist project.5. Sampling of aquaculture

environments for antibioticresistance.

6. Standardized antibioticsusceptibility testing and MICtechniques.

7. Bacterial identification techniques.8. Bacterial DNA typing.9. Characterization and transfer of

chloramphenicol resistance genes.10. A web-based management system

for antibiotic resistance inaquaculture; managing the problem.

For further information, contact DrSupranee Chinabut, Department ofFisheries, Jatujak, Bangkok 10900,THAILAND, Tel: (66-2) 579-6803, fax:(66-2) 561-3993, [email protected] or visit:www.medinfo.dist.unige.it/Asiaresist/Workshop

International Conference onEffective Land-Water Interface

Management for SolvingAgriculture-Fishery-AquacultureConflicts in Coastal Zones, 1-3

March 2005

The objectives of the conference are toi) provide an assessment of thedependence of farmers and fishermenon coastal zone resources, and theecological implications of resource usebased on case studies and participants’experience; ii) identify processes in,and tools for managing the land-water

interface for solving agriculture-fishery-aquaculture-ecosystemconflicts in coastal areas; iii) exchangethe findings on land-water interfacemanagement from case studies invarious countries; iv) develop conceptnotes on comprehensive assessmentframeworks for coastal zones andidentify research collaborationopportunities. Expected outputs of theconference will include publication ofpapers in the conference proceedings,and key messages and supportingresearch will form input into theComprehensive Assessment process,identification of actions that can betaken, future research needs, andcollaborative efforts to solve problems.

The conference is organized by theWorld Fish Center, International RiceResearch Institute, International WaterManagement Institute, People’sCommittee of Bac Lieu Province,Vietnam and Can Tho University,Vietnam For more information, contactDr Chu Thai Hoanh, IWMI, [email protected].

Sustain Fish 2005, 23-25 March2005, Cochin, India

Sustain Fish 2005 will provide a forumfor meaningful deliberations on variousissues plaguing fisheries and to findsolutions for improving thesustainability of fish productionsystems. It will also examine thetechnological appropriateness offishing and rational utilization offishery resources for providing qualityprotein to the ever-growing humanpopulation at lower costs. The mainthrust areas for discussions will be: 1.Wild fish stock management; 2.sustainable aquaculture; 3. technology,quality and safety of seafood; 4. socio-economics and marketing; and 5.


Calendar

policies and regulations. Call forabstracts: The deadline for submissionof abstracts is 31 December 2004. Forfurther information about theconference and abstract submission,visit http://www.sustainfish2005.com,or contact: The Convener – SustainFish 2005, School of IndustrialFisheries, Cochin University of Scienceand Technology, Fine Arts Avenue,Cochin 682 016, India, Tel +91 484 2351029, Fax +91 484 235 1029, [email protected].

Marine and Freshwater ToxinsAnalysis, 11-14 April 2005,

Baiona, Spain

The symposium will address newdevelopments and validation efforts inthe analysis of marine and freshwatertoxins, and is held as a joint meetingwith the AOAC Task Force on Marineand Freshwater Toxins.

Presentations will address specialneeds of the community from toxinmonitoring to new concerns in theintentional contamination of food andwater. The conference venue is theUniversity of Vigo, in new on-siteconference facilities. The University,home to the Department of Analyticaland Food Chemistry, is located nearBaiona and Vigo in the Galicia region ofnorthwestern Spain. In addition tobeing the largest European producer ofmussels, shellfish-rich Galicia is also avery beautiful and historic area. Inaddition to contributed posters andoral presentations, there will be severalkeynote presentations andopportunities to discuss state of the artdetection methods. The symposium willalso offer unique opportunities topresenters and attendees:• To learn more about the Marine and

Freshwater Toxins Task Force andhow to contribute to this new andexciting effort to foster thedevelopment and validation ofpowerful and practical methods fortoxin analysis, and greateravailability of toxin standards.

• A forum to meet with internationalmembers of the seafood industry,their associations, and alsoregulatory agencies. Thesestakeholders, who are the ultimateusers and/or benefactors of theanalytical methodology, will alsofind that the symposium and Task

Force can be used to express theirneeds.

• To observe or participate in theactivities of focused subgroups inthe areas of saxitoxins, diarrhetictoxins, yessotoxins, domoic acid,and others. Subgroups have provento be the most effective means ofdeveloping methodology needs andvalidation strategies. Symposiumpresenters and attendees arewelcome to attend.

For more information [email protected] or visit:http://www.aoac.org/marine_toxins/task_force.htm

Asian Aquafeeds 2005, 12-13April 2005, Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia

Asia aquafeed production is estimatedat 5.4 million tonnes in 2002. In view ofthe scale of this industry and thatformulated feeds can comprise up to60% of the total production cost inintensive aquaculture operations, moreefficient technologies must bedeveloped to convert raw materials intoaquaculture produce.

The 2-day seminar is planned withthe aim of bringing together industrystakeholders within the field ofaquaculture feed production to discussthe latest available technologies andresources so as to create a sustainablestrategy for the growth anddevelopment of aquaculture in Asia.The seminar will be of interest to fishand shrimp feed producers,nutritionists, feed mill operators, feedmilling and processing equipmentsuppliers, feed ingredient suppliers, aswell as researchers, aquacultureproducers and policy makers. Call forpapers: Oral papers, posters andabstracts will be in English. Oralpresentations are by invitation only.Abstracts are invited for posterpresentations. Presenters are invited tosubmit abstracts, not exceeding 250words. Dateline for the submission ofabstracts is January 31st 2005. Formatfor the presentations can be obtainedon request by email to [email protected] [email protected]. Acceptanceof papers will be at the sole discretionof the Technical Committee.

For further information, visit http://www.vet.upm.edu.my/~mfs, [email protected] or contact: Asian

Aquafeeds 2005, Malaysian FisheriesSociety, Aquatic Animal Health Unit,Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia,Telephone : + 603-8946 8288, + 604-6533888 Ext:4005, Fax : + 603-8948 8246. Abrochure/registration form is availablefor download from: http://www.enaca.org/PDF/Aquafeed2005brochure.pdf

World Aquaculture 2005, 9-13May 2005, Bali, Indonesia

It’s the biggest aquaculture conferenceon the planet and in 2005 it will be heldin Bali, Indonesia. WAS 2005 will createa unique opportunity to meet farmers,scientists and government regulatorsfrom every corner of the globe. Aninternational trade show will be heldsimulteously. For more information,including a downloadable conferencebrochure, abstract submission andregistration details visit the WASwebsite, http://www.was.org.

6th Symposium on Diseases inAsian Aquaculture (DAA VI), 25-28 October 2005, Colombo, Sri

Lanka

The theme of the sixth symposium is‘Aquatic Animal Health Facing NewChallenges’. A workshop, a trainingcourse, an expert consultation and the7th Triennial General Meeting (TGM-7)of FHS are being planned inconjunction with DAA VI. Details willbe made available through a dedicatedwebsite to be launched in October. Fiveprevious Symposia (Bali 1990, Phuket1993, Bangkok 1996, Cebu 1999 andBrisbane 2002), each brought togethermore than 200 aquatic animal healthscientists, students, governmentresearchers and industry personnelfrom some 30 countries to discussdisease related problems affectingaquaculture production and to findsolutions for them. Please visit the FHSwebsite for more detailed informationabout the society and DAA. ContactDr. Melba B. Reantaso [email protected] or downloadhttp://www.enaca.org/PDF/DAA_VI_First_Announcement.pdf.

48

Calendar

News

FDA Bioterrorism regulations:Record keeping requirement

The U.S. Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) today issuedfinal regulations on the establishmentand maintenance of records to protectthe U.S. human food and animal feedsupply in the event of credible threatsof serious adverse healthconsequences or death to humans oranimals. FDA also issued draftguidance to FDA staff and industry,which details the internal proceduresthe agency will follow beforerequesting access to records.

This final regulation implementssection 306 of the Bioterrorism Act,which directs the HHS Secretary toissue regulations requiring personswho manufacture, process, pack,transport, distribute, receive, hold, orimport food to establish and maintainrecords. These records identify theimmediate previous source of all foodreceived, as well as, the immediatesubsequent recipient of all foodreleased.

“These records will be crucial forFDA to deal effectively with food-related emergencies, such as deliberatecontamination of food by terrorists,”said Dr. Lester M. Crawford, ActingFDA Commissioner. “The ability totrace back will enable us to get to thesource of contamination. The recordsalso enable FDA to trace forward toremove adulterated food that poses asignificant health threat in the foodsupply.”

The final regulation is the fourthregulation designed to increase thesafety and security of the U.S. humanand animal food supply under theauthority of the “Public Health Securityand Bioterrorism Preparedness andResponse Act of 2002” (theBioterrorism Act).

The record retention period forhuman foods ranges from six months totwo years depending on the shelf lifeof the food. Records for animal food,including pet food, must be retained for

one year. The maximum record retentionrequirement for transporters of alltypes of food is one year.

Records must be retained at theestablishment where the activitiescovered in the records occurred or at areasonable accessible location. Tominimize the burden on food companiesaffected by the final rule, companiesmay keep the required information inany format, paper or electronic. Allbusinesses covered by this rule mustcomply within 12 months from the datethe rule is published in the FederalRegister, except small and very smallbusinesses. Small businesses (11-499full-time equivalent employees (FTEs))must comply within 18 months fromthis date, and very small businesses(10 or fewer FTEs) have to complywithin 24 months from this date.

When FDA has a reasonable beliefthat an article of food is adulteratedand presents a threat of seriousadverse health consequences or deathto humans or animals, any records orother information to which FDA hasaccess must be available for inspectionand copying as soon as possible, notto exceed 24 hours from time of receiptof the official request. The recordsaccess authority applies both torecords required to be established andmaintained by the final rule, or anyother records a covered entity maykeep to comply with federal, state, orlocal law or as a matter of businesspractice.

The Bioterrorism Act allows FDA tobring a civil action in federal court toenjoin the persons who fail to complywith this rule. FDA also can seekcriminal actions in federal court toprosecute persons who fail to establishand maintain records, as required bythe final rule.

FDA has already issued three otherfinal regulations under the BioterrorismAct, which are in effect. They cover:• Registration foreign and domestic

food facilities;• Prior notice of food shipments

imported or offered for import intothe U.S.; and

• Administrative detention, so that

food products that might pose athreat of serious adverse healthconsequences or death may bedetained.

FDA will be holding seven publicmeetings in January and February 2005to explain the requirements of the finalrule to interested parties and answerquestions.

Registration is on a first-come, firstserved basis. Additional information onhow to register for one of the publicmeetings or information about all fourrules designed to protect the U.S. foodsupply is available from the FDAwebsite at http://www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html.

EU To Relax Restrictions OnIndonesian Shrimp Imports

The European Union (EU) which hasbeen strictly regulating the tolerablelimits of antibiotic residue in shrimpfrom Indonesia, intends to relax itsrestrictions, said Mr. Sumpeno Putro,spokesman of Maritime Affairs andFisheries Ministry. The antibioticswhose tolerable limit had been loweredby the EU were chloramphenicol andnitrofuran, he added.

“Previously, the EU had requiredthat shrimp to be allowed to enter itsmarkets must be free of those twoantibiotics or zero tolerance,” he said.However, he said, the EU had recentlydecided that the detection limit ofdetection instrument forcloramphenicol was as high as 0.3 partper billion (ppb) and nitrofuran 1.0 ppb.Therefore, Sumpeno said, as long asshrimp exports to the EU did not passthe tolerable limits they would betolerated. He said with the newregulation, it would be easier forIndonesia to export shrimps to EU.Source: Antara - The IndonesianNational News Agency, November 12,2004.

reefs, fish or manage small-scaleaquaculture, as part of theirlivelihoods.

Since that time NACA has worked tosupport the livelihoods of many peopleacross Asia Pacific who manageaquatic resources, especially thosewho are vulnerable, have few assetsand limited influence. The network andthe initiative in particular, now workwith partners to facilitate thedevelopment of institutions andpolicies that support the livelihoodobjectives of farmers and fishers.

Many of the groups that rely uponcoastal and inland aquatic resourcesare extremely disadvantaged; manymore in coastal areas of Bangladesh,India (including the Andaman andNicobar Islands), Indonesia, TheMaldives, Myanmar, Malaysia, SriLanka, The Seychelles, Somalia,Tanzania and Thailand now collectivelyface challenges of apocalypticproportions. Hundreds of thousandshave suffered trauma and bereavement;around 1.8 million have no home;support networks, governancestructures, towns, farms and boats aredestroyed. Critical near shore reef,mangrove and sea grass habitats maybe damaged and many coasts eroded;in places water and land have becomesalinized. Short and longer term incomestreams associated with activities incoastal towns, industries and tourismhave been disrupted.

SPIRIT

From the earliest news, offers ofassistance began pouring into NACAfrom our partner organizations andcolleagues all over the world. Theresponse has been truly overwhelmingand it has rapidly become apparent thata tremendous will to act and pool ofexpertise exists in the internationalfisheries and aquaculture community.

To focus the collective effort,NACA, as part of a strategic response,has established a Special Program inResponse to Impacts of the Tsunami(SPIRIT). Through SPIRIT, NACA willwork with its partners and throughCONSRN to support communitydevelopment projects that will helppeople to rebuild their livelihoods andbecome self-sufficient. Such activitieswill target reconstruction anddevelopment of livelihoods that arebased on aquaculture, coastal fisheriesand other aquatic resources.Contributions to support NACASPIRIT have been made by bothorganizations and individuals andinclude:• Volunteering of professional and

technical services: In-kindcontributions from people who wishto donate their time,

• Donations of money to a CoastalLivelihoods Rehabilitation Fund,established to support SPIRITactivities,

• Programs and projects with otherentities that will be implemented byor in collaboration with NACA and/

or CONSRN.The ‘Special Program in Response toImpacts of the Tsunami’ intends to usethis support, in the first instance, tocontribute to the reconstruction ofinstitutions affected by the recenttsunamis, with a particular emphasis onhelping them to support the livelihoodsof nearby coastal communities thatdepend upon aquaculture, andfisheries. This will be achieved byworking with existing or naturalpartners of NACA, and supportingthem to link with and underpin theactions and efforts of the communitiesthat they serve. It is intended that thiswill help to fulfil some immediate needsof institutional and communityreconstruction, build communitysupport mechanisms that will sustain inthe medium and long term and naturallyfoster stronger outreach tendencies inthe culture of re-emerging institutions.

Aquaculture Asia

As efforts to rebuild the livelihoods ofcoastal communities get underway,Aquaculture Asia will document thestories of farmers and fishers with aview to sharing the successes and hardlessons learned during reconstruction.A myriad of difficult issues are certainto emerge, and we will work tostimulate debate and to share thesolutions and experiences of coastalcommunities and the people workingwith them with you, our readers. Ed.

Continued from inside front cover...

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