Commodity: Milkfish Basic Info Herbivore/detritivore o Filter and benthic feeder o

Characteristics Euryhaline (0-100 ppt) o Eurythermal (10-40C)

Not carnivorous o Resistant to diseases o
Stunting possible
High fecundity (1-9 M eggs) and longevity (spawn every year for 20 years) o Broodstock husbandry and hatchery technology already
developed)
Taxonomy o Phylum: Chordata o Class: Actinopterygii o Order Gonorynchiformes o Family Chanidae
History o 1954 - modular system Dr. Saturnino Abesamis o 1960-deep water plankton method (BFAR)
1968-BFAR's failed hatchery project in Lake Naujan, Mindoro o 1970- fishpen culture (LLDA)
1970-BFAR with UNDP production calendar as guide for farmers in different climatic zones o 1974-SEAFDEC with IDRC of Canada, short (wild)
and medium term (captive allow to mature) breeding o 1980-SEAFDEC natural spawning of captive milkfish
1981-BFAR+SEAFDEC launched National Bangus Breeding Program (NBBP)
1990-Norwegian type of marine cages in deeper waters (beyond 10 m)- Maximo Abesamis
Top producers o Philippines and Indonesia - tank production hatchery system (intensive or indoor system) ▪ 85% of milkfish production in
the Phil comes from brackishwater fishponds
▪ Top producing regions: Regions VI, I and III o Taiwan - pond hatchery system (semi-intensive or oudoor system)
Species and variants o Chanos chanos o Variants:
▪ Elongated caudal fin (Philippines)
▪ Goldfish type (Indonesia)
▪ Dwarf or hunchback shad type (Hawaii and Australia)
▪ Red head, red fin and brilliant blue dorsal surface (Australia)
Life History
Adults ● Eggs and embryo
Pelagic ○ Pelagic
○ Spawn at night in reefs ○ 1.1 to 1.25 mm diameter
○ 0.5 - 6 M eggs/ spawn
Larvae
Float, carried by water currents to coastal areas, 2-3 weeks to fry
○ Egg size, size at hatching, amount of yolk and initial mouth size are greater in milkfish than in many other tropical marine fishes
○ Younger larvae - "yolk-sac larvae" or "free embryos", pre-flexion and flexion stages are mostly near the surface to 20-30 m down, occur both
far and near shore
○ Older larvae – post flexion >10 mm TL occur only near the surface and only near shore
Fry
End of pelagic interval : enter coastal wetlands like mangrove swamps and estuaries which serve as nursery grounds
○ Zooplankton- feeding larvae become benthic-feeding juveniles following metamorphosis
Juveniles
50 mm in length, migrate to coastal lagoons or upstream to freshwater lakes ○ Return to sea for maturation and spawning
Broodstock
Age at maturity o Milkfish in cages attain sexual maturity after 5 years (3 kgs and above)
Place of culture: Floating net cages or concrete tanks with flow-through filtered seawater
Live Transport o Pre-starved (2 days) and anesthetized after harvest, individually packed in transport plastic bags with 40 liters chilled seawater
and 2-phenoxyethanol as sedative and placed in styrofoam boxes. Travel time 6-7 hours. If more hours, change 50% of transport water every 6
hours
Food: 36-38% high protein diet for gonadal development
Sex determination o Easier during spawning months (March-October). Sex ratio – 1M: 2F
Male are usually smaller and swims faster than female; milt oozes out from the urogenital pore if slight pressure is applied to the abdomen
Gravid female have distended abdomen; oocytes from pre-gravid gonad can be sampled by intraovarian biopsy using polyethylene cannula;
can be used as broodstock if the yolky oocytes are spherical; ripe females are sluggish
Those with undetermined sex may be implanted with LHRH-a hormone during initial check-up to induce maturation for reliable sex
determination later.
Spawning
Induced and Natural
Spawning should be induced at salinities higher than 32 ppt to ensure that the eggs would float rather than sink and that the sperm will be
completely activated.
Gametes are released by spawners for external fertilization. Eggs are collected immediately to prevent cannibalism using a manually operated
sweeper-type egg collector.
Hatchery
Egg incubation: 1600 eggs per liter for optimum hatching (14-16 hours) to larvae
Place of culture: Concrete or canvas tanks of 1-1.3 m depth
Stocking: 30 1-day old larvae per liter and harvested at 21-23 days (fry)
Food
Phytoplankton (Chlorella) and zooplankton (Brachionus) – start production at least 2 weeks before hatchery receives eggs or larvae
Feeding starts one yolk reserves are consumed (~36 hours). At day 15, enriched Artemia is added.
Formulated diet in lieu of rotifers and Artemia is also available given at day 7 (<250 µm)
Fry collection from the wild o Greater during full and new moon as result of greater spawning activity during quarter moon. Fry catch is usually
greater at flood and high tide
Fry season begins earliest in the south (Cotabato, Zamboanga): start Jan-Feb, peak in May, decline in August, smaller peak in Sep-Nov. In
Visayas (Cebu, Panay, Negros): start Mar-Apr, peak in May, second peak in Oct, lasts til Nov-Dec. In Northern Luzon (Ilocos, Cagayan,
Pangasinan): start April, peak May-
June and lasts til Oct
Stationary collecting gears: fry barrier, tidal set net, fry filter net. Mobile collecting gears: scoop net, scissor net, fry sweeper, fry seine
Fry is stored in plastic basin (150-300 fry/liter) in 1:2 freshwater: seawater, fed with yolk of hard-boiled egg or fried flour everyday until bought
fur nursery use
Milkfish fry stored for more than two weeks are generally weak and will have low survival when stocked in nursery ponds. Strong fry: swim
continuously along basin wall in the same direction, swim vigorously
against the current after swirling, react with quick avoidance movements when tapped
Nursery
Area for culture: Brackishwater fishpond
Stocking density o 30-50 fry/m2
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Stunted fingerlings provide a continuous source of stock for year-round operation. Transition pond is stocked with 10-15 fingerlings per sq.m.
Stocking is usually done in the early part of the morning when the temperature is low. Acclimate. ● Day of culture: Grows to fingerling size (3-5
g) after 30-45 days of culture
Food o Lumot- algal complex dominated by filamentous green algae ( Chaetomorpha, Cladophora,
Enteromorpha, Spirogyra). These are too coarse and fibrous and only the decaying algae were utilized by the fish
Lablab- benthic biological complex consisting of small plants and animals. Blue green algae ( Oscillatoria, Lyngbya, Spirulina, Anabaena),
diatoms (Navicula, Pleurosigma, Nitzschia), green algae, animal components (protozons, copepods, polychaete worms, larval forms of
molluscs, insects and decapods). It initially forms as layers or films at the pond bottom and then develops into a coarse and flabby mat that
eventually loses attachment from the bottom. Introduced by FAO consultant from Taiwan (Yun-an Tang) – most widely used natural food.
Requires high salinity (25-45 ppt) difficult to achieve during rainy season.
Plankton – all microscopic organisms suspended in water. Plant and animal components similar to lablab. Effective in nursery but unpredictable
results in grow-out
Lablab: water is let in just to cover pond bottom  apply fertilizer  depth increased slowly, 3-5 cm at a time until depth of 20-50 cm. Plankton:
water is immediately filled to depth of 75-100 cm  platform is positioned 5-20 cm below surface. Lumot: water (30-cm) is admitted to allow
growth of lumot  grown in pond by staking method (50-100 grams are staked at intervals of 1-2 meters) or by sowing/spreading method where
fragments of alage are thrown uniformly at the pond bottom
Harvest
Done in the morning. Mass mortality occurs if fingerlings are harvested before sunrise (water has low
DO) or late in the day (Water temperature is high) o Keep fingerlings for at least 12 days (1 to 2 days is recommended) in the holding pond or
confinement net for conditioning and excretion of gut contents before packing if to be transported for long distance
Pasulang / Freshening method – water is initially decreased and new water admitted the next day.
Fingerlings will go against the current of the inflowing water and congregate in the catching pond o Seining method – only if the above method
cannot be undertaken, stressful
Draining method – start gradual draining at 2 to 3 pm and completely drain before dark to prevent fingerlings to jump and get stuck in the mud.
Milkfish fingerlings are sensitive to light at nighttime. o Gill net – for partial harvesting in ponds and pens using net of appropriate mesh size
Stationary fish corral – in small-sized ponds to catch small quantity of fish. Water is admitted to make the fish swim towards the corral installed
near the main gate. The fish are then scooped or seined.
Grow-out
Area of System name Specifications Stocking Depth Pond
Culture Density Area,
ha
Brackishwat Modular In three stages using ponds with progressively 3,000/ha 40-50 1-10
e r Pond increasing area 1:2:4 so
Proportion of rearing ponds is 1:2:4 or 1:3:9. Fish in first
moved periodically from one module to another module
(every 30-45 days) by inducing them to swim stock
against the current. 12,000

Straight-run/ Stock and wait method, water management purely 1,000- 40-50 1-50
extensive tidal 3,000/ha
Fry in small nursery pond  fingerlings in large
rearing pond
Deep-water ≥ 1m depth, plankton instead of benthic algae as 4,000- ≥100 1-10
plankton food + supl. feeding, less prone to snail infestation 6,000/ha
Greater water volume per unit area = more space of
fish
Semiintensive Smaller pond size, with paddle wheel aerators DOC 8,000- ≥100 1-5
1 to 45-0: natural food afterwards formulated feed 12,000/ha

Intensive Smaller (0.1 -1 ha) but deeper (1-2 m) grow-out 20000- 1-2 m 0.1-1
Mass mortality is a constant threat Needs form 30000/ha

Stock Periodic stocking of multi-size fish and partial 4000- 40-50 1-10
manipulatio harvesting (assorted sizes of 5 to 100 g) 5000/ha
n Popular in Taiwan, with supplementary feeding
Polyculture Two or more species with complementary feeding 1,000- 40-50
habits and behaviour are grown together Milkfish 3,000/ha
with shrimps (3,000-5000 fry)/ crabs (10,000
crablets)
Freshwater Fishpen Feed mainly on plankton and forage for food at the 3-5/ m2 3-7 m 1 to
Lake bottom, may require supl feed only since Laguna de deep 400
Bay has abundant nat food waters
Estuaries, Made of bamboo frames with synthetic nettings 6-12/ m2 2-5 m 500-
Marine Barrier net enclosure (PE, 7 knots, knotted) waters 1600
Nursery net (V-net, size 8-12) m2
Grow-out (PE, CC net, 17 knots, knotless)
Insufficient natural food, high protein (27-31%)
formulated diet essential

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 FW, Cages Can accommodate high SD due to free flow of water 5-30/m3 (shallow) 30- 2-3 m
estuarine, current bringing new water and removes metabolic 40/m3 (deep lakes and (FW)
marine waste bays) deeper
waters 5-10 g fingerlings in cages  split after 1-2 months to 40-100/m3 for
grow-out cages (offshore) MW
Day of culture: 3 months of culture (4-8 mo in fish pen, 6-8 mo in cages), harvest when fish are scarce in the market to maximize profit. This is
usually during full moon nights when not much fish are caught in the sea
Food
Daytime feeders: bottom associated blue-green algae, diatoms and detritus
Artificial food: rice bran, pelleted diets (23-27% crude protein) o Cyanobacterial mat, filamentous green algae, plankton o Feeding methods:
▪ Hand feeding
Food ration is broadcasted for 15-30 minutes at fixed areas of the pond
Allows uniform feeding and observation of feed response but costly and labor intensive
▪ Feeding tray
Designed for use with sinking pellets
Feed ration is placed on a 1x1 m or 1x2 m fine meshed net situated 15-20 cm below water surface
Use is being discouraged due to feed losses resulting from nutrient leaching and feed disintegration caused by low stability of fish feeds
▪ Feeding ring
Utilized for floating feeds and usually made of buoyant bamboo frame to prevent feed from drifting outside the feeding area
Cost effective and labor saver but would encourage competition among the fish leading to uneven sizes
Setting up of several small feeding areas using feeding rings around the pond instead of only a few large ones will be advantageous
▪ Demand feeder
Composed of a pellet feed reservoir equipped with a pendulum system, which drops pellets into the water when the fish hits the shank of the
pendulumCost and labor efficient; reflects on appetite and condition of fish
Should be used strictly with a maximum feeder: fish ratio to ensure uniform feeding, cannot be used for smaller than 20 g fish
▪ Feed spreader or blower
For bigger cages, ensure equitable feed distribution with more uniform growth of fish
Optimum Parameters
Salinity: growth is retarded at 45 ppt, frequent water exchange done during summer months ● Temperature: 25-32 C
pH: high pH ( too fertile = plankton bloom), low pH (infertile, plankton growth slow), 6.5-8.5
Dissolved Oxygen: 3-10 ppm o Do not feed when DO is below 1.5 ppm because the fish would not eat and formulated feed will only go to
waste.
Hydrogen sulphide: fish will die at 2 ppm concentration
Weather conditions: during rainy days, drain the uppermost freshwater layer in the water column to prevent sudden drop in salinity
Turbidity: Keep Secchi disk reading between 20 and 30 cm. reapply fertilizer if plankton does not bloom but if secchi reading is less than 20 cm
stop fertilization and replace about ¼ of volume of pond water. A combination of regular water exchange and pond fertilization will maintain
good plankton blooms.
Commodity: Tilapia Basic Info
Characteristics o Euryhaline
“carpe” in West Africa, “St Peter’s fish” in Israel, “bream” in Southern Africa, “mojarra” in Latin America o Simple reproduction/ breeding process,
feeds low on the food chain o Rapid growth rate, resistance to physical handling and diseases o Good tolerance to high stocking densities and
intensive rearing conditions o Filleting yields for tilapia is relatively low: 42% (skin-on), 32% (skin-off)
All Tilapia are native to Africa. The Asia and Pacific Region has no native tilapia and no native fish species with comparable attributes to tilapia
for aquaculture.
History o Derived from bushman dialect til (fish) and native exclusively to the African continent (excluding Madagascar) and from the Jordan
Valley and coastal rivers of Palestine. Their expansive geographical distribution reflects the species’ intrinsic capacity for adaptation to various
types of habitat and environmental condition.
1930: Earliest known international transfer is O. mossambicus in Java
1940-1950: O. mossambicus was disseminated throughout the Asia and Pacific region
1950’s: first tilapia introduced was O. mossambica (wonder fish) from Thailand but people lost interest because it multiplies fast, producing
many offsprings resulting to poor growth
1970’s: Nile Tilapia was introduced. Back story: 50 pieces of nile tilapia fry was given as a royal gift from King of Japan to the King of Thailand
who treasured it and bred them in his Chitralada palace. When the king distributed the fish to thai farmers they were called Nile tilapia
Chitralada strain.
Technology was developed to produce all male, sex reversed tilapia (SRT) seed, because male tilapia grow faster than females, and the
unwanted reproduction, overcrowding and harvest of undersized fish are avoided
1980’s: some of the conseuences of the lack of attention to tilapia genetics were beginning to emerge. In the Philippines for example,
disappointing tilapia harvests were attributed largely to inbreeding and to accidental hybridization with O. mossambicus that had become
established in adjacent waters
Top producers o Fifth most important fish in the world. Asia – 80% of world production, Africa – 1% & Latin America – 2% o Second to milkfish
as the most widely cultured species in the Philippines (Region 3 – biggest prod)
Life History
Adults
Omnivorous, feeds on a wide range of natural food like lablab, plankton, detritus, crustaceans, benthos, aquatic plants and supplemental food
(rice bran, fish and copra meal)
○ Mozambique, Nile and blue tilapia are more efficient consumers of plankton than Zill’s tilapia because of their finer and more numerous gill
rakers. Tilapia has an intestine length between five to eight times its body length.
○ Spawning rituals of mouth brooders: nest building (shallow holes dug at pond bottom, done by males to attract females) and courtship: 1-5
days  Ovulation and spawning: < 2 hours  Incubation (temperature dependent): 6-10 days, holding of the seed in the mouth continuously
○ Being a maternal mouth brooder, the number of eggs per spawn is small in comparison with most pond fishes. The number of eggs that can
be laid in one spawning is limited by the capacity of the buccal cavity to accommodate for incubation  offset by the fact that they are multiple
spawners
Larvae
Newly hatched larvae are about 3.5 mm TL and have a large yolk sac, unpigmented eyes and no mouth. The yolk is completely absorbed on
day 5.
Fry
Two to three week old fry (10–13 mm TL) reach inshore waters via active migration or through passive advection.
○ 10 – 30 days, continued maternal dependency, fry and mother begin to feed feeding and recovery of the mother (14-30 days)
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○ In Central Luzon, hatcheries nurse fry to fingerlings and there is no significant nursery subsector.
○ Twenty one day-old fry caught from the wild or obtained from a hatchery are ready to be stocked into nursery ponds. After 30–45 days in the
nursery, fingerlings are grown to marketable size (250–500 g) in ponds, pens, and cages.
Juveniles
Milkfish larger than 20 mm have the characteristic shape and morphology of the adult and are considered juveniles.
○ In aquaculture terminology, juveniles <10 cm long are called fingerlings.
Hatchery/ Broodstock
Age at maturity o Become sexually mature in about 2-3 months from fry stage with average weights of 15-40 grams.
They spawn as often as once a month and spawning takes place throughout the year. Fertilization is external, the eggs are released by the
female and fertilized by the male fish.
Place of culture o Tilapia species breed better in conditions where a natural floor substrate is available due to nesting procedures of
reproduction. Reasons for difference in seed production: varying temperature in rearing water used for spawning, seedstock harvesting method
and presence of non-tilapia species that prey on eggs/hatchlings
Seed Prod’n Pond-based Hapa-based Concrete tanks
Characteristics Square ponds being better than Inverted mosquito net (made of meshed With shallow edges to
long, narrow ponds PE netting) with 4 top corners tied to allow harvest of fry that
bamboo stakes prefer the shallow,
warmer areas along the
edges
Size 300 to 500 m2 3mx3m 4-100 m2
Water Depth 0.5 – 1 m 1.5 m 0.8 m
Advantages Simple, pond serves as Production per square meter is high Fry Highest seed production
spawning and rearing pond, thus are more uniform in size, fry and breeders since water quality
fingerlings easily handled management can be
produced are larger No easily done and
supplemental feeding required at controlled
high manuring rates
Disadvantages Number of fingerlings produced Management is more complicated and
is lesser and are not of the same intense compared with other methods,
size easy target for poachers and hapas may
be destroyed or blown away during
typhoon, supplementary feeding a must
Sex determination o Gonochorist species: individual can either be male or female but not both. Male has two openings just in front of the anal
fin. The large opening is the anus and the smaller opening at the tip is the urogenital pore. Female has three openings: the anus, the genital
pore and the urinary pore.
Tilapia can become sexually mature in 3-4 months of age
Tilapia can be sexed when it has attained the weight of 15 grams. Application of ink or dark dyes to the papillae may increase the accuracy of
sexing and allow sexing of smaller fish.
Development of the Male and female gonad (sex differentiation) takes place between 10 th-20th day, after first feeding period. During the period
when the fry is still sexually undetermined (labile period) the phenotypic sex can be inverted by feeding them with hormone (sex reversal).
Taxonomy and Variants
Genus Tilapia (Substrate spawners). Both parents guard, protect, aerate the breed, and help move clutch to different nest sites. Fry at first
feeding are 4-5 mm and show feeble swimming ability. Fry survival relatively low.
Genus Sarotherodon (Paternal/biparental). Both parents stay close to each other. Eggs and fry brooded in oral cavity up until they are ready for
release. Brood may not be collected once released. Fry are between 7-9 mm at first breeding, well developed fins for swimming. Fry survival
high.
Genus Oreochromis (Maternal). Female solely involve in brood care. After spawning, female leaves nest to rear her clutch in safety. Fry
brooded up until free swimming. There is an extended period of care during which fry seek shelter in buccal cavity for safety. First feeders have
well-developed fins for swimming. Fry survival high.
Species Body coloration Fin appearance
Mozambique tilapia Black to gray; male with yellow Bright red margin on theTilapia mossambica throat when
actively breeding dorsal and caudal fins
Oreochromis mossambicus
Nile tilapia White to bluish; male with reddish Prominent bars on the
Tilapia nilotica throat when actively breeding caudal fin; white stripes
Oreochromis niloticus on dorsal and anal fins
Blue tilapia Bluish; male with dark White spots on the
Tilapia aurea throat when actively breeding caudal, dorsal and anal
Oreochromis aureus fins
Zill’s tilapia Yellowish-green, male with reddish Prominent dark spots on Tilapia zillii breast when
actively breeding the dorsal fins; yellowish green
spots on caudal fins
Among the locally available species, T. nilotica is the most preferred because of its fast growth and attractive appearance.
Biology of different Tilapia species
Mouth-brooders
Oreochromis aureus biology and culture.
•Can live in areas with cold or hot temperatures • Used in hybridization and monosex culture
a. Reproduction:
Female incubates eggs in her mouth.
Optimum temperature 23 to 28 degrees centigrade.
Spawn 3 or more times per year with 1500 to 4300 eggs produced per year.
Eggs hatch in 3 to 5 days and female guards fry for an additional 8 to 10 days after hatching.
Oreochromis mossambicus biology and culture.
Mossambika (Tagalog), 1st tilapia species in the Philippines
Freshwater to seawater (30 ppt)• matures in 3-4 months • Problems:
o Starts to spawn even when only 25 g weight o Smaller fish because of unintentional breeding o Proliferation
a. Reproduction:
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Female incubates eggs in her mouth
Optimum temperature 23 to 28 degrees centigrade
Can breed 6 to 12 times per year with 2000 to 10,000 eggs produced per year.
Eggs hatch in 2 to 5 days and the female guards the young for an additional 8 to 10 days.
3) Oreochromis niloticus biology and culture.
Plapla (Tag.)
Introduced by BFAR in 1972
Freshwater
Easy to rear, feed and adapt in the tropics
Has many strains through genetic selection programs
a.Reproduction:
Female incubates eggs in her mouth.
Optimum temperature 25 to 29 degrees centigrade.
Average of three spawns per year with about 750 to 6000 eggs produced per year.
Eggs hatch in 3 to 5 days and female guards young for 8 to 10 days after hatching. Substrate Spawners
1) Tilapia rendalli biology and culture. a. Reproduction:
Both parents dig a nest and incubate the eggs and fry.
Optimum temperature 25 to 30 degrees centigrade.
Spawning may occur at 7-week intervals with 12,000 to 20,000 eggs produced per year.
Eggs hatch in 5 days.
2) Tilapia zillii biology and culture. a. Reproduction:
Both parents dig a nest and guard the eggs and fry.
Optimum temperature 22 to 26 degrees centigrade.
Six spawnings per year possible with about 6000 to 42,000 eggs produced per year.
Eggs hatch in 3 to 5 days.
Other species:
1. Red tilapia or Gintong Biyaya (Oreochromis spp.) • Offspring of:
O. niloticus and O. mossambicus (Taiwanese red tilapia)
O. niloticus, O. mossambicus and O. hornorum (Phil. Red tilapia)
Red coloration is from mutant mossambicus, Not favored by local buyers because of color
Form and shape is from niloticus
Fast growing, can be used in sea cages
Can fetch a higher price in western countries, known as cherry snapper in the US
2. Hornorum and mossambica hybrid
“jewel tilapia”: offspring of O. mossambicus and O. urolepis hornorum
all male hybrid, can live in salt water
Used to counter effect of luminous bacteria in prawns

Control of tilapia population

Due to early maturity and frequent breeding, there is the problem of overcrowding, slow growth and harvest of many small-sized tilapias. Thus,
there is a need to control tilapia population. Monosex culture has been recognized as the most effective solution to the problem of early
maturation and uncontrolled reproduction. The following methods are used to control tilapia reproduction:
1.Periodic harvesting of tilapia fry and fingerlings with nets to reduce competition for food. o effective in small ponds, labor intensive,
requires little skill.
Separation of sexes after an initial growth period (monosex culture). o males grow faster than females, difficult for large ponds since large
numbers of fish are needed and the process is slow. Mistakes are made and sexing is about 90% efficient. Requires trained labor.
Culture of all-male tilapia - preferred since the male grows faster and attains a large size than the female.
Monosex culture can be attained by:
Manual sexing – tilapia can be manually separated by sex through ocular examination of the urogenital papilla. Manual sexing can be done to
tilapia 10 cm or longer. An average worker can do manual sexing for about 2,000 fish/day. The disadvantages of this method are; it is tedious,
causes stress to the fish, only 80 – 90 % accurate.
Artificial sex reversal
Hybridization – crossbreeding of two species of tilapia to produce all-male or predominantly male hybrids. Hybrids of T. nilotica and T. hornorum
are produced by the given procedure.
Production of pure genetic strains of T. nilotica and T. hornorum.
Pure strains are now crossed.
Fingerlings from the two species are sexed when they attained weights of 20 – 30g and the males and females are stocked in segregated
broodstock ponds. The fish are fed with agricultural byproducts at the rate of 5% body weight daily. In two to three months, the fish grow to 60 –
100g and become sexually mature.

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Mature male T. hornorum and female T. nilotica are introduced in the spawning pond at a 1:1 ratio. Hybrid fingerlings are collected after two
months.
The problem in the hybridization process is the difficulty in maintaining pure genetic lines which are necessary to obtain consistent results. In
commercial production, varying proportions of females occur as a result of contamination of the broodstock lines.
4. Production of YY males
Culture in cages which are suspended above the pond bottom.
spawned eggs fall through the cage mesh and die preventing overcrowding, cage materials may be expensive, requires intensive feeding with
high quality ration.
Culture at very high densities in ponds or raceways.
crowding reduces the urge to reproduce, intensive feeding with a high quality ration is required.
good water supply must be available, requires electric, gas or diesel aeration devices.
requires skilled management.
6. Stocking predacious fish as fingerlings or adults in the tilapia pond.
Fish predators such such as snakehead (Chana striata), tarpon (Megalops cyrinoides), grouper
(Ephinephelus sp.), sea bass (Lates calcalifer) and tenpounder (Elops hawaiensis) have been used to control tilapia population. At the same
time, carnivorous species have high market value when sold. Successful control is attained if the ratio of the predator is enough to keep the
tilapia population down.
To prevent the predators from preying upon the original tilapia stock, the size of fish at stocking and the time interval between stocking of the
prey and the predator should be considered. 7. Reproductive sterilization
Tilapia can be rendered sterile either incapable of producing eggs or sperm or incapable of fertilization. Studies show that feeding fish with food
containing papaya seed make them sterile
Food
Breeders require 20-30% crude protein in diet, for optimum growth
Spawning
3 females: 1 male (pond), 5-7 females: 1 male (hapa), 2 females: 1 male (tank). Male is always bigger than female. Stocked at 2 to 4 fish per
m2.
Occurrence is influenced mainly by water temperature where breeding activity will ensue at temperatures around and exceeding 22C. Spawning
is observed to be better if water temperature is within 29-31C. Control of Tilapia population – see back
The reproductive potential of breeders decline with age. On the average, the hatchery operators change breeders every 21 months and a partial
change of breeders is also made after one year.
Fry collection (in ponds): Every day using using dip nets or “fry dozers”, 10-12 days after stocking breeders, drained four weeks after stocking to
remove breeders and remaining fry and fingerlings
Fingerling collection (in ponds): 30-45 days after stocking of breeders, knot 32 mesh seine, done 3-4 times per harvest period every 2-4 weeks,
grade using 22k, 17k, 14k and 10k nets. For conditioning, stock fingerlings (2-3 kg fingerlings/m3) in hapa or tanks 3 days before disposal but
stop feeding 24 hours prior disposal. Restock small fingerlings in earth nurseries to reach the desired size of size 22 at 15-30 days and size 17
at 45 days. Stocking density 25-30 fingerlings/m2
Nursery/ Larvae
Place of culture: Ponds, concrete tanks (round, square or D-end) or floating cages o From pond-based hatchery, fry are stocked at 200/m2 in
ponds with 0.5 meter depth and reared 2-4 weeks.
From tank-based hatchery, collected fry are placed in fine-meshed net enclosures (2 m x 2 m x 1 m) at 1000 fry/m 2 for 5-7 days.
From hapa, postfry are transferred to nursery tanks for rearing to fingerling size in 2-3 weeks with density of 500/m 2.
Food
Tilapia fry are more demanding in their diet than the adults, requiring 45% protein level Grow-out
Area of Specifications Stocking Depth Pond
Culture Density Area, m2
Concrete For intensive culture, artificial feeds used, requires big capital, 100-200/m2 10-100 ft
Tank generates lot of aquaculture wastes – see back in
Stock larger size fingerlings since they are most resistant in enduring diameter
high stocking density and continuous swimming; gradually increase
water depth to allow the fish to adjust to the tank condition

Net Accounts for 37% of production, placed in lakes, dams and reservoirs 10-15 2-6 m Six units of
cages Laguna de Bay  only natural feeds larvae/m2 (fixed) 5x5x3
Taal Lake, Pantabangan, Magat, Ambuklao  artificial feeds >10 m joined in 1
(intensive system - 50-100 larvae/m2, harvest in 3-4 months If using (floating module
CC net, use larvae >10 g ) Fixed: 9-
300 m2,
floating:
1-1250 m2
Fishpond Supplies 48% of production, extensive Harvest after 4-6 months 10000- 1.0-1.5 100-10000
20000/ha
Semi intensive = natural food with 26% crude protein 20000-
40000/ ha
Intensive = 100% commercial formulated feeds Harvest after 3-4 >100000/ha
months
Harvesting o Total harvest after 6 months by total draining. The pond is initially drained to the half-level mark. The larger fish are caught with 25
mm mesh seine and then transferred in net enclosures in another pond with clear water to wash the mud from the harvested fish. The pond is
totally drained to collect the remaining fish.
Selective harvest after 4 months but can be bad in the long run because only large fish are caught, smaller fish are allowed to multiply, thus
recruits are not as robust as parents
Optimum Parameters
Salinity: 0-15
Temperature: 28-32 o Appetite is highest at optimum temperature and declines as temperature increase or fall outside the optimum limit.
Oxygen requirement also increase with increase in body temperature. ● pH: 6.5 -9.0
Dissolved Oxygen: > 5 mg/l o The concentration of oxygen level in the atmosphere is high (21%) but has low solubility in water and rate is
further reduced by an increase in temperature, altitude, salinity and concentration of carbon dioxide.
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DO in the water can be supplied by phytoplankton through their photosynthetic activity, dissipation of atmospheric oxygen into the water or
through the use of mechanical aeration.
Low DO increase the toxicity of ammonia and hydrogen sulphide. In the absence of oxygen, accumulated waste are in reduced form
specifically, hydrogen sulphide.
DO in the water should be high and carbon dioxide, ammonia and other metabolic gases should be kept low to allow osmosis of oxygen through
the gills and expiration of ammonia.
Rapid drop of atmospheric pressure lowers the water surface tension and causes oxygen depletion in the water
Turbidity: 30-35 cm
Ammonia: <2 mg/liter
Carbon Dioxide: <73 mg/liter o Toxicity of both carbon dioxide and ammonia could be minimized by presence of sufficient oxygen and
phytoplankton. Ammonia is a nitrogen source and can be readily used by phytoplankton. With the presence of oxygen, ammonia is used by
bacteria and converted into nitrate, a less harmful form.
Commodity: Giant Freshwater Prawn Basic Info
Characteristics o Hardy and fast growing. FCR is comparable to tilapia. Almost all live in freshwater and some spend part of their life in BW or
SW. It can be caught in rivers and lakes with connection to brackishwater since most require BW in the initial stages of their life cycle. Some
prefer rivers containing clear water, while others are found in extremely turbid conditions (esp. rosenbergii species)
It can migrate to 200 kms upstream from their spawning ground towards rivers and lakes. Can be used in polyculture with tilapia and carp.
Consume less feed than tilapia since they are nibblers and slow feeder.
Nocturnal feeder so 40% of feed ration must be given at night. Feed on anything such as terrestrial animal feeds, fish feeds, kitchen refuse etc.
o Possess may biological advantages for commercial culture including attaining maturation in captivity, a relatively large size and rapid growth
rate.
Taxonomy
Phylum: Arthropoda o Subphylum: Crustacea o Class: Malacostraca o Order: Decapoda o Sub-order: Pleocyemata o Infraorder: Caridea/
Natantia o Family Palaemonidae
Macrobrachium rosenbergii, largest species known
History o 1914: Cowles discussed the geographical distribution of the species, the value of fishery and biology o 1976: trials were conducted to
culture freshwater prawn however the studies were never sustained. For these trials, the collection of wild spawners and larval rearing of M.
rosenbergii was conducted in Misamis Oriental, Mindanao between 1967-1979. Post larval stage was attained but larval rearing lasted only for
39 days.
1981: a local banker-industrialist established a 100-hectare commercial macrobrachium farm in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija and a hatchery in
Bulacan. services of experts from Israel were utilized for the project. marketable prawns were sold live in Metro Manila utilizing in-house retail
outlets.
1992: Imported from Thailand by BFAR and trials were conducted by NFFTC which currently operates a hatchery.
1999: Studies on hatchery management at NIFTDC.
2001: The commercial protocol that entail lower production cost but with higher survival rate was developed.
Top producers o Native to tropical countries of Asia and the Pacific
Endemic in the Philippines especially from river tributaries and lakes in the provinces of Ilocos, Cagayan, Pangasinan, Pampanga, Bulacan,
Laguna, Palawan, Bicol, Leyte etc. Locally known as ulang, udang, kising kising, pafe, padao, aklig, budsang
Species and variants o M. americanum (Cauque river prawn – western watershed of Americas) o M. carcinus (Painted river prawn – Atlantic) o
M. choprai (Ganges river prawn – Ganges river systems)
M. lar (Monkey river prawn; from Africa to the Marquesas islands of the pacific; was introduced into
Hawaii, also grows to a large size, hatchery techniques have not yet been developed) o M. malcolmsonii (Monsoon river prawn; Bangladesh,
India, Pakistan) o M. vollenhovenii (African river prawn – West Africa, from Senegal to Angola)
Macrobrachium rosenbergii dacqueti: western form found in the waters of east coast of India, Bay of
Bengal, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia o Macrobrachium rosenbergii rosenbergii: eastern form found in Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New
Guinea and Australia. Four species caught in commercial quantity throughout the year in the country are M. lepidactylus, M. idella, M. rude, M.
mamillodactylus.
Life History
Adults
Male has very long 2nd chelipeds in which all segments are elongate & have blunt spines.
○ Slow moving and hide in shade and under shelter in the shallow areas of rivers, canals and ponds during daytime, but are very active during
night time.
○ Adult males have strong territorial behaviour and individuals will maintain a clear area around themselves within the radius of the sweep of
their antennae into which no other members are allowed.
Eggs and embryo
Incubation of fertilized eggs takes 18-21 days, depending on the temperature (28-30C). Berried female aerates the eggs by movement of the
pleopods. Number of eggs varies from 3,000 to 80,000.
○ Initially, yellowish to bright orange in color then gradually change to gray a few days before hatching.
○ Mating and incubation take place in freshwater. Berried female may migrate to BW where eggs hatch or larvae flow down the river to coastal
zone.
Larvae (zoea): 22-35 days to PL
Larvae complete their development in estuarine environment. Newly hatched larvae require brackishwater within 1-2 days or they will die.
○ 11 distinct larval stage to PL. In captivity, all the larvae develop at the same pace up to stage IV (synchronous larval development) ● Post-
larvae (PL): 4 months to adult
○ After metamorphosis, PL settle to the bottom to become crawlers and like to cling to submerged objects like fine-mesh netting and change to
bottom feeders.
○ In this stage, they would migrate from coastal waters back to rivers and grow into adults. Broodstock
Age at maturity o Males and females reach first maturity at 15-35 g within 4 to 6 months.
Obtain by cast netting berried females from farm ponds containing adult animals. Broodstock maintained in ponds, rather than in tanks, usually
give better hatching rate and good healthy larvae.
A female is capable of producing ~20,000 viable stage 1 larvae. As a rough guide, 1 g weight of berried female produces 1,000 larvae.
Food for broodstock: 40% crude protein
Place of culture o Larval rearing tanks must have good drainage (i.e. circular conical bottomed tank). If rectangular tanks are used it is essential
to slope them slightly towards the drain end. Interior is coated with pure epoxy resin to provide a smooth surface which facilitates tank cleaning
and reduces crevices for bacterial growth
Later-stage larvae (stages IV or V) are moved from conical tanks to U-shaped bottom tanks which have greater bottom surface area and are
thus more suitable for settling PL.
Larvae should not be exposed to direct sunlight (90% of the flow-through tanks kept outdoors should be covered). Replace natural light with
artificial sources which contain the near-blue (non toxic) UV wavelength. A level of 250-800 lux is recommended for commercial hatcheries.
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Allow BW to stand so sediments will settle. Chlorinate with 5 ppm active chlorine for 1 day. Remove residual chlorine by vigorous aeration for 6
hours before use (sodium thiosulfate is an alternative to this method but may be toxic to the larvae). Ozonation or UV light can also be used.
Flow through or recirculation system (continuous circulation of the larval water through physical & biological filters to remove solid & nitrogenous
waste). Two types of flow-through: Clearwater and Green water system – see back
Sex Determination o Mature male prawns are considerably larger than the females and the second chelipeds are much larger and thicker. The
head of the male is also proportionately larger, and the abdomen is narrower. As noted above, the genital pores of the male are between at the
base of the fifth walking legs. The female genital pores are at the base of the third walking legs.

Spawning o Blue and orange clawed males are preferred. During mating, male deposits sperm as gelatinous mass on the ventral thoracic
region between the periopods (walking legs) of the female. Female starts to lay eggs about 5-6 hours after mating. As the eggs extrude, they
are fertilized by the sperm attached to the exterior of the female body.
Healthy animal with large egg mass that are brown in color are selected. Berried females should be disinfected before they are put into the
hatch tanks. They are held in aerated freshwater with copper sulfate or formalin solution to inhibit fungus like Lagenidium or fouling zooplankton
like Zoothamnion or Epistylis from growing on the egg mass.
Berried females are placed in a tank (300 liters) where eggs are allowed to hatch (SD: 2-4 /m 2, sex ratio: 4F: 1M). Keep temp at 25-30. Temp
below 25 promote fungal growth on egg mass and above 30 may lead to protozoa infection.
Don’t feed 2-3 days before egg hatch. After the eggs are hatched (2-3 days for gray or brownish eggs; 3 weeks for orange eggs), spent females
are removed. Females with orange eggs should be maintained at 0 ppt until the eggs start turning gray.
Once the eggs have hatched and the mother prawns have been removed, increase salinity in the hatch tank by 3 ppt until 12 ppt is reached.
Hatchery
Stocking o Stage 1 to PL (60-100 larvae/L)
o Two stage rearing: 500 stage 1 PL/L up to 10 days (Stage 5 or 6) then reduce density to 50 larvae/L o Dilution rearing: 100 larvae/L into 35-45
cm water then gradually increase the water level (70-90 cm) as animals grow
Food for hatchery: Brine shrimp nauplii (Artemia), Cladoceran (Moina), Rotifer (Brachionus), fish eggs, egg custard, tubifex worms, mussel
(Lamellidens or Batissa violacea), ox liver
Daily exchange of water is essential in maintaining an optimum environment for larval growth. Turn off air supply to allow settling of solid
particles  stir water clock-wise or counter clock-wise  siphon off sediments from the bottom of the tank  water exchange is 50% (rectangular
tank) and 10% (circular conical tank). Done after last feeding so no uneaten feed is left overnight in the tank or before feeding In the morning
Day of culture: First PL are expected at about Day 23 and usually 90% metamorphose within the next 10 days until day 32-35 (non-
synchronous metamorphosis). Reduce water level in the tank to about 35 cm. Larval rearing salinity is maintained at 12 ppt until
metamorphosis, thereafter salinity is reduced to 6, 3 and 0 ppt by using freshwater for water exchange at a rate of 50% per day.
Two Aquaculture Technology Research Centers dispersing freshwater prawn seeds: 1) National Freshwater
Fisheries Technology Center (1992: M. rosenbergii imported from Thailand, 1998: Breeding trials in aquaria
succeeded by mass production in tanks); 2) National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center (1999: studies on hatchery
management)
Nursery/ Larvae
PL holding before transport for stocking in ponds o In 50 m3 concrete tanks with freshwater and substrates o 5000 PL/m2 for one week or up to
1500-2000 PL/m2 for one month.
Place of culture: Earthen ponds ~50 sq.m. with a depth of 0.8 to 1.5 m or cages or rectangular, flat bottom 5000
/l tanks at 25/m3 and reared for 2-5 weeks before stocking to grow-out ponds until they are 3-5 grams o Artificial shelters are placed in the
nursery ponds to serve as hiding place of the post larvae during molting to prevent cannibalism and since PL are primarily bottom-dwelling
organisms. These include: twigs, bamboos, pipes, PVC or recycled materials like nets, bricks or stones, used mineral water bottles
Food: Clam, snail or squid meat, shrimps and fish flesh and a variety of formulated pellet feeds
Harvest: Reduce water level then collect them with fine-meshed nets
Grow-out
Area for culture o Freshwater prawn farming should not be attempted where the water supply has a total hardness of more than 150 mg/L
(CaCO3)
Lake-based cages (B-net, 10x20x1m)
Stocking density o Extensive 4-10 pcs/m2 o Semi-intensive 4-20 pcs/m2 o Intensive >50 pcs/m2
System of management o Continuous system: regular stocking of PL & culling of market sized fish. Problem: large dominant prawn have
negative impact on PL
Batch system: Stocking each pond once then total drain during harvesting. Reduces dominance problem but: Heterogenous individual growth
(HIG, some grow faster and become dominant)
Combined system: Stock pond once and cull-harvesting (selective) when some reach marketable size.
Reduce dominance and HIG problems o Modified batch system developed in Puerto Rico: 60-90 d in nursery (200-400 PL/ m 2) and 2-3 months
in juvenile pond (20-30 pcs/m2)
Some farms do not have sufficient ponds and will by-pass the nursery phase and stock instead with 7-10 day old PL at 5-10/m 2 and harvest
after 5.5-6 months.
New trend is monosex (all-male) culture since males grow faster and bigger than females.
Day of culture: 4 to 5 months, harvest by seining the prawns using size 17 net (selective) or draining the pond
Food o Live or fresh food (termites, earthworms, insects), plant vegetable feedstuffs, formulated diets, reformulated diets (ground tilapia feeds
mixed with fish meal and starch as binder), chicken pellets (to be given during first 2 months of culture), ground fish flesh mixed with cooked
broken rice (to be given after 2 mos of stocking), tilapia sinking pellets, trash fish
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Prawn pellets must be of the sinking types with good water stability because prawns are bottom feeders. They feed slowly by holding a pellet in
their claws and eating it bite by bite until the whole pellet is gone
Problems: Greatest is predation through humans (poaching), carnivorous fish (Snakehead or murrel can be kept out by the use of fine net
fences around the ponds and by screens placed at the inlet), crabs (removed by sinking jars/traps in pond banks) and birds (minimized by food
poisoning and shooting) Optimum Parameters
Salinity: 12 ppt
Temperature: Optimum is 28-31C. Above 33 is lethal to prawn larvae. Any sudden change of temperature by more than 0.5 will have an
adverse effect on prawn larvae.
pH: 7.0-8.5
Dissolved Oxygen: >5 ppm
Turbidity: >25 cm
Hardness: 50-100 ppm
Ammonia: <1.5 ppm
Un-ionized ammonia: <0.1 ppm

Commodity: Catfish Basic Info

Characteristics o High market demand. Tender and delicious meat. Resistant to diseases and rapid growth.
Can be stocked at high densities. Can survive in water with low DO. Tolerates low water quality o Mostly freshwater. None of the saltwater
species are being cultured because of few eggs.
Bimodal respiration: a supra-branchial or accessory respiratory organ, composed of a pear-shaped airchamber containing 2 arborescent
structures (covered by highly vascularized tissue which can absorb oxygen from atmospheric air) allows the fish to survive for many hours out
of the water or for many weeks in muddy marshes.
Carnivore: eats benthic organisms, worms, decomposing organic matter, insects, termites, chicken entrail
Scaleless, 4 pairs of barbels, can move over land using pectoral spines. Dorsal and anal fins containing only soft fin rays
Taxonomy o Phylum Chordata
Class Actinopterygii
Order Siluriformes
Family: Clariidae
Top producers: Iloilo, Central Luzon, Davao City
Species and variants o Clarias gariepinus (African catfish): deep occipital process
Clarias macrocephalus – native to the Philippines: blunt occipital process with small white spots along sides of the body
Clarias batrachus
Life History
Adults
Undertake lateral migrations from the larger water bodies, in which they feed and mature at about the age of 12 months, to temporarily flooded
marginal areas in order to breed.
○ Most species of Clarias are slow foraging predators, with very small eyes, using their four pairs of barbels to feel their way around in the dark
and find food detected by the array of sensitive taste buds covering the barbels and head.
Eggs and embryo
The adhesive eggs stick to submerged vegetation and hatch in 20-60 hours, depending on temperature. Sexual differentiation begins between
10 and 15 dys after atching.
Larvae
Development is rapid and the larvae are capable of swimming within 48-72 hours after fertilization
○ Larvae are almost exclusively dependent on zooplankton for the first week of exogenous feeding
Juveniles
As flooded marginal areas dry up with the end of the rains, juveniles and adults make their way back to deeper water.
Broodstock
Age at maturity o Wild: 2-3 years o Captivity: 6-8 months
Can be obtained from lakes, rivers and other freshwater bodies. It can be stocked in earthen ponds or concrete tanks with mud at the bottom.
Breeding season varies but usually starts May.
Place of culture
Ponds
Hapa (2-3 cubic meter) located in ponds. Advantage is that eggs are concentrated within the hapa where they can be treated against fungal
infections and hatchlings easily collected after yolk sac absorption. Cover hapa to prevent breeders from jumping out.
Concrete tanks with stony gravel substrate (serves as substrate for the released egg)
Sex determination o Males have elongated urogenital papillae around the anus. Females have simple round opening.
Spawning o Seasonal gonadal maturation is associated with the rainy season. Spawning usually takes place at night.
No parental care ensuring survival of the offspring. 2 females: 1 male per 100 m 2 o Propagation can be: 1) Induced propagation without
hormone treatment 2) Semi artificial reproduction with hormone treatment (injection then spawning in tanks) and 3) artificial reproduction
(stripping) – produces a greater quantity of eggs
Females spawn 700 eggs per kg BW (natural). About 20-90 eggs/ g BW can be stripped from a gravid female after hormone injection. Artificial
propagation involves inducing the gravid females to spawn by anesthetizing female with 2-phenoxyethanol, injection of different hormones and
manually stripping the eggs after several hours. Male catfish (>200 g, >7 months old) are anesthetized and sacrificed. The male reproductive
tract (testes-seminal vesicles) is dissected, rinsed and macerated in 0.9% NaCl to obtain the milt to fertilize the eggs. Place stripped eggs and
milt in basin or bowl and mix for 30 to 60 seconds using a feather. The eggs are fertilized by adding an equal volume of clean water.
Incubation of fertilized eggs:
Add 5 mL tap water, mix to endure fertilization then transfer fertilized eggs to a scoop net. Wash with running water to remove excess milt.
Spread the eggs on a net tray inside a flow-through hatching trough or basin (Hatchlings will pass through the screen and the dead eggs and
shells remain on the screen). Maintain a water level of about 10 cm.
Eggs are allowed to stick to the roots of floating water hyacinth or Nile cabbage/water lettuce or brush. After hatching, the larvae sink to the
bottom of the hapa and egg shells/ dead eggs remain stuck to the roots

Inject females with: Strip after:

1 pituitary gland (homogenized)/ 100 g BW 13-14 h, pulverize in mortar, mixed w/ physiological salt solution
4 I.U. of HCG/g BW 13-18 h, expensive
0.05 µg LHRHa + 1 µg pimozide (PIM)/g BW 16-20 h
0.5 µL Ovaprim/g BW 16-20 h
0.2-0.5 µL Ovatide/g BW 16-20 h

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 2.5-5 mg Desoxycorticosteroid Acetate/100 g BW Suspended in oil which causes severe ulcers on the female Hatchery
Eggs hatch 24-30 hours after fertilization. After 3 to 4 days, the yolk sac will be absorbed. Feed larvae with natural food organisms such as
newly hatched Artemia and Moina for 4 days.
Transfer 4-6 day old larvae at 30/liter in bigger tanks with 10-15 cm water level. Aerate mildly, place shelters at the bottom and feed with
Artemia, Moina and wean to formulate diets (44% crude protein). Transfer to nursery system on day 15.
Nursery
● Place of culture o Catfish fry are heavier and longer when grown in ponds (smaller better than larger ponds) than in tanks:
when reared at a SD of 200/ sqm than 400-1,000/ sqm, when fed with formulated diet (34% CP) than those given with commercial diets or a
combination of blanched chicken entrails and rice bran
Grow-out
Area for culture: Ponds 50-3,000 m2 with a depth of 0.7 – 2.0 m. inner side of dikes must be firm to prevent catfish from burrowing through and
escaping.
Removal of tadpoles (Rana occipitalis, Ptychadena pumilio, Xenopus tropicalis) is essential since they compete for the same food resources
within the pond. They feed on the phytoplankton which is needed by the zooplankton which is consumed as food by catfish larvae.
Stocking density: 5-20 fingerlings/m2
Day of culture: 3-5 months from 3-5 g to 80-200 g
Food o Diets containing 35-42% crude protein

Commodity: Eels Basic Info

Characteristics o Anguila are aquatic breathing fish that require high concentrations of oxygen. Transport elvers in small bamboo-woven
baskets or wooden boxes. If travel time exceeds 24 h, oxygen-pack the eels in polyethylene bags with a water level almost two thirds of the
total area
Because monopterus are air-breathing, transport them in open-mouth buckets or earthen pots with a small water column and aquatic weeds
floating on the surface. Hatchlings are aquatic breathers so do not transport them at the very tiny stages unless circumstances demand so.
The world demand for river eels has been increasing mainly because of the market expansion of some delicacies such as the kabayaki (broiled
eel with sweet soy sauce) in East Asia.
2009: CITES added European eel (Anguilla anguilla) in CITES Appendix II in 2009
Taxonomy o Phylum: Chordata
Class: Teleostei
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Anguillidae
Top producers o Abundant in Cagayan Province (northern Luzon), Albay and Camarines Norte (Eastern Luzon), Iloilo and Negros Occidental
(Central Philippines) and North Cotabato and Zamboanga del Sur (Mindanao)
Species and variants o Anguila: water breathers
▪ 16 species worldwide, 4 species in the Philippines: A. bicolor (=A.pacifica, A.spengeli, worth culturing), A. marmorata (A.mauritiana), A.
celebensis, A. japonica (highly favoured)
Monopterus: air-breathers
▪ 6 species in Asia. 1 endemic species in the Philippines (M. albus)
▪ Species worth culturing: M. albus (ricefield eel), M. cuchia (swamp eel) Life History
Adults
○ Anguila are catadromous (spends early stage in freshwater and migrates to the sea, where they move to the spawning grounds).
○ Monopterus do not migrate during spawning.
○ Eels breed in the deep sea. ● Eggs and embryo
○ Eggs hatch into elongated leaf-shaped larvae called leptocephali; attain a length of about 40-70 mm and planktonic for 6-18 months.
Larvae - leaf-shaped larvae is called leptocephali
○ Upon reaching relatively shallower depth of the sea, the leptocephali reduced body length and depth transforming and metamorphose into the
familiar cylindrical shape- now referred to as elvers or glass eels characterized by the absence of body pigments and the internal organs (heart,
vertebrae, stomach, etc.) are visible through its transparent body; migrates into estuaries and brackish water such as lower reaches of rivers
and creeks. ● Juveniles
○ Upon completion of the body pigmentation and reaching the juvenile stage, there are now known as the yellow (color of the belly) and brown
(color of the back) eels; inhabit rivers, swamps, and lakes for 8-10 yrs then develop into sexually mature “silver eels” with mature gonads then
migrate to the deep sea to breed and perhaps eventually die.
Hatchery/ Broodstock
Age at maturity o Anguila mature in 5-10 years. Cannot be bred in captivity.
Monopterus are sexually mature in 10-12 months. Can be bred in captivity and can be reproduced by breeding.
For Monopterus: o Prepare a tank where the water does not necessarily need to be highly oxygenated. The eels are burrowing in habit. Use a
strong material (such as cement or polyethylene sheets) for the base so that the eels do not burrow in very deep and make it difficult to be
retrieved.
Layering of tank:
1st layer: 10 cm mud
2nd layer: 10 cm straw previously cured for a week
3rd layer: 10 cm finely chopped banana trunks cut a week before
4th: 10 cm cow or carabao manure. Use only that w/c is dark-mud in appearance
5th and top layer: mud, placed in a slope with one end higher than the other o Put water 15 cm above the top layer. Allow materials to
decompose for a week. Drain the water out and put fresh water. Repeat this process every week for 20-25 days until no more froth appears
Introduce tilapia or carp fingerlings to test if the tank is ready for culturing eels. If the fish do not die in 3 days, the tank is ready for the
introduction of eel. Before introduction of eel, plant aquatic plants such as water hyacinth or kangkong on the top soil to protect eel from direct
sunlight and serve as hiding place
For a 1 x 2 x 1 m tank, introduce 95-100 eels with a ratio of 70 females and 30 males
For Anguila o Because these are aquatic breathers, a pond/ tank where water is highly oxygenated is necessary.
Construct 1 x 4x 1.5 m twin tanks with an outlet at the bottom. Do not use mud o Spray the water to be introduced using a simple spraying
device. The tiny particles of water falling into the tank carry a good amount of atmospheric oxygen. In a few days, water will turn green
indicating presence of phytoplankton. Use spraying device or automatic or manual paddle wheels if eels are choking
Instead of concrete tanks, dug-out ponds can be used. Pond bottom should be layered with pebbles to facilitate netting. Provide shelter as eels
avoid light
Stocking density of pencil-sized eels: 50-100 kg per m2
When properly fed, 70% of the eels will attain a weight of 250 g in 8-9 months
 Fry capture from the wild

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o Glass eels are captured around the shores of France, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom and either used nationally or exported to eel
farmers in other countries. Some glass eel fishing in Spain and Portugal uses scoop nets and traps. In France they are caught by small trawlers
using wing nets and trawls. The only legal fishing gear for this purpose in the UK is the scoop net.
Food
Fish, snails, aquatic insects, invertebrates, worms, slaughterhouse wastes
Sex determination o M. albus is protogynous: females first and later develop into males o <30 cm (females), >40 cm (males)
30-40 cm: hermaphrodites or at the sex-reversing stage; prone to cannibalism
Nursery
● At first the glass eels (~0.33 g each) are kept in smaller tanks of 3-4 m² for quarantine purposes. The density at this stage is 10-15 kg/m².
When the eels reach approximately 5 g they are transferred to a juvenile production unit with larger tanks (6-8 m²) and stocking densities (50-75
kg/m²). At this point the eels can digest dry feed pellets (1 mm).
Grow-out
Extensive pond systems o The traditional form of eel culture in Europe is in ponds of about 100-350 m². When eels reach marketable size they
are transferred to larger ponds (1000-1500 m²). The ponds may be static or flowthrough. The best temperature range in ponds is 18-25 °C.
Intensive culture in recirculation systems o These systems consist of square or circular tanks from 25-100 m², usually built of cement or
fibreglass. The eels are stocked at a size of 50 g. Densities reach up to 100-150 kg/m². Extruded dry feed (1.5-3 mm) is fed automatically
several times a day. Individual growth rates are very different, and grading every 6 weeks is necessary in order to reach a high overall growth
performance.
Valliculture o Eels are also extensively cultured in marine and brackish waters within a form of aquaculture known as valliculture. In these
Mediterranean systems, mainly in Italy, in the north Adriatic, elvers of 15-35 g are stocked at the rate of 4-15 kg/ha. The elvers are mainly
imported from France but also from Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Commodity: Asian Catfish Pangasius Basic Info

Characteristics o Native to Mekong River drainage in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand but has been introduced to other countries for
aquaculture as a food and ornamental fish
Known as tra in Vietnam, basa, pangas or Pangasius in the world market. Vietnam Pangasius is marketed to 40 countries as frozen fillets and
80 countries as value added products. When sold at small size for aquarium grade it is marketed as the iridescent shark or mystic shark.
Tropical warm water catfish which grows to a maximum size of 8 kg. Highly resistant to crowding, low oxygen, grows well on less expensive,
lower protein feeds.
Taxonomy o Phylum Chordata o Class Actinopterygii o Order Siliformes o Family Pangasiidae
History
1990: fingerlings were collected seasonally from the river and supply was limited
1995: development of hormone spawning and fry rearing technique
1999-2002: Basa catfish fillets exported to the US increased affecting US catfish farming industry resulting in import restrictions and higher
tariffs which apply only to Vietnam
Species and variants o Includes 21 species distributed throughout South East Asia. P. hypopthalamus and P. bocorti are the most important
aquaculture species in the region

Life History
Like all Pangasiid species, P. hypophthalmus is a highly migratory riverine fish species that makes long-distance migrations over several
hundred kilometres (potamodromous) between upstream refuge and spawning habitats and downstream feeding and nursery habitats. P.
hypophthalmus is omnivorous, feeding on algae, higher plants, zooplankton, and insects, while larger specimens also take fruit, crustaceans
and fish.
This species is benthopelagic. Females take at least three years to reach sexual maturity in captivity (being then over 3 kg in weight), while
males often mature in their second year, probably taking about the same time in the wild. A mature 10 kg female can spawn over one million
eggs. Wild broodstock typically spawn twice annually but in cages in Viet Nam have been recorded as spawning a second time 6 to 17 weeks
after the first spawning.
The life cycle of P. hypophthalmus is intimately tied to the annual monsoon flood cycle, with spawning taking place in May - June at the start of
the monsoon season. In the dry season this and other species congregate and shelter in the deeper refuge areas. The spawning habitat
consists of rapids and sandbanks interspersed with deep rocky channels and pools. The eggs are sticky eggs and are deposited onto the
exposed root systems of rheophilic tree species like Gimenila asiatica.

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Hatchery/ Broodstock
Age at maturity: after 2 years
Sex determination: Females are larger than males. Ripe males release milt when gentle pressure is applied to the lower abdomen.
Spawning o Females can produce 50,000 eggs/kg. Mature eggs are ~1mm in diameter and are strongly adhesive after spawning. Individual
females may be spawned more than once during the spawning season.
Selected fish are placed in holding tanks. Hormone injections (HCG and Oviprim) to induce ovulation are given twice to the female at 8 hour
intervals. Males are injected once at the first time of the first injection of the female. . Broodstock are spawned in single pairs or in larger
numbers and are usually dry stripped
Release of eggs occur 8-10 hours after second injection. Eggs are stripped from the female and added with milt from the male and mixed for 1
minute to ensure fertilization. Eggs are scattered over spawning mats placed in aerated hatching tanks.
Hatching occurs 24 hours later. Larvae are free swimming upon hatching and begin to feed on newly hatched artemia 48 hours after hatching.
After 3 to 7 days, fry are stocked in nursery ponds
Nursery
● Nursing is done in 2 separate stages to reduce stocking density. In the first nursing phase larvae are stocked at 400-500/m 2 just prior to yolk
sac absorption, so that natural feeds are available and the larvae have enough space to avoid cannibalism. Water is only topped up and is not
exchanged during the nursery phase unless water quality deterioration is obviously causing stress. Boiled egg yolk and soybean meal mixed
into an emulsion is fed 5 -6 times a day for the first 2 weeks. Thereafter commercial pellets are fed.
After 4 weeks, following a 24 hour starvation period the nursery ponds are partially (about 1/3 depth) gravity drained and then pumped dry, and
the 0.3-1 g fry are harvested by seine net and transferred and stocked at 150-200/m 2 in another pre-prepared pond without Moina. Typical
larvae to fry survival rate during the first nursing stage is 40-50 per cent. In the second nursing stage, from fry to 14-20 g fingerlings, survival
rates over the 2 month nursing period are typically 60-70 per cent.
In the Mekong delta of Vietnam the majority of fingerlings are transported from nursery facilities to grow-out farms in transport tanks with
continuously pumped water that are carried in boats. Fingerling transport is done early in the morning to avoid direct sunlight. Transportation of
fingerlings overland is less commonly conducted; this involves using metal drums with car battery powered aeration. Additionally, transportation
overland for very short distances can be carried out in metal drums without aeration.
Grow-out
Area for culture o Large floating cages or pens suspended in rivers or in earthen ponds
Earthen ponds (typically ranging from 1 000 to 10 000 m2) are of simple design and are sited adjacent to or near river tributaries. Producers
aerate the ponds and exchange water for several hours daily during the culture period by tidal exchange and pumping; this reduces muddy off-
flavour and produces whiter flesh. Despite recommendations from government extension agencies to stock 20-40 fish/m2, intensive
monoculture ponds are usually stocked at 40-60/m2, with some grow-out farmers stocking even higher.
Net cages are sited on major river tributaries of the Mekong River delta and range in size from 50 to 1 600 m3 with larger cages commonly
having living quarters above the water. Ongrowing cages are typically stocked at 100-150/m3 and yields are typically 100-120 kg/m3/crop.
Stocking densities for pen systems are typically 40-60/m2.
Stocking density o Can be stocked as high as 120/m2
Optimum Parameters
Dissolved Oxygen: can survive as low as 0.05 to 0.1 ppm
Temperature: 22-26C
pH: 6.5-7.5

Commodity: Carps Basic Info

Taxonomy
Phylum Chordata
Class Actinopterygii
Family Cyprinidae
History o Bighead carp introduced in 1968 by BFAR
Top Producers
o Only 8 reported a production of >1000 tons
▪ Bangladesh ▪ Iran
▪ China ▪ Laos
▪ Taiwan ▪ Malaysia
▪ Egypt
▪ India
Species and variants o Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)
▪ A biological aquatic weed control in natural waterways, lakes and man-made lakes ▪ Has a specialized pharyngeal teeth for rasping aquatic
vegetation
▪ Food
Fry 7-9 mm TL- protozoa, rotifers and nauplii
12 mm TL- plus cladocerans and copepods
13-17 mm TL- cladocerans, copepods and benthic algae
17-23 mm TL- organic detritus
30 mm TL- phytoplankton and minute algae
>30 mm TL- exclusively macrovegetation and softer land plants
Fry and larger fish also take cereal brans, oilcakes, silkworm pupae, kitchen refuse and dung which are given as supplementary food
Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)
▪ 1-3d old fry 7-9mm TL- feed on zooplankton, rotifers and copepod nauplii
▪ Fry- copepods, cladocerans and phytoplankton
▪ Large fry and adults- dinoflagellates, diatoms, etc, primarily phytoplankton and secondarily zooplankton
Bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis)
▪ Larvae- feed mainly on unicellular planktonic organisms, nauplii and rotifers
▪ Fry and adults- diatoms, dinoflagellates, etc o Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) ▪ 4 subspecies:
▪ C. carpio carpio- European area
▪ C. c. aralensis- mid-Asian region
▪ C. c. haematopterus- Far Eastern region
▪ C. c. viridivio-laceus- Vietnam
▪ Has numerous varieties and sub-varieties or strains
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Big-belly carp (China)
Long-bodied carp (China)
-colored carp C. carpio var. flavipinnis (Indonesia)
Mirror carp C. carpio var specularis
Russian mirror carp C. carpio var. specularis
Scale carp C. c. var. communis
Leather carp C. c. var. nudus
Japanese races
▪ Food
Postlarvae 10 mm- cladocerans, water flea, nauplii, Cyclops
10-20 mm- Cyclops, rotifers, cladocerans, Moina, nauplii, BGA, diatoms
> 10 cm- thrive on decayed vegetable matter containing bottom dwelling organisms, notably tubificids, mollusks, chironomids, ephemerids and
tyrichopterans
Common carp dig and burrow into pond embankments and sides in search of organic matter
Gulp mud, sift bottom making pond water turbid
Catla (Catla catla) o Fastest growing of the major Indian carps
Rohu (Labeo rohita) o A bottom and column feeder and prefers to feed on plant matter including decaying vegetation o Mrigal (Cirrhinus
mrigala) o A detritus eater with a narrow range in food variety; subsists mainly on decayed vegetation o Goldfih (Carassius auratus)
Life History
Adults
Carp are omnivorous, with a high tendency towards the consumption of animal food, such as water insects, larvae of insects, worms, molluscs,
and zooplankton. Zooplankton consumption is dominant in fish ponds where the stocking density is high. Additionally, the carp consumes the
stalks, leaves and seeds of aquatic and terrestrial plants, decayed aquatic plants, etc. The pond farming of carp is based on the ability of the
species to accept and utilize cereals supplied by the farmers.
○ The spawning of European carp starts when the water temperature is 17-18 °C. Asian strains start to spawn when the ion concentration of
the water decreases abruptly at the beginning of the rainy season.
Wild carps are partial spawners. Domesticated carps release all their matured eggs within a few hours. After hormonal treatment carp release
their ripe eggs within a much shorter period, which makes stripping possible. The quantity of released eggs is 100 to 230 g/kg body weight. The
egg shell becomes sticky after contacting water.
Eggs and embryo
Fertilized or unfertilized fish released by the fish in the breeding process
○ The egg shell becomes sticky after contacting water. The embryonic development of carp takes about 3 days at 20-23 °C. Under natural
conditions, hatched fry stick to the substrata. About three days after hatching the posterior part of the swim bladder develops, the larvae swim
horizontally, and start to consume external food with a maximum size of 150-180 µm (mainly rotifers).
Larvae
Hatched larva not carrying exogenous food but carrying own yolksac and generally performing only vertical movements ● Post-larvae
○ Larva after absorption of yolksac, eating exogenous food and swimming in all directions
Fry
Young fish measuring approximately 2-2.5 cm TL
Juveniles
Young fish measuring 2.5-13 cm TL
Broodstock
Age at maturity o In the Philippines, bighead carps attain sexual maturity at about 2 years of age when fish weigh 2-3 kg ● Place of culture
Spawning on nests, aquatic weeds and inundated grass in tanks and ponds
▪ Carp may spawn throughout the year in tropical areas of India, with peaks in January-March and July-August. Breeding is carried out in
hapas, cement tanks or small ponds. Submerged aquatic plants are used as substrata for egg laying. When the fry are 4 to 5 days old, they are
stocked into nursery ponds. The 'Sundanese method' is used for spawning carp in Indonesia. The broodfish are kept in broodfish ponds,
segregated by sex. Matured broodfish are transferred to 25-30 m² spawning ponds. 'Kakabans' (nests made of the fibre of Arenga species) are
installed into the ponds. The fish lay their eggs on both sides of the kakabans. When spawning is completed, the nests are transferred to
hatching/nursing ponds. Small ponds are used for spawning carp in China. Aquatic weeds (Ceratophyllum, Myriophyllum) or floating palm
leaves are used as spawning substrata. Small 'Dubits ponds' (120-300 m² water surface area) were used for spawning, and for short nursing of
carp fry in Europe in the past. More recently, ponds with an area from a few hundred m² up to 10-30 ha are used here. Two to four weeks after
spawning, the fry can either be harvested from these large ponds, or may remain there up for rearing to fingerling size.
Hatchery based seed production
▪ This is the most effective and reliable method of seed production. Broodfish are kept in water saturated with oxygen, within the
temperature range of 20-24 ºC. They are given two doses of pituitary gland injection, or a mixture of GnRH/dopamine antagonist, to induce
ovulation and spermiation. The eggs are fertilized (applying the 'dry method') and the adhesiveness of the eggs is eliminated using salt/urea
treatment, followed by a tannin acid bath (the 'Woynarovich method'). Incubation is carried out in Zoug jars. The hatched fry are kept in large
conical tanks for 1 to 3 days, and are usually stocked at the stage of 'swim-up' or 'feeding fry' into properly prepared ponds. Approximately 300
000 to 800 000 newly hatched fry can be expected from a single female.
Sex determination o Males attain 1st gonad maturity earlier than the females. o Female broodstock is bigger than male.
Females- have soft palpable abdomen with swollen and reddish genital papilla; good quality eggs are grayish to greenish.
Males- rough or callous pectoral fins and whose head and body surfaces are rough to touch; express milt when a slight pressure is applied on
the abdomen
Food
Spawning o LHRHa – Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogue. HCG – human chorionic gonadotropin o A dopamine antagonist (e.g.
pimozide or domperidone) is sometimes used
Nursery
Place of culture o Shallow, aquatic weed-free drainable ponds of 0.5 to 1.0 ha are the most suitable for carp nursing.
Stocking Density: The stocking density is 100-400 fry/m².
Days of culture: 3-4 weeks
Food
o Moina, Daphnia, supplementary feeds, such as soybean meal, cereal meals, meat meal, rice bran or rice polishings
Optimum Parameters
Salinity: up to 5 ppt
Temperature: 23-30 C
pH: 6.5-9.0
Dissolved Oxygen: can survive as low as 0.3-0.5 ppm

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Commodity: Mud Crab Basic Info
Characteristics
Two pairs of antennae between the eyes detect minute changes in water currents and chemistry. Below the antennae there are two small
openings through which urine is excreted.
○ Mouth is covered by six layers of paired appendages. After larger food organisms are crushed by the claws, they are passed to the outer
mouthparts where hard indigestible fragments are sorted and discarded. The remaining soft choice tissues are then passed to the inner (sixth)
pair of stout jaws (mandibles) where pieces are bitten off and swallowed.
○ Claws (chelae) have different functions: left (cutter), right (crusher). Males’ crusher is bigger than females but up until a CW of ~10 cm, gross
morphology of males and females are essentially the same.
○ Food location is by contact chemoreception using the dactyls of their walking legs. The fifth pair of walking legs are flattened into paddle-like
structures that are used in swimming. They have the ability to release legs or claws if handled roughly (autotomy).
Taxonomy
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Crustacea
Order Decapoda
Family Portunidae
Genus Scylla ● Species and variants
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○ S. serrata – giant or king
○ S. tranquebarica – purple/ lawodnon
○ S. paramamosain – orange
○ S. olivacea – green/ native/ pulahan
○ S. serrata prefers more oceanic waters (28-35 ppt) while the other three species prefer less saline waters (18-25). It has also the least impact
on earthen structures in terms of burrowing behaviour.
Life History
Adults
Courtship and mating in brackishwater. After mating, mature female migrates into the open sea where they spawn. Spawned eggs are attached
to the pleopod of the abdomen or tail flap of the female. Berried female migrate to brackishwater.
Eggs and embryo
Egg incubation is 7-14 days. Eggs hatch into zoea and go through 5 molts, after which they become freeswimming megalopa. Megalopa molts
once into the 1st crab stage (C1) which is more crab-like in appearance
○ 1st 3 zoeal stages: zooplankton
○ Zoea 3 to megalopa stage: Artemia
Crablet
Migrate to estuaries, tidal beaches of some rivers and mangrove areas
○ Crablets: adult Arteima, finely chopped mollusks, trash fish ● Adults
○ As crabs grow and during cooler months, the intermoult period increases. More active nocturnally.
○ Spawning migrations of female from mangrove forests across reef flats to offshore habitats. A month after, young crabs migrate towards the
brackishwater.
Broodstock
Age at maturity
Reach sexual maturity within 3-6 months
Place of culture: Maturation tanks – typically large (>10 m 3), shallow (80-100 cm deep) tanks are used o Incubation tanks – relatively small
(100-500 liters) o Hatching tank
Food o Mussel (Perna viridis) meat, mixed seafood (squid, fish, marine worms).
Sufficient lipids (10%) and fatty acids are needed in broodstock diets to enhance gonad development, hatching and larval metamorphosis.
As crabs are most active at night, more feed should be provided in the latest feed of the day
Sex determination o Heterosexual and show obvious sexual dimorphism. Immature female – triangular shaped abdomen. Mature female-
broader, semi-circular shaped abdomen. Males – T shaped abdomen.
Spawning o A minimum weight of 200 to 300 grams for broodstock and 450 grams for spawners are desired. The king crab is sexually matured
when the width of its carapace reaches 14 cm and it weighs 450 grams while the other mud crabs can spawn even if its carapace is still below
10 cm and weigh 300 grams. Mud crabs become mature and mate when they are 4 months old. Wild broodstock have better reproductive
performance than pond-reared broodstock.
Maturation/ broodstock tank: 1.5/m2. Low light conditions and inclusion of shelters in the broodstock tank minimize stress levels, leading to
better reproductive performance. Female mud crabs require access to a sandy bottom to spawn their eggs successfully so place a sand tray.
By excavating a depression and extending her abdomen over it, a chamber is created allowing extruded eggs to attach successfully to the
setae of her pleopods.
Males guard females, cradling them prior to their moult. The male carries the female underneath him using three pairs of walking legs. The male
can successfully mate and transfer spermatophores (packets of sperm) into the female’s spermathecum once she has molted and is soft
shelled. During copulation (last 7-18 hours), the male turns the female upside down. The female stays in the protection of the male until her
shell is fully hardened and clasp for for 5 to 7 days to fertilize the eggs. Spawning occurs wholeyear round. Peak: May-September. Females
release 1-6 million eggs per female. Females retain sperm after mating so that 2-3 egg masses can be produced without the intervention of a
male.
Two methods of spawning: the natural and the induced. In the natural method, the mud crab is left in the tanks until they become sexually
mature and spawn. For induced spawning, the most common method used is ablation where one (unilateral ablation) or both (bilateral ablation)
of the mud crab's eye stalks are crushed or cut. Eyeball is incised with a sharp blade and contents are squeezed out
The advantage of unilateral ablation is that the mud crab can spawn again while in bilateral ablation the mud crab dies after hatching the eggs.
In both cases, observe the mud crabs closely until the eggs fill the abdominal flap.
Since ablation increases the appetite of the mud crabs, feed the mud crabs more until the eggs are hatched. A separate incubation tank is
required because the egg mass is highly susceptible to parasitic, bacterial and fungal infection. Incubation ranges from 7 to 13 days. At this
time, the berried (pregnant) crabs should be transferred to another tank without the substrate. Expect the eggs to hatch when the eggs turn
from light orange to dark grey. Due to the large number of larvae, a separate hatching tank is used
Hatchery
Place of culture o Tanks filled with 5-10 tons of filtered seawater with 34 ppt salinity. When tanks are not being examined, they can be covered
with plastic or similar sheeting to avoid temperature fluctuation (must be within ±0.5C) in tanks and control aerosol sprays.
Can be: circular tanks with conical base, hemispherical round tanks, parabolic and rectangular tanks.
Larvae grown in black tanks have higher survival rates.

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 o
The more oceanic the source of marine water, the better, as this reflects the offshore water conditions under which mud crab eggs hatch
naturally. Direct strong sunlight should be avoided. But below 1000 lux, larvae eat less and have increased mortality rates. 24 hour light exhibit
decreased survival compared with 12 hour light/ dark cycle.
All functional areas are adequately separated to minimize the risk of pathogens spreading between different parts of the operation.
Newly spawned zoea are phototactic, a light shone on a darkened spawning tank will attract larvae towards it and the the surface of the tank
Food o Microalgae: while crab larvae may consume this, their nutritional value is relatively low compared with live feed especially those with
EPA and DHA. This include Tetraselmis, Nannochloropsis, Microalgal pastes and Instant Algae of Tetraselmis, Nannochloropsis, Isochrysis and
Thalassiosira. Live feed: rotifers and Artemia. Enrichment products on live feeds such as Vitamin C improves metamorphosis of z5 to megalopa
o Two main methods for producing rotifers:
Low intensity – densities range from 100 to 300/mL. Utilizes on-site cultured live algae as feed.
High intensity – densities range from 500 to 1,500/ mL. Utilizes concentrated algal pasts. Reduces the number of rotifer production tanks
required for a hatchery. Uses water exchange to manage water quality as opposed to the static, batch-culture rotifer system resulting in lower
levels of bacterial pathogens ● Stocking density: 30-200 mud crab zoea1 larvae/ liter
Harvest o As zoea 5 mud crab larvae metamorphose to the megalopa stage, there can be significant cannibalism by megalopae on zoea 5
larvae that have yet to go through metamorphosis
o Ideal culture and food conditions are needed to improve synchrony at which larvae undertake metamorphosis. Separate megalopae from
tanks with mixed larval population to minimize cannibalism
Nursery
Place of culture o Tanks with soil (10 cm thick) inoculated with lablab. For large tanks, line them with mud substrate that has been seeded with
lab-lab. Surface area of tanks is most important. Commonly, nursery tanks are rectangular with a flat base or fiberglass with sloping floor to a
sump (drainage). Must be covered with roof to filter out direct sunlight or prevent rain from entering the tanks. Include shelters (bunches of
netting, leaf fronds, straw, PVC cut-offs, artificial sea grass.
Hapa nets (Net cages) with 1-2 mm mesh size and dimension 1m x 1 mx 1.5 m. Install the nets in a canvass-lined earthen pond. Line the hapa
net bottom with 3-5 cm thick mud substrate. Survival is higher here than in earthen ponds.
Earthen ponds – Gracilaria, netting, straw or other shelters as habitat for crablets or mud as best surface for megalopae to settle on to become
crablets. Surrounded by a short fence (height 20-40 cm) constructed of relatively fine mesh (1-2 cm) netting to ensure crablets cannot walk
away. The fence becomes more effective if the top of the net is covered with plastic sheeting which the crablets cannot climb over.
Food o Artemia are given to megalopae prior to settlement. Once settled, formulated feeds or diets of trash fish or mollusc can be sued to feed
crablets. Diets of 45-55% crude protein and 9-15% lipid.
Stocking Density o 1-2000 megalopae/ m2 (ponds), 50-70 megalopae/ m2 (net cages)
Days of culture o 3-4 weeks (CW: 1 cm)
Grow-out
Area for culture
Brackishwater ponds – dig up trench canals parallel to the dikes when polycultured with milkfish. In monoculture, trenches are not needed but
ponds should be provided with a water depth of 80-100 cm. To prevent escape of crabs each pond is fenced with bamboo or nylon net (1-2 cm
mesh size). Above the water level, a plastic sheet covers the bamboo support.
▪ Some ponds have raised areas or mounds within them that enable crabs to leave the pond from time to time, to mimic the periodic
exposure that occurs in the natural environment and used as feeding stations also
▪ Elevation must be more than 1 meter but not more than 10 meters above the highest astronomical tide (HAT) level. Ponds constructed in
land less than 1 meter above HAT cannot be drain harvested during high tides whilst very elevated sites require more energy for pumping.
Cages - dimension of 2.0 m x 0.70 m x 0.25 m. Green nylon net with 12 mm mesh size is used for side walling, bottom flooring and top movable
cover. The cage is divided into 3 main divisions and each division is further subdivided into 8 cells for a total of 24 cells per cage.
▪ Floats are provided at the sides of the cage. The cage is set at the fringes of the water at lowest tide such that about 3/4 of cage height is
submerged in water. Coconut fronds are placed on top of the cage to shelter crabs from the sun during lowest tide. Lean marketable size crabs
are stocked at one crab per cell.
Pen - The net enclosure is made of green polyethylene net with 1 – 2 cm mesh size and wooden posts as structural framework. The upper
portion of the net should extend not less than 30 cm above the water mark of the highest tide level and the lower end embedded about 50 to 70
cm below the surface to minimize the risk of mud crabs burrowing under the walls of the pens.
▪ The top edge of the enclosure is lined with 30 cm plastic strip/sheet to prevent mud crabs from climbing over the top. A 50 cm dike is built
around the enclosure to retain additional water during lowest tide.
▪ A wooden gate is installed to drain water every 7 days to allow exposure of mangrove roots. Continuous submergence of the roots will lead
to the death of mangroves. Ditches or canal are constructed at a depth of 20 – 40 cm depth to serve as refuge of the crabs during lowest tide.
Low tidal ranges and low-to-medium density mangroves are preferred. But height of pens must be higher than maximum tides so that stock
cannot simply swim out of the pen
▪ Have an inner nursery structure that can be used to hold very small stock for a limited period of time, until they are large enough to be
retained in the main pen structure
Crab fattening – after molting, crab musculature takes some time to grow to fill its new shell, so the crab is referred to as “empty”, “thin”, or a
“water crab”. Fattening is the process whereby “empty crabs” are held and fed for a period, often a few weeks until they are full of meat and
ready to market. Done in pens, tanks and cages and their claws are tied allowing high SD (3-5/ m 2)
Silviculture and Canal Systems – to counter mangrove damage, large areas of new mangrove forests have been planted to provide lumber.
These are constructed around canal systems to ensure adequate circulation and drainage allowing low-intensity culture of mud crabs (0.05
crabs/ m2), both in canals and within the new mangrove forests themselves.
Cellular systems – crabs are kept in individual containers (or cells) for grow-out, fattening or soft-shell production to mitigate against the risk of
cannibalism. It can be river, coastal or pond-based as long as oxygen demand in these high density grow-out systems are met
Stocking density o 5,000 to 10,000/ha or to 30,000/ha (semi-intensive)
Male crabs have significantly higher final weight than female crabs. Stocking monosex mud crabs can simplify post-harvest processing and may
minimize aggressive behaviour between crabs associated with sexual maturity also survival was higher for monosex that mixed sex crabs o
Polyculture: mud crab (5,000-10,000/ha) + milkfish (500-2,500/ ha) or shrimp (10,000-20,000/ ha)
At the farm, crablets should be put in basins with a small amount of water from the pond for which they are intended to acclimatize.
Day of culture
Food o Trash fish, mollusks, crustaceans, polychaetes, slaughter wastes, fish wastes, horse mussels, brackishwater snails, shrimp heads (be
cautious may result in disease transfer), golden snails (Pomacea caniculata), telescope snails (Telescopium telescopium), small bivalves. They
are capable of catching live fish and shrimps, seizing them with their chelae. Lower feeding rates are expected in cooler months
Supplemental formulated feeds (high protein – 32-42%, high lipid – 6-12%). They have high apparent digestibility coefficient for cellulose,
soybean and rice bran in formulated diets, together with their ability to consume starches.
They are messy eaters when compared to shrimp, handling feed with their claws; so for crab feed wastage to be minimized, a good binder
needs to be found.
In pens, feeding is usually undertaken before or during an incoming tide, as this is when crabs emerge from their burrows in the mud to feed.

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 o
Harvest o Use crab pots baited with food attractive to crabs. Since the largest crabs in a pond tend to enter traps first, ponds can be partially or
selectively harvested on a regular basis, progressively removing the larger crabs from the pond. To complete harvest, pond is drained. o Since
premium prices are obtained for female “egg-crabs”, females may be harvested only when mature ovaries (red-orange) can be viewed through
the carapace.
Optimum Parameters
Salinity: 10-25 ppt (S.serrata crablets), 30-35 ppt (broodstock) o The salinity tolerance (5-40 ppt) of mud crabs enables them to survive in
freshwater for a few hours and hypersaline conditions for extended periods.
o Freshwater for salinity control is most likely to be required in the driest times of the year.
Temperature: 25-35C
pH: 7.5-8.5. <0.5 variation diurnally
Dissolved Oxygen: ≥5 ppm o Their ability to breathe air enables them to utilize their habitats effectively even at low tide and leave water that
has a low oxygen level.
Nitrite and ammonia are not a concern in larviculture since they are usually well below toxic levels and crablets have high ammonia tolerance
Hydrogen sulphide: <0.1 ppm
Hardness: >2,000 ppm
Turbidity: 20-30 cm

Commodity: Grouper Basic Info

Characteristics
The demand is fast growing particularly in Hongkong, Japan and Singapore
○ They are characterized by thick-set or stout bodies, slightly elongate with brown spots or blotches. They also have very large mouths and
normally protruding lower jaw.
Taxonomy
Phylum: Chordata
○ Class: Actinopterygii
○ Order: Perciformes
○ Family Serranidae
Species and variants – locally called inid or lapu-lapu

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There are about 40 species in tropical waters and 2 species E. coioides and E. malabaricus are presently cultured in the Philippines.
○ Major farmed Asian species include:
▪ E. coioides (orange spotted grouper)
▪ E. malabaricus (Malabar grouper)
▪ E. fuscoguttatus (brown marbled grouper)
▪ E. tauvina (greasy grouper)
▪ E.akaara (red spotted grouper)
▪ E. polyphekadion (camouflage grouper)
▪ Cromileptes altivelis (king, polka dot grouper)
▪ Plectropomus spp (coral trouts)
▪ Siniperca chuatsi (Chinese perch) – raised mostly in China (BW ponds) ○ Farmed in the eastern US and Caribbean:
▪ E. striatus (Nassau groupers)
▪ Mycteroperca microlepsis (gag groupers)
▪ M. bonaci (black groupers)
▪ E. itajara (jewfish)
Life History
Adults
○ Highly carnivorous and feed on fish and shrimps.
○ Fecundity is from 400,000 to 700,000 eggs per kg female.
Eggs and embryo
○ Live, fertilized eggs are pelagic, and measure about 0.8 – 1.0 mm in diameter with a single oil globule of
0.19 mm. Eggs are single, non-adhaesive and buoyant at normal salinities.
○ Fertilized eggs hatch after 18 to 20 hours at 27 to 29 °C. Total length of hatchlings is 1.6 to 2.3 mm. Yolk and oil which nourish the early larva
until after feeding begins, tend to be exhausted quickly (2 to 5 days).
Larvae
○ The grouper larva has an elongated and serrated second dorsal-fin spine and pelvic fin spines. A long serrate spine is positioned at the angle
of the preopercle. A large melanophore is found on the caudal peduncle which migrates from the ventral midline to a midlateral position early in
development.
○ Larvae of most species spend at least their few weeks drifting with the oceanic plankton. Eat copepods and other small zooplankton. They
have small mouths at first feeding. Larval period is long (35 to 70 days) and groupers tend to require live food longer than most marine fish that
have been reared.
Fry
○ The size of hatched larvae is 1.7 mm. Newly-hatched larvae become free-swimming larvae (2.7 mm) after 3 days, start feeding, then
metamorphose into juveniles (25 mm) after 35 to 50 days.
Juveniles
○ Feed on Acetes and mysid shrimps
○ Young groupers (about 16 cm in total length) are found in shallow waters where they can find hiding places and move to off-shore areas as
they grow. Biological minimum size is 45-50 cm in body length at 2 years of age. Grouper reverse sex (from female to male) when they attain
65-75 cm in body length.
Broodstock
Age at maturity o Primary sexual maturity is obtained in 4 to 6 years. Female E. malabaricus will take 5 years to become functional male.
Place of culture o Adults are captures by traps or hook and line. Depending on species and capture depth, the gas bladder might expand too
much for the fish to recover on its own, so that it might float helplessly upside down.
When deflation is necessary, use a hypodermic syringe with a 20-gauge needle attached and the plunger removed.
Sex determination o Protogynous hermaphrodite: female  male. A few of the small species are simultaneous hermaphrodites (male and female
at the same time) but self-fertilization seems to be rare.
Males are slightly longer than females.
Nassau groupers spawn in large aggregations with sex ratio near 1:1. Gags spawn in harems with sex ratio of 1 male: 10 females.
Spawning o June to September and November to December (INDONESIA), August (SINGAPORE), April to July (KUWAIT), year-round except
May in tanks and July-October in floating netcages (PHILIPPINES). In the Philippines, the onset of monthly spawning cycle in tanks and floating
netcages has been observed over a period of 3 days before and after the last quarter moon.
Grouper start spawning before sunset. Distinct courtship behaviour is observed: the male and female are found pairing closely with one another
and swim swiftly in a counter-clock wise direction. There have been reports of aggregate spawning but most species are solitary fishes.
Natural spawning can be done by temperature cycling (raising or lowering temperature to the spawning range of 24 to 27C). This occurs mostly
with well-fed, uncrowded fish during natural spawning season under conditions of ambient temperature and partial or total natural light. Day
length seems to be a less important stimulus for spawning than temperature.
Induced spawning can be achieved by injection of HCG, GnRHa and pituitary gland extract from salmon. A female with fully-yolked oocytes
(developing eggs) is given 1 to 3 injections of HCG. Ovulation (release of mature eggs into the center of the ovaries) occurs within 24 to 72
hours (usually 36 to 50 hours) after the first injection. If newly caught brood stocks are used, the hormone should be administered as soon after
capture as possible to limit the effects of stress on oocyte development.
When ovulation has occurred, milt is stripped from one or more males and collected in 3-cc hypodermic syringes (without needle). The eggs are
stripped from the female into a beaker, milt is added plus filtered water and the mixture is stirred. After 3 to 5 minutes, the eggs are transferred
to a larger container and washed several times by water exchange or repeated transfer.
Hatchery
Eggs o Eggs are collected in automatic strainers or with soft, fine dip nets. Transparency, buoyancy, roundness, normal egg size, size
uniformity, lack of stickiness, possession of a single oil globule and normal oil globule size are initial signs of quality.
Stocking Density o 5 to 20/ L is safe but can be stocked up to 40/L.
Place of culture: tanks 10 to 16 feet or more in diameter are better because surface film removal is safer, temperature and water quality
changes are moderated and the fish contact the tank walls less often.
Providing the correct amount of turbulence in larval tanks is critical. With too little turbulence, the water stratifies (maybe thermally) and
zooplankton and fish can aggregate dangerously because they are attracted to bright areas of the tank. This can result in oxygen depletion,
frequent collisions and feeding difficulty.
With too much turbulence, the fish are battered. Larvae stressed by fright, strong current, toxins, pathogens or malnourishment might appear
exhausted or stunned, swim erratically, drift with current and/or not feed well. Early grouper larvae, especially when stressed, exude a large
amount of mucus, which can cause them to stick to each other, to the surface film, or to solid objects.
Gorging on Artemia and cannibalism are other problems. This can be addressed by adding the Artemia in small amounts and by feeding rotifers
and copepods for at least several days after Artemia are started. Cannibalism can be minimized by feeding the fish well, weaning them as soon
as possible, and grading.

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One of the greatest problems is a surface film that is sticky, suffocating and/or toxic. Films so thin that they have no effect on other species can
kill grouper larvae on contact. The film-producing substances (e.g. polysaccharides, organic and inorganic oils, proteins, soaps, plasticizers)
have to be excluded from larval tanks as much as possible since on the first days of feeding, skimming the surface with air jets and stand pipes
can be dangerous because early grouper larvae tend to drift with the current rather than swim against it, and they cannot tolerate much
turbulence. The larger the tank, the safer the larvae from turbulences and from going down the drain. Standard skimming can be used once
larvae can swim well enough to avoid them.
Food o Larvae are raised in green water (phytoplankton Nannochloropsis, Tetraselmis and/or Chlorella). First feeding: small rotifers, oysters,
clam or mussel eggs and larvae. Growth and survival are better if copepods or mixed zooplankton are included in the diet.
Cladorcerans (water fleas)
Nursery
Place of culture o Nursery cages (4x2x1.5 to 8x4x1.6 m), mesh size of 0.5 to 1 cm
Source of fry o Grouper fry or "tiny" for commercial cage and pond production are still wild caught. The size of the fry (tiny) varies from 5 to 50
mm. Fry are usually collected from coastal waters near mangrove areas. In the Philippines, the major sources of grouper fry include waters off
Pangasinan, Cavite, Mindoro, Quezon, Ormoc, Masbate, Bulacan, Cagayan, Dadiangas, Negros Occidental, and Capiz. But fry or fingerling
supply from these sources is seasonal and unreliable. R & D institutions like SEAFDEC/AQD and some progressive fish hatchery operators
have therefore developed, or are developing, captive broodstock and seed production techniques. The fish breeding association in Taiwan has
been known to produce fry in hatcheries in commercial quantities.
o Grouper fry are collected in nominal quantities using various devices: ▪ BRUSH LURES
Locally called bonbon or pagungpong in the Visayas, brush lures are devices made of twigs, grass or palm leaves and set in shallow estuarine
or mangrove areas. These attract grouper and sea bass fry / juveniles which are then collected using scoop nets.
▪ ROCK MOUNDS
Locally called gango, the rock mound is a conical pile of rocks or dead corals set along depressed portions of intertidal areas, seagrass beds,
and mangrove tidal pools. This method has been in use for more than 50 years and considered the most ecologically sustainable collection
gear for grouper juvenile. The rock mound is usually 0.5 to 1.3 meter high (depending on water depth at lowest tide). It is generally colonized by
fishes from the immediate vicinity. Harvesting is carried out with the use of an encircling net during low tide. After the net has been set up, the
rocks are taken out one by one while fishes take refuge inside the pouch of the net. When the last rock has been taken out and the last fish
collected, the rocks are returned to its original place.
▪ BRUSH PILES
Locally called padugmon or padum-ok, brush piles are similar to rock mounds but are made of tree branches, twigs, and palm leaves. They are
set on soft bottom areas like mudflats. Harvesting is similar to rock mounds.
▪ Other fry collection gears include bamboo fish traps, and scoop or dip nets.
Food
o A 50-watt incandescent, hover type lamp are installed every cage to attract food (mysids, copepods and other young fishes and crustaceans
at night that serve as food). Finely chopped trash fish and or mysid shrimp are also given.
Stocking Density o Place fry (2-3 cm) in nursery cages inside grow-out ponds. Stocking density is 60 fry/m 2 o Stock are sorted out weekly to
minimize competition for space and food and to prevent cannibalism. Sorted same-sized stock are transferred to other cages.
Days of culture o 30-35 days
Grow-out
Area for culture o Fish cages (5 x 5 x 3 m), mesh size of 2 to 5 cm
Floatation materials such as plastic drums or empty plastic containers plus provision of shelters made of bamboos or PVC pipes
Stocking density o Grouper juveniles (5-10 cm) are stocked at 5,000/ha
Day of culture o 5-7 months
Food o Stock 5,000 – 10,000 adult tilapia / ha which will serve as food for grouper or chopped trash fish and/or mysid shrimp. Tilapia are
allowed to reproduce for a month and fingerlings will serve as food for groupers.
Harvest o A net is placed at the farthest end of the pond and dragged slowly towards the other end of the pond. Undersized fish are returned to
the pond.
Modified lift nets are used to harvest and place at the pond bottom. Shelters (sawed off bamboos or PVC pipes) are provided in the middle of
the net. Harvested grouper are stocked 20/ m 3 in pre-installed net
Optimum Parameters
Salinity: 18-32 ppt
Temperature: 27-30 C
Dissolved Oxygen: >5 mg/L
Depth: 1-2 m for ponds, not less than 3 meters at lowest tide (for cages)
Ammonia: should be kept near zero
Nitrite: <0.1 ppm for larvae and <1 ppm for older fish

Commodity: Shrimp Basic Info

Taxonomy
○ Phylum - Arthropoda
○ Class - Crustacea
○ Order - Decapoda
○ Family - Penaeidae
○ Genus - Penaeus, Litopenaeus ● History
○ Sugpo culture in the Philippines evolved from the sugpo fry entering milkfish ponds through the incoming tides. When the fish farmers
obtained good price from the harvested sugpo, they started stocking their ponds with sugpo fry caught from the coastal waters and estuaries. In
the early 1960s, due to increasing demand from the international market, sugpo growers started stocking hatchery-produced
fry. Intensive culture began by stocking hatchery-produced sugpo fry at high densities and given commercial feed with pond aeration. Sugpo
production started from 1,800 metric tons in 1982 to a maximum of 47,500 metric tons in 1990. In the early 1990s, sugpo production gradually
decline due to outbreak of diseases and environmental degradation. ○ 1960-1980
Philippines: one of pioneers in shrimp farming
earliest published literature on shrimp farming using extensive method - annual production below 5,000 MT as secondary crop in milkfish ponds
shrimp fry dependent from the wild
1980-1989
became a significant industry (semi-intensive to intensive)
hatchery bred fry are available
Japanese market established which absorbed 80% produced in Asia ○ 1990-1995
Japanese market collapsed
a start up or development period
development/import of technology
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production increased rapidly due to increased number of pond areas
a rapid growth (‘shrimp rush/shrimp fever’)
government support and financing no longer a problem
attracts more and more investors
1996-1999
industry stabilizes to a certain level and then decline to the extent of collapse due to outbreak of diseases, prawn production continue to
decrease until 1999
2000-present
– verification runs on shrimp culture using environment-friendly protocol was conducted thru SEAFDEC, AQDBFAR Joint Mission in its pilot
sites located in different parts of the country with different climatic conditions
SEAFDEC, AQD and BFAR started to respond to the requests of the private sectors for an on-farm techno demonstration/transfer.
Philippine shrimp production gradually increases from 34,627 MT in 1999 to 42,390 MT in the year 2001.
Species and variants – penaeid shrimp belong to 2 groups based on structure of female thelycum (receptacle structure on ventral thorax of
females where spermatophore is deposited by male at mating)
○ Open-thelycum species: indigenous to western hemisphere, reversed photoperiod regime is used (with artificial lights) so that animaals will
spawn during daylight/normal working hours, molt mature  mate  spawn
■ Litopenaeus vannamei (whiteleg shrimp), L. stylirostris, L. occidentalis
○ Closed-thelycum species: brown shrimp species, natural photoperiod is used in maturation facilities, molt  mate  mature  spawn
■ Peneaus monodon (black tiger, giant tiger prawn – sugpo, lukon, pansat), M, japonicus, Fenneropenaeus indicus (formerly P. indicus), F.
merguiensis (P. merguiensis)
Life History
Adults (10 months, benthic)
Mature and breed only in tropical marine habitats. They show marked nocturnal activity, burrowing into bottom substratum during the day and
emerging at night to search for food as benthic feeders. Under natural conditions, the giant tiger prawn is more of a predator than an
omnivorous scavenger or detritus feeder than other penaeid shrimp. After moulting, the new shell is still soft which causes prawns to become
vulnerable and they may subsequently be eaten by their predators or companions. Adults are often found over muddy sand or sandy bottoms at
20-50 m depth in offshore waters.
Eggs and embryo
Fertilization  12 h, planktonic
Larvae
Hatching  20 d, planktonic
○ Nauplius (NI-NVI)  Zoea (ZI-ZII)  Mysis (MI-MIII)
○ P. monodon larval, juvenile, adolescent and sub-adult stages in coastal estuaries, lagoons or mangrove areas ● Postlarvae
○ Larvae metamorphose to PL stage, PL1 (age in days). PL15 – PL25 are the ones generally stocked in grow-out ponds
Broodstock
Age at maturity o Males become mature from 20 g and females from 28 g onwards at the age of 6-7 months
Place of culture o Circular tanks of 12 m3 capacity, color of inner wall of the tank is clack with a white sand substrate, light intensity reduced at
100 lux
Food
Commercial feed pellets and natural food like mussels and squids with 6% cod liver as lipid source
Sex determination o Females are commonly larger than males
Spawning o Spawners used in hatcheries are generally caught in the wild, mainly in the coastal waters. In case of mature spawners not being
available, broodstock development may sometimes be resorted to. Ovarian maturation of broodstock is hastened by eyestalk ablation. In the
eyestalk of decapod crustacean, a gonad inhibiting hormone (GIH) is produced. With ablation, production of GIH is decreased resulting in the
increase of maturation and spawning rates. Unilateral ablation is sufficient to induce maturation while bilateral ablation have caused high
mortality rates, loss of balance and abnormal behavior in the broodstock. Ablation is done by the removal of the eye and the total or partial
removal of the eye stalk by cutting with surgical scissor, clamps, ligation or manual pinching.
3-5/m2 at a ratio of 1-2 females to 1 male
Remove spawners after spawning. Eggs hatch in 12-17 hours. Collect nauplii by exposing a portion of the tank to light.
Hatchery
Place of culture o 10 to 50 ton tanks with clean seawater
Stocking density
50,000-80,000 nauplii/ton
Food
Natural food (Chaetoceros, Tetraselmis, Skeletonema). Add Artemia to diet in the Mysis/ PL stage
Days of culture o Transfer PL5 in nursery tanks where substrates have been installed
Nursery
Place of culture o Brackishwater ponds, 200 to 2000 m2: 50-100 P5/m2 without supplementary feed, 150 to 200 P5/ m 2 if with supplementary
feeding
Floating cage (3 x 4 x 1.2 m): 25,000-30,000 P4-P5/ cage for 30 to 40 days
Raceways: 1-2 ton oval tank with airlift aeration to circulate water: 5,000/ m 3 stock density o Tanks: 3 to 40 tons, 2500 – 3000 P1-P2 or P4-P5/
ton
Stocking density: 50-100/ m2
Food
Brushing prepared fish paste in a feeding net frame. At P11, feeding is shifted to chopped fish or mussel meat
Days of culture o P34 – P35 are harvested after 30 days rearing period
Grow-out
● Area for culture o Traditional flow-through system o Flow-through with water treatment o Zero water discharge o Recirculating system
▪ For the recirculating system:
Effluents from the grow-out pond are reused after passing through the treatment pond
Water is fully circulated by pumping twice
i. From head reservoir to grow-out pond ii. Treatment pond to grow-out pond ▪ In treatment ponds:
Effluent from grow-out ponds passes through several hurdles
Install baffles to serve as mechanical filtration units and to settle suspended solids
Dissolve nutrients can be taken up by biofilters (oyster, Gracilaria, mussel)
A filter box fitted with a 2-hp submersible pump is installed at the end of the pond
Crop rotation
Polyculture (Bangus/Tilapia)
▪ 2,000-6,000/ha shrimp with 500-2,000 milkfish/ ha o New Technology by SEAFDEC
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▪ Lowered stocking density (at least PL18 at 25/m2)
▪ Improvement of pond bottom management - plowing or tilling to improve bacterial profile of sediment, as well as water effluent water
quality, pathogenic Vibrio count is reduced
▪ Crop rotation – allow time for organic waste to break down
▪ Improvement of feed quality
▪ Stocking of laboratory-screened fry
▪ Use of greenwater technology
▪ Use of probiotics in water and feed
▪ Increase in aeration
▪ Use of settling ponds
In the low discharge system, a small amount of water is discharged from the grow-out pond and released to the sea after passing through the
settling or mangrove impoundment. To be effective, hold pond effluents in mangroves for 6 hours or more. ▪ Employment of biosecurity
measures
Stocking density o Stock biomanipulators at 5,000-10,000/ha (tilapia and milkfish). They are stocked inside reservoir pond or in walled net
(10x10x1.5 m) that are placed in the middle of grow-out ponds and to the sides of the ponds. Fish can feed on the sludge deposited in the
center

Stocking densities Extensive Semi-intensive Intensive

(/m2)
Pond size, ha 2 and larger 0.5-1.5 0.25-0.5
P. monodon 5-10 20-50 50-300
P. merguiensis 10-50 80-100 100-500

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●
P. japonicus 30-100 100-300 300-2,500

Days of culture: 4 to 6 months

Harvest o Partial harvest may be done with the use of bamboo traps (bakikong), pound or cast nets.
For total harvest, Bagnet (lumpot) mounted on a wooden frame which fits into the grooves of the gate is used. The shrimps are caught in the
bagnet as water is drained from the pond. The remaining shrimps are then handpicked after complete drainage of the pond
Food o Shrimp diets must have 38-46% protein
Higher salinity areas (28 ppt and above) lablab is dominant over filamentous algae, deeper ponds with lower salinity (10-25 ppt) Chaetomorpha
(lumot jusi), Enteromorpha intestinalis (bitukang manok), Rupia maritime (Kusay-kusay) and Najas graminea (digman) are dominant, along with
diatoms, rotifers, nematodes, ostracods, copepods and other planktonic organisms
Optimum Parameters
Salinity: 10-25 ppt
Temperature: 25-32 C
pH: 6.5 -8.7
Dissolved Oxygen: >3.5 ppm
Carbon Dioxide: < 10 ppm
Total Ammonia N: <1.0 ppm
Nitrite: <0.1 ppm
Secchi disc visibility: > 50 cm

Commodity: Blue Crab Basic Info

Taxonomy
Phylum : Arthropoda
Class : Malacostraca
Order : Decapoda
Family : Portunidae
Top producers
Highest in Region VI (includes Negros Occidental which export crabmeats to parts of the US and Asia), Region VIII and Region V ● Species
and variants
○ Portunus trituberculatus (Japanese “gazami”)
○ P. armatus - formerly pelagicus (“blue swimming crab”)
○ Callinectes sapidus (“blue crab”)
Life History
Larvae
4 zoeal stages and a megalopa stage. The megalopa moulted to the first crab instar. First zoeal stage:
algae + rotifer, other zoeal stages: rotifer + Artemia, megalopa: Moina/Artemia+prawn-egg custard
Juveniles
Juveniles most commonly occurring in intertidal shallower areas. Age of maturity around 1 year. Broodstock
Age at maturity o Male crabs attains maturity by its 12th molt and female crab by 14th molt
Place of culture
o 1.5 ton capacity fiberglass tanks (to keep berried females from wild)
5 to 10 FRP tanks (for brood stock development). Preferably black to minimize algal growth and mimic natural environment
Sex determination o Male crabs, are bigger and more colourful than the females, with a dark-blue carapace, pale belly and rich blue on their
legs and claws. Female crabs are dull brown in colour with small irregular white patches on the carapace and tips of chelate and walking legs
are dark brown.
Spawning o Continuous breeder so berried crabs are available throughout the year. Healthy ovigorous females with yellow/orange colored
eggs can be from the wild or raised in captivity.
o Incubation period is 8-10 days.
Optimum Parameters
Salinity: 30-33 ppt
Temperature: 27-31 C ● pH: 8.0-8.5
Dissolved Oxygen: 4-8
Total Ammonia: <0.1 ppm
Nitrite: <0.05 ppm

Commodity: Mussel and Oyster Basic Info: Mussel

Characteristics
Mussels are farmed in deeper waters which face problems of contamination due to increasing organic loading from urbanization
○ Its ability to attach to substrates with byssus, makes it an ideal aquaculture species using different culture systems.
Taxonomy
Phylum: Mollusca
○ Class: Bivalvia
○ Order: Mytilida
○ Family: Mytilidae
Species and variants
Perna viridis: green mussel/ tahong
○ Mytilus edulis: blue mussel
○ Modiolus netcalfei: brown mussel/ amahong
Basic Info: Oyster
Characteristics
Popular bivalve delicacy because of its excellent flavour and taste
○ Shells mostly used as raw materials for the manufacture of lime and poultry grit. Shells also serve as spat collectors for culture
○ Oysters clean the water, remove nitrogen, accelerate denitrification, enhance water clarity
○ Requires no feed input. Has the highest concentration of zinc of any food. Very high in vitamin B12, iron, selenium, phosphorous and
magnesium.
○ Oyster farming has remained in shallow sub-tidal areas where the spats are collected. These areas are now increasingly subject to domestic
pollution with its consequential effect on quality and food safety
○ Pacific oysters are protandrous hermaphrodites, most commonly maturing first as males. Females can revert back to male when food supply
is limiting as, for example, when they are severely overcrowded.
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 o

●
Taxonomy
Phylum: Mollusca
○ Class: Bivalvia
○ Order: Ostreida
○ Family: Ostreidae
History
○ Began at Hinigaran, Negros Occidental in 1921
Top producers
Negros Occidental, Pangasinan and Cavite
○ Farms for oyster culture are located in 17 provinces comprising Regions 1, IV and VI
Species and variants
Crassostrea iredalei: slipper-shaped oyster/ talabang tsinelas
■ Most commercially desirable because it grows at a faster rate and has straight shell margins which make them easier to open.
○ C. malabonensis: kukong kabayo/ subtrigonal oyster
○ C. cucullata: curly oyster/ kulot
○ C. palmiper: palm-roofed oyster/ pulid-pulid
Life History
Larvae and adults
○ Mussels have two relatively distinct phases in their life-cycle. A free swimming planktonic or larval stage and a sessile adult stage. The free-
swimming larvae remains planktonic for 7–15 days depending upon the water temperature, food supply and availability of settling materials. At
about 2–5 weeks old, the larvae (0.25–0.3 mm) seek a suitable substrate to settle on and final metamorphosis takes place, changing its internal
organ structure to the adult form. The young spat then grow rapidly and within 4–8 weeks, after settlement, they measure 3–4 mm in shell
length.
Eggs and embryo
○ Eggs hatch into free-swimming planktonic larvae and remains in the waters for 2 to 3 weeks before settling down on any hard surface (logs,
stones, shells and bottoms or empty oyster shells). Newlysettled larvae are called spats. The settlement season on spatfalls of green mussel is
from April to May and October to November. For oysters is from January to February and from July to September. Hatchery/ Broodstock
From the wild o Mussels are characterized by high fecundity and a mobile free living larval phase, which have facilitated its widespread
distribution. Seed availability therefore greatly influences which culture techniques are used. When using wild seed, various spat collectors are
employed, including polyethylene and palmcoconut fibre ropes.
Age at maturity o 6-10 months after seeding. The bivalve species reaches sexual maturity within the first year and spawns with the rising of
seawater temperature. In the Philippines, mussels spawns year-round, however the peak period of spawning and setting is in April and May
and again in September to October. Eggs and sperms are shed separately and fertilization occurs in the water.
Place of culture o Broodstock conditioning requires high water flow and low density in flow-through broodstock tanks in which adults are
suspended off the bottom in a mesh tray with large apertures in the base so as not to retain feces and detritus (oyster and mussels) but for
others they are buried in 10 cm deep trays filled with coarse sand or shell gravel (clams and some scallops, Pecten ziczac). Seawater used is
not filtered: the diversity of food species present in unfiltered seawater is beneficial in the conditioning process.
Food o Both feed on very minute animals and organic particles suspended in the water. They are also called filter-feeders and they obtain food
by straining the water through their gills and the food particles directed towards their mouth

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Cultured marine algal species are used most frequently as the principal food supply during conditioning. Useful algal species that can be
cultured intensively on a large-scale are Tetraselmis (various species, including T. chuii, T. tetrahele and T. suecica), Isochrysis galbana (and
the T-Iso clone), Pavlova lutherii, Chaetoceros muelleri (previously named C. gracilis), Thalassiosira pseudonana and T. weisfloggii and
Skeletonema costatum.
A mixture of these species, on a proportional basis, is more beneficial than a single species diet.
Care should be taken not to feed relatively indigestible species (e.g. Chlorella sp.) or, species known to be deficient in the more highly
unsaturated fatty acids (e.g. Dunaliella tertiolecta). Dunaliella is known to be lacking in the C20 and C22 highly unsaturated fatty acids
considered to be nutritionally essential.
Sex determination o Protandric hermaphroditism: male to female – includes clams of the genus Tapes (Manila clam- Tapes philippinarum),
Mercenaria (American hard shell, quahog – Mercenaria mercenaria), Mya and Spisula, oysters of the genus Crassostrea and many types of
mussel including Mytilus sp. and Perna sp.
Truly functional hermaphrodites – mature both male and female gonads simultaneously: northern European King scallop, Pecten maximus, the
(Brazilian or Caribbean) sand scallop, Pecten (Euvola) ziczac, the bay scallop, Argopecten irradians, the calico scallop, Argopecten gibbus, the
Chilean scallop, Argopecten purpuratus, and some species of Chlamys. Sexes are separate (dioecious) in other large sea scallops, e.g.
Placopecten magellanicus and Patinopecten yessoensis
Flat oysters of the genera Ostrea and Tiostrea exhibit alternate sexuality. They switch sex at the end of each reproductive cycle. A single
European oyster (Ostrea edulis) can go through two or three sex reversals each spawning season when sufficient food is available and during
an extended warm water period.
Spawning o Spawn throughout the year with peaks at certain periods. Spawners release millions of their gametes into the water where
fertilization takes place.
Adults taken from the sea are brought to the hatchery, their shells thoroughly scrubbed and rinsed to remove epifaunal (fouling) organisms and
sediment and then placed in tanks.
 Hatchery production of M. edulis (in temperate zone only) o Hatchery production is based upon conditioning adult mussels by using algal
food and temperature control. The natural maturation cycle is actually mimicked at the hatchery. Mature mussels are cleaned up and hung as a
group in larval tanks. M. edulis spawning is induced by thermal shock or by stripping.
Once spawning is completed, 24 hours are required for the larvae to reach the straight hinge stage.
Larvae are fed ad libitum and allowed to grow until they are ready to set onto ropes (13-15 days). Deployed in setting tanks, mussels are
transferred at a 1 mm size to a nursery, where they will remain until they reach 6-10 mm; then the spat is moved outdoors into grow-out
systems.
● Spat collection (from the wild using raft culture) o For oysters, empty oyster shells are tied to polyethylene or polypropylene ropes with 2 cm
diameter at 5-6 cm intervals. The collected ropes are tied 10 cm apart in the raft with weights attached to the end of the ropes.
o For mussels, the collection ropes made of nylon with coconut husks inserted at 5-6 cm interval are hung 10 cm apart. Weights are tied at the
end of the ropes to prevent them from floating.
Grow-out
Area for culture (Mussel) o Stake (tulos) method - utilizes bamboo as spat collectors. Bamboos are staked/planted to a depth of ½ meter in soft
muddy bottom at 0.5 –1 m apart. The bamboos are regularly inspected to monitor mussel growth and to control predators (starfish, crabs) and
competitors (barnacles, filamentous algae). Mussels are harvested when they are 5-10 cm in length by pulling up the mussel-laden stakes and
loading them to a banca. The clusters of mussels are stripped off with an iron rod. In partial harvesting, divers pick out the bigger mussels and
leave the small ones for next cropping. Barnacles and dirt are
removed before the harvested mussels are brought to the market.Commonly used in Binakayan in Cavite, Binloc in Dagupan, Binmaley in
Pangasinan, Abucay in Bataan. The stake method is simple and cheap but a disadvantage is that the bamboo poles can be used for only two
years. Predators (crabs, starfish, burrowing snails) can crawl up the stake and reach the oysters. Another major drawback is that siltation is
increased which will make the site too shallow for further mussel culture
Hanging (bitin) method – preparation of spat collectors, ropes are threaded with coco fiber by bamboo/ empty oyster shell at 10 cm intervals,
collectors are hung on horizontal bamboo poles at 0.5 m apart, setting of collectors is timed with the spawning season, spats collected are
allowed to grow on the collectors until marketable size
Stake method – midway between rack and bottom methods, bamboo poles, 4-6 m in length are staked firmly at the bottom in rows, 0.5-1 m
apart during low tide in areas about 3.0 m deep and above.
Tray culture – limited to detached clusters of mussel, bamboo or metal trays (1.5m x 1m x 15cm) are used, hang between 2 poles of the
hanging or stake or suspended on four bamboo posts
Rope-web method – uses synthetic ropes as spat collectors. Polypropylene ropes of 12 mm in diameter are made into webs tied vertically to
bamboo poles. Full-stretched rope-web collectors are positioned 3 m apart along the rows. In harvesting, the rope-webs are untied from the
bamboo poles and lifted to a raft. Cluster of mussels are removed from collectors through the use of sharp knife. The rope-web collectors are
then cleaned and dried for the next culture season.
Area for culture (Oyster) o Stake (tulos) method – bamboo poles are utilized similar to mussel farming
Lattice (bitin) method – bamboo splits are used to construct a lattice which is held together with galvanized wire or monofilament nylon twine,
splits are spaced about 15-30 cm apart and usually one lattice unit comprises 10-16 splits, which can be easily handled by one operator, can be
mounted on rocks or suspended in the water column when mounted on long bamboos or empty drums and positioned either horizontally or
vertically
Hanging method (sampayan) – oyster or coconut shells are tied to synthetic ropes at 10 cm intervals. The length of the ropes will depend on the
depth of the water. The collectors are hung to bamboo plots at intervals of 25-30 cm. The plots form like a rectangle, with a dimension of 2 m x
1 m. In harvesting, the collectors are untied from the poles and hauled to a banca. The oyster clusters are broken up and cleaned prior to
transport to the market.
Broadcast (sabog) method – an age-old traditional procedure for oyster farming. Oyster shells, stones, tin cans or any piece of hard objects are
scattered at the bottom where spatfall is known to occur. This method is applicable in areas with a maximum depth of 2 m to ensure ease in
harvesting. In Bulacan, a bamboo mat measuring 5-10 m in length and 2-3 m in width is used as a spat collector. In harvesting, the oysters are
raked or dredged with a scoop net. The oysters are loaded in a banca where they are sorted and cleaned prior to transport to the market. There
is minimal cost of investment although it can only be used in coastal areas with firm bottoms and shallow waters, high mortalities due to silt and
predation, difficulty in harvesting and could be easily washed away by currents or easily buried by sediments.
Area for culture (Mussel and Oyster) o Raft culture - A 6 x 8 m raft can be made of bamboos with metal/plastic drums or styrofoam blocks as
floats. Raft is anchored at the bottom.
For oysters, collection ropes are tied to the raft at 50 cm interval.
For mussels, when spats are 0.5 cm diameter, they are transferred to growing ropes using sinamay strips for binding. Synthetic ropes or native
fibers (cabo negro or abaca), with 2 cm diameter are used with small pieces of bamboos inserted at 30-cm interval to prevent growing mussels
from slipping off. The ropes are tied to the raft at 50 cm interval. The raft is regularly inspected. Predators and other unwanted species like
crabs, starfish, barnacles are removed from the ropes.
Some advantages of the raft culture method are the following; 1) less laborious to collect, transplant, and harvest a large number of
oysters/mussels, 2) less predation on suspended mussels/oysters, 3) it utilizes all available water volume for the animals to feed well, 4)

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 o
growing ropes are easier to maintain and can be used again for several years, 5) the method does not accumulate silt and would not make the
area shallower compared to bamboo stakes.
Harvest o Mussels can grown 6 cm in 6 months after settling and oysters at 7.5 cm in 8 months after settling.
Optimum Parameters
Salinity: 27-35 ppt (mussel), 17-26 ppt (oyster)
Temperature: 20-30 C
Depth: at least 1.5-2.5 m at the lowest tide for traditional and at least 5.0 m for non-traditional culture methods ● The site must be non-shifting
or soft and muddy bottom to minimize siltation.

Commodity: Giant Clams Basic Info

Characteristics
Feed input is only needed at the land nursery stage, afterwards no feed onputs are required.
○ Commercial size for aquarium trade in ~2 years. They are sold for very high retail prices in the USA, Europe and Japan. They are not prone
to diseases.
○ In 1983, they were included in the list of endangered species (Appendix II-CITES)
Taxonomy
Phylum: Mollusca
○ Class: Bivalvia
○ Order: Cardiida
○ Family: Cardiidae
Species and variants
Tridacna gigas, the true giant clam. It can reach to > 1.3m in shell length and hundreds of kilograms in weight, living to >50 years of age. This is
the largest species of bivalve mollusk to have ever lived in the fossil record of our planet. It has four to five folds and a rougher texture
○ Tridacna derasa, the smooth giant clam. Second largest species reaching > 55 cm shell length. Six to seven vertical folds.
○ Tridacnas quamosa, the scaly or fluted giant clam. This species reaches 40 cm shell length and has light to moderate byssal attachment as
adults.
○ Tridacna maxima, the elongated, rugose, or small giant clam. This species grows up to 40 cm shell length and has great byssal attachment to
the substrate. The mantle is very colourful and the clam is sought after in the aquarium trade.
○ Tridacna crocea, the boring or crocus clam. This is the smallest species of giant clam reaching to 15 cm shell length. It has a wide byssal
opening at the shell base and therefore burrows into the substrate so that only the extended colourful mantle touches the substrate surface.
Like T. maxima, it is a good species for the aquarium trade
○ Tridacna tevoroa. This quite large (>50 cm shell length) clam is found in moderately deep water (14-35m depth). The species is unusual in
that it is the only species of the genus Tridacna which does not have the mantle overhang the edge of the shell.
○ Hippopus hippopus, the horse's hoof clam, the bear paw clam, the rolling clam, or the strawberry clam. This species reaches 50 cm shell
length and is often found on sandy areas and on seagrass beds. The mantle does not extend over the shell edge.
Life History
Adults
○ Experts refer to them as unique because they manufacture their own food through the algae that live on them, similar to corals. The algae
supply food to the clams through photosynthesis which supply sugars and nitrogen-rich compounds. Referred to as “built-in food factories,”
giant clams need only sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide in order to make their food. This is considered an advantage because in culture,
feeding is entirely omitted. ● Eggs and larvae
○ Fertilized eggs undergo gastrula to trocophore stages in 12 hours. After this, they become trocophores, by which time, they are still incapable
of ingesting food particles. When the digestive system is complete (the veliger stage), they can now take small phytoplankton, three days after
fertilization. Veligers then metamorphose to juvenile clams 2 weeks after fertilization.
Juveniles
○ Larvae settle on hard substrate, transform into juveniles, attach their byssal threads on reefs for anchor and arrange themselves so that their
mantles face the sun. Until 2.5 years, clams are vulnerable to predation. Growth during this period is fast, about 2.5 cm per yr in ideal reef flats.
○ Juveniles can be harvested 3-4 months after fertilization when they range from sizes 1-10 mm Hatchery/ Broodstock
Age at maturity o Juveniles are not available from the wild so hatchery production is needed. They reach sexual maturity in 4-5 years.
Food
Sugars and proteins produced by the algae living inside their tissues, tiny, drifting plants and animals filtered from the water
Sex determination
Gonad ripeness is easily visible
Spawning o Spawning is induced by heat shocks or serotonin injection
When sexually mature, clams continuously release millions of eggs in a day, spawning being triggered by diurnal, lunar, and environmental
cues.
Nursery
Place of culture o Clams are placed in trays, cages, enclosures or a combination of either on or without substrates. These areas would ensure
that there is less fouling of cages, predation on clams is less severe, and human access for farm management is easier.
Stocking Density o For a cage size 1 x 5 x 0.3 m, approximately 100 juveniles (30-40 mm) can be stocked. For bigger juveniles, (70-80 mm),
fewer clams should be stocked (30 ind)
Days of culture o Long (12-18 months) but only requires clean seawater and some additional soluble nutrients, at this stage giant clams of size
20 mm may be transferred to the grow-out phase.
Grow-out
● T. gigas and H. hippopus are suited to intertidal zones while T. derasa and the others are grown best in shallow subtidal sites. By this time,
protective cages are no longer necessary. A nylon netting atttached to floats (similar to a floating fence) may be helpful in excluding large
predators and marking the farm area. The clams may be left in these areas for several years until harvest.

Commodity: Abalone Basic Info

Characteristics

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Highly prized for their large abductor muscle. The foot is the prized part and is used for locomotion and feeding.
○ Slow-growing one-shelled gastropods. Slow-feeding nocturnal herbivores (algivores) with adults grazing predominantly on seaweeds.
○ Shell is characterized by having a row of respiratory pores called “tremata” located along its left margin ○ Temperatre species are bigger than
species found in the tropics
Taxonomy
Phylum: Mollusca
○ Class: Gastropoda
○ Order: Lepetellida
○ Family Haliotidae
○ Genus Haliotis “sea ear”
Top producers
Main markets are China, Japan, Hong Kong, USA, Mexico, Korea and Europe
Species and variants
About 70 species. Species of the world:
■ H. discus hannai (Ezo awabi, the Pacific or Japanese abalone) – most valuable abalone in terms of meat content and most cultivated of all
species, considered a cold water species cultured on a large scale in both Japan and China
■ H. discus discus (Kuro awabi) – meat is tougher than H. d. hannai
■ H. tuberculata (European abalone or Ormer) – only commercial species in Europe
■ H. rufescens (Red abalone) – largest abalone species worldwide farmed intensively in US and Mexico
■ H. fulgens (Green abalone)
■ H. corrugata (Pink, corrugated or yellow abalone)
■ H. cracherodii (black abalone) – dark colored meat, badly affected by the Withering Foot Syndrome outbreaks in California
■ H. kamtschatkana (Pinto abalone) – heavily fished and formed a large part of the diet of coastal native Indian tribes
■ H. diversicolor supertexta (Tokobushi) - While only making up a small portion of the fisheries catch it forms the major part of the massive
Taiwanese abalone aquaculture industry.
■ H. rubra (Black-lip abalone) – one of the three commercially important abalone species in Australia
■ H. laevigata (Green-lip abalone or mutton fish) – second most important species of Australia
■ H. iris (Paua) – principal commercial species of New Zealand. It has a very iridescent shell that is strikingly beautiful
■ H. australis (Yellow foot Paua) – second commercial New Zealand species
■ H. midae (Perlemoen) – only commercial abalone found on the African continent
○ 3 species occur in Philippine marine waters
■ Haliotis asinina -the donkey’s ear abalone, tropical abalone
Grow to a maximum size of 10-11 cm in shell length
Existing commercial abalone fisheries in the provinces of Iloilo, Guimaras, Negros, Samar, Surigao, Zamboanga, Palawan and Tawi-Tawi.
Locally named kapinan, lapas, sobra-sobra, piel
■ H. varia- shell length 6-8 cm
■ H. ovina- shell length 6-8 cm
Broodstock
Age at maturity
Captive: within 6-8 months of culture at shell size of 35-40 mm
Gonad maturation enhanced by proper nutrition, high water temperature and longer photoperiod
Place of culture o Broodstock are held in fiberglass or concrete spawning tanks of 1-ton capacity with flowthrough sandfiltered seawater.
Contained in mesh cahes suspended in flow-through tanks. Gutters are added as additional substrate
Food
Herbivores: veliger larvae and juveniles feed on epiphytic microalgae such as diatoms. Gradually shift to macro-algae or seaweed until the adult
stage
Sex determination o Dioecious. Females have dark green to greyish green to almost black gonad. Males have milky white gonad. In gravid
animals, the gonad bulk can be seen protruding between the shell and foot muscle.
Spawning o Wild-caught or hatchery-bred adults of 50-60 mm shell length are stocked at a ratio of one male to 3-4 females at 20-30
broodstocks per cage and fed ad libitum with Gracilaria. This is practiced on most abalone farms due to lower spawning response of females
making eggs the limiting factor.
Gametes of either sex are released into the water column where fertilization takes place. Males release their milt earlier that triggers
spontaneous spawning in mature females. A female breeder of 50-80 mm shell length can spawn from 100,000 to 1.0 million eggs at one
spawning time.
Spawning may occur between one and three o’clock in the morning. During spawning, water in the spawning tank turns cloudy due to milt
released by males.
Methods of induced spawning:
▪ Gamete stripping – involves the sacrifice of the adults
▪ Dessication – unreliable, needs to be used with UV method to increase reliability
▪ Thermal shock – unreliable, needs to be used with UV method to increase reliability ▪ Chemical induction using hydrogen peroxide
Never use with the UV method
When Hydrogen Peroxide or H2O2 is added to water (H2O) the hydroperoxy free radical, HOO - or the peroxy diradical, -OO-, are produced. The
presence of these free radicals in the water is believed to be responsible for the induction of spawning.
Reagent grade (30%) is recommended as weaker solutions are unstable and give unreliable results. Abalone to be spawned are sexed and
placed in spawning vessels.
The pH of the water is first increased to 9.1 using tris - (hydroxymethylamino) methane.
Tris is generally left with the abalone in the spawning vessels for 15 minutes. The reagent grade hydrogen peroxide is diluted down to a 6%
working solution and added 3 mL/ L in the spawning container.
Usually the abalone are left in this solution mix for 2.5 hours. It is also advisable to carry out this procedure up to 30 minutes later on the males
than on the females as generally the former spawn earlier and more readily than the latter
After 2.5 hours the solution is decanted from the containers and the abalone are thoroughly washed in isothermal water to remove any traces of
the chemicals. This is essential as the chemicals will destroy the released gametes ▪ Ultraviolet light irradiated sea water
Low-pressure mercury type UV lamps are most commonly used and these generate a spectral wavelength of 254 nanometers that is very close
to the recognised peak germicidal effectiveness of 265nm
An advantage of using UV for induction of spawning is that it is completely harmless to the gametes. As a result water changes during the
spawning process are not necessary.
It is considered that the ideal UV strength for spawning is 800 milliwatt hours per litre for Haliotis discus hannai and this has resulted in male
gamete release after ca. 3 hours 15 minutes and female gamete release after 3 hours 45 minutes.

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The time interval between two successive spawning can vary from 13 to 37 days. Younger female breeders may spawn more frequently and
have higher fecundity than the older females.
The shells should be free of heavy fouling and in particular they should be free of Polydora infestation. Polydora is a mudworm which bores into
the shell of the abalone. It causes pitting and blistering on the inside of the shell surface. Heavy infestation stresses the abalone, affecting their
reproductive output and often killing them. Hatchery
Stocking o Buckets with developing embryos are left in the hatchery overnight and in complete darkness. Twenty four hours after fertilization,
this hatch should be complete.
Spontaneously spawned eggs are collected early in the morning between 6 and 7 o’clock. At this time the eggs are either at late trochophore or
early veliger stage. After fertilization, the trochophore larva hatches out from the egg case. This stage is characterized by a band of cilia
referred to as a protrochal gridle.
The top 70-80% of the hatching trocophore larvae should be siphoned into buckets containing fresh filtered UV treated seawater. The lower
portion is then discarded. Stocking density (5-10/ mL) is not an issue since the larvae are lecithotrophic which means they have their own yolk
sac which supplies them with the nourishment needed to reach settlement and through metamorphosis.
Aeration can be for left off for the first 24 hours. If it is turned on it should be very gentle. This is due to the fact that the shell on the veliger is still
developing and the agitation caused by aeration will lead to shell abnormalities.
The larva develops into the veliger which is characterized by a heavily ciliated swimming band called the velum. Veligers are free swimming,
positively phototactic and non-feeding planktonic larvae.
After 4-5 days, the benthic veliger will be established and larvae can be seen making exploratory creeping movements associated with
settlement. Settlement is the process of the veligers seeking out a suitable substrate and thereafter changing from the swimming larva into a
benthic juvenile and undergoing the associated process of metamorphosis.
A veliger can settle on a substrate for a period and swim off again if the substrate is unsuitable. The process only becomes irreversible when
the larva casts off the 24 cilia cells of the velum and metamorphosis begins. During metamorphosis there is further development on the cephalic
tentacles, shell growth, radula formation, mouth and digestive tract development. Thus, the free swimming veliger larva develops into a grazing
benthic juvenile. There is no feeding during this period and the entire process relies on energy from the yolk sac.
Stimulants that can induce settlement and subsequent metamorphosis:
▪ Diatoms - Benthic diatoms are the principal source of food for newly settled juvenile abalone. It is believed while newly settled juveniles
may in fact not be able to digest some diatom species they are capable of digesting extracellular mucus secreted by diatoms
▪ Mucus - secreted by the foot of juvenile and adult abalone. It remains attached to the substrata which they crawl across and is thought to
be relatively insoluble. Larvae have been observed to settle in high densities on mucous trails in nursery tanks.
▪ GABA - crustose red algae including Lithophyllum spp. and Lithothamnion spp. are associated with settlement of juvenile abalone. While
they can induce settlement they are of little dietary value to the juveniles due to their calcerous nature. Macromolecular substance present in
these algae stimulated settlement and metamorphosis. They believed that this substance was closely related to GABA (neurotransmitter) or γ -
aminobutyric acid.
They are stocked at 250-300 larvae per liter in settlement tanks.
Food o Benthic diatoms are crucial in the culture of abalone. They are the food source for newly metamorphosed larvae and without them the
juveniles will starve. Yolk reserves carry the larvae through settlement and metamorphosis but thereafter small digestible diatoms are required.
Settlement tanks are prepared a week before stocking to allow the culture of epiphytic diatoms on the plate substrates. Corrugated white PVC
roofing sheets cut into 30 x 45 cm are vertically suspended inside the rearing tanks to serve as settlement substrates. A 1-ton oval rearing tank
can hold 50-60 pieces of vertically suspended plates. Tanks are filled with 10-micron cartridge filtered-seawater to a depth of 40- 50 cm.
Seawater shall flow continuously until the plate surfaces turn pale greenish-brown after a week of culture indicating growth of diatoms. Diatom
culture is enhanced by continuous illumination. Tanks are held under ambient light during the day providing a light intensity of 2500-3000 lx.
The micro-algal communities may consist of the most common genera such as Navicula, Cocconeis, Amphora, Achnanthes, Cylindrotheca,
Nitzschia, among others.
Nursery (Primary)
Place of culture o A static water condition is maintained in the rearing tanks within the first 8-10 days from stocking to allow settlement of
postlarvae. A mild aeration is provided on the 5th day of stocking.
At daytime, tanks are exposed to ambient light. At night, however, artificial lights using 40-watt fluorescent lamps installed at about 50 cm above
the tanks provide illumination. On the 10th day filtered seawater is admitted continuously to refresh rearing water.
Food
Fresh seaweed Gracilariopsis bailinae is placed sparingly in between plates to initiate feeding, thus weaning the juveniles from diatoms.
Days of culture o The newly-settled postlarvae are reared over 60 days or until they reach the early juvenile size ranging from 5 to 10 mm in
shell length at which size the juveniles are ready to feed on macro-algae.
Stocking Density o Abalone larvae exhibit creeping behavior indicating the need for substrates for attachment. Creeping larvae are stocked at
150,000 to 300,000 per one-ton tank.
Harvest o Juveniles are then harvested and stocked in the secondary nursery tanks or perforated plastic baskets suspended in flow-through
tanks and fed fresh seaweed G. bailinae to satiation. Nursery (Secondary)
Food o Artificial feeding with commercially prepared or formulated diets has been successfully tested. Formulated feeds containing 27% crude
protein, 5% lipid and 40% carbohydrates are found to be adequate as basal feed for abalone juveniles of 15-mm shell length.
Days of culture o Juveniles are reared for 70-80 days or until they reach a shell length of 30 mm, the stocking size for growout.
Stocking Density o Early juveniles are stocked from 600-1000 per m 2 of inside surface area of perforated plastic mesh baskets suspended in
flow-through tanks.
Grow-out
Area for culture o Culture of abalone from 30-mm size juveniles to marketable size of 55-60mm shell length is carried out either in flow-through
tanks or in sea cages within 8- 10 months.
Land based culture (tank, raceways, concrete ponds) involves a continuous inflow of sand-filtered seawater with vigorous aeration. For ease of
feeding and maintenance, abalones are held in perforated plastic buckets or in PVC framed mesh cages suspended in tanks.
For sea cage culture, cages are suspended from a floating bamboo platform that is securely anchored by bamboo stakes or concrete blocks.
Stocking density o Stocking density ranges from 60-100 per m2 surface area of shelter provided inside each cage.
Culture Systems o Modular system – regular reduction in densities; more space for growing abalones (growth is density dependent)
Continuous culture – fixed density of 100 abalones per square meter until harvest
Food
Abalones are fed fresh seaweeds ad libitum given at weekly intervals.
Optimum Parameters
Salinity: 32-35 ppt
Temperature
pH: 8.0
Dissolved Oxygen: 5 mg/L
They are poor osmoregulators and culture tanks should be shielded from excessive rainfall. Very sensitive to hydrogen sulphide.
Carbon Dioxide: < 9 mg/L
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Commodity: Pearl Basic Info
Characteristics
Almost all species of molluscs are capable of producing pearl-like objects, technically termed “calcareous concretions”. However, those of value
and interest as gemstones are limited to those produced by species capable of secreting nacre or mother of pearl (MOP) shell. Two different
groups of MOP shell are widely used for pearl cultivation: (1) marine pearl oysters of the family Pteriidae; and (2) freshwater pearl mussels of
the families Unionidae and Margaritiferidae
Taxonomy
Phylum: Mollusca
○ Class: Bivalvia
○ Order: Ostreida
○ Family: Pteriidae
History
China was the first country to culture pearls and people in the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD) already knew how to grow blister pearls on the
inner shell surfaces of freshwater mussels. In the late thirteenth century (Ming Dynasty) this primitive technique continued to be used to
produce pearl Buddhas that were sold in temple markets. Modern round pearl cultivation owes its founding and status to development of the
Mise-Nishikawa-method in Japan in the early 1900s. Commercial production of cultured marine pearls using this method was pioneered by
Kokichi Mikimoto. Considered a national hero in Japan, and the ‘father’ of modern cultured pearl production, Mikimoto opened a new era for
pearl cultivation.
○ Hikari SSP Corporation founded in 1992 is one of such Filipino pearl culture farms which benefitted from the technological knowledge passed
on from its Japanese mentors. The company itself still employs a great number of well-trained Japanese pearl technicians who work and train
with their Filipino counterparts. Basically, the company is the local arm of the Japanese company Calamian Pearl Company, which produces
and exports high quality Golden South Sea Pearls.
Top producers
The major cultured pearl producing countries now include China, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Philippines,
India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Mexico.
○ Pearl farms in the country are found in Palawan, Surigao, Samar, Sulu, TawiTawi, Sorsogon, and Cebu. It can be a major livelihood
generation program in Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) and the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) which have the natural
resources to grow this industry.
Species and variants
Marine Pearl Oysters
■ Akoya pearl oyster – Pinctada fucata/ martensii
● Most commonly used for commercial pearl production
■ Black-Lip pearl oyster –Pinctada margaritifera
● Pearls produced by Black-Lip pearl oysters are known as “black pearls” or “Tahitian black pearls”

■ Pinctada maxima –silver or gold lip pearl oyster

Pinctada maxima is the largest species of the genus Pinctada and called the “Silver or Gold lip pearl oyster” due
to the white color of the valve edge and silver/gold color from the pearl that they have produced. It is used for
production in Indonesia, Australia, Philippines, Malaysia and Myanmar.
Individuals of Pinctada maxima live in rocky, gravel or sandy bottoms and reef environments.

■ Pteria penguin – winged pearl oysters or penguin wing’s oyster

Japanese name is “mabe gai” and is traditionally used for half pearl or mabe production.
Freshwater Pearl Mussels
■ Triangle sail mussel (Hygriopsis cumingii)
Pearl formation
Age at maturity o After young pearl oysters have reached about 2 years of age, they are ready for grafting, which starts the development of a
cultured pearl.
Days of culture o After an inspection 40 days after grafting to evaluate the results, the pearl oysters are kept on the farm for a further 12-24
months. The pearls are then harvested, and the pearl oysters that produce good quality pearls are grafted a second time
Pearl formation (Cultured) o A pearl is formed when the mantle tissue is injured by a parasite, an attack of a fish or another event that damages
the external fragile rim of the shell of a mollusk shell bivalve or gastropod.
In response, the mantle tissue of the mollusk secretes nacre into the pearl sac, a cyst that forms during the healing process. Chemically
speaking, this is calcium carbonate and a fibrous protein called conchiolin.
As the nacre builds up in layers of minute aragonite tablets, it fills the growing pearl sac and eventually forms a pearl. It is a myth that a grain of
sand or grit can cause a pearl to form, as nacre does not adhere to inorganic substances
Cultured pearl production typically includes five stages: oyster selection, nucleus implanting, nurturing, harvesting and pearl processing, in
which nucleus implantation is the key step
▪ Oyster selection
Two sources of mollusk stock for pearl production: o Collection from the wild: oysters are collected as adults or as juveniles and grown to a size
suitable for pearl production
o Produce seed/spat (juveniles) through artificial propagation in a dedicated facility or from spat collection programs. Relies on the deployment
of substrates
to the water column, at an appropriate time, to provide substrates for larval recruitment. Juveniles are then grown to a size suitable for pearl
production. At least a year and a half is needed for pearl oyster larvae to grow to a size appropriate for pearl production.
▪ Nucleus implanting
This is the key step in cultured pearl production. In order to grow marine pearls, a tiny piece of mantle tissue (called a graft, or ‘saibo’ in
Japanese), approximately 3 × 3 mm in size, is removed from a suitable donor oyster and implanted with a spherical polished shell-bead or
nucleus into the gonad of a recipient or host oyster. For freshwater pearls to grow, a piece of mantle graft alone serves the same purpose, so a
nucleus is not a pre-requisite for pearl production. There are still some technical difficulties associated with growing beaded pearls within the
visceral mass of freshwater mussels because of their physiological structure. A period of ‘conditioning’ or pre-operative treatment is often
needed to prepare oysters/mussels for implantation, and appropriate postoperative husbandry reduces stress and helps maximise nucleus/graft
tissue retention after implantation.
▪ Nurturing
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After the nucleus is inserted, implanted oysters/mussels need to be carefully nurtured in a resting zone for at least 2 weeks, a critical period for
mortality and nucleus rejection, then returned to the ocean in an area of calm water at a depth of 2–3 m. Appropriate water temperature is
critical for survival of implanted oysters and optimal nacre secretion rate in P. maxima occurs at 25–30 °C, when nacre is first secreted onto the
nucleus from around 45 days after operation. Nucleated oysters are generally cultured for a further 1–2 years before resulting marine pearls are
harvested. A culture period of 1–5 years is usually required for freshwater pearl production depending on culture method and species.
▪ Harvesting
In winter or when water temperature is relatively low, the nacre secretion rate slows, resulting in a more detailed, smooth, and lustrous pearl
surface. Thus colder conditions are the best time to harvest pearls. Akoya and South Sea pearls are grown within the gonad tissue of host
oysters. They are grown one pearl at a time which limits the number of pearls at harvest.
▪ Pearl processing
Due to variations in colour and the degree of surface defects, more than 90% of cultured pearls cannot be used directly to produce jewelry or
other products. However, raw pearls may have to be processed to improve their quality to meet the standards of gemquality merchandise, and
pearl enhancement is routinely used for Akoya pearls and freshwater pearls. Pearl processing techniques may include screening, degreasing,
decontamination, bleaching, whitening, colouring etc. Pearl appearance and value can be greatly improved by these technical procedures,
which enhance colour and surface texture. While fine-quality cultured pearls (marine and freshwater) are selected to make jewelry, small non-
beaded cultured pearls, which have little value, may be processed into drugs and cosmetics ● Pearl formation (Natural) o presence of a
nucleus
It can be of organic or inorganic origin, such as parasites adults or larvae, molluscan eggs, decaying parts of plants, sand grains, epithelium or
blood cells of the same animal, etc. These foreign bodies may become embedded between the shell and mantle.
In response to this stimulus, the foreign body is invaginated by the outer epithelium of the mantle and a pearl-sac is formed around it. Pearls are
not produced without the formation of the pearl-sac. The pearlsac is derived from the internal or external layer of the epithelium of the mantle or
of the gill plates.
Natural pearls form within oysters and mussels when nacre-secreting epithelial cells are transferred into the viscera by ‘accidental’ means, and
their continued secretion of nacre forms a pearl over time.
Natural pearls can be distinguished from cultured pearls by X-ray that will reveal no nucleus or curved cavity structures in the centre of the
pearl, and a uniform, onion-like structure
Grow-out
● Area for culture o Raft culture
▪ Suitable farming methods in sheltered bays.
▪ Rafts are moored with anchors at opposite sides with tested quality chains and their direction is decided according to the prevalent wind
direction at the specific site
o On-bottom culture
▪ Sea bottoms with a granite or coral stones composition can be used for on-bottom culture.
▪ However, it has been noted that the growth of the mother oyster is slower in on-bottom culture compared to the growth of oysters cultured
in raft.
Optimum Parameters
Salinity: tolerate 24-50 ppt for short duration of 2-3 days. Salinities of 14 and 55 ppt may cause 100% mortality
Temperature: 20-25 C (optimal) < 13 C (hibernation, deposition of calsium stops) < 6 C (death) > 28 C (oysters show exhaustion). The
thickness of the pearl layers are affected by the minute changes in water temperature during the day and also vary considerably according to
the season of the year
Dissolved Oxygen
Bottom: Gravelly bottoms are suitable for pearl oyster farming, while sandy or muddy bottoms should be avoided. Pearl oysters generally prefer
clear waters as high turbidity levels will affect their filtration efficiency.
Depth: Around 15 m. At greater depths, even if the rate of nacre deposition is slower, pearls of high quality with a pinkish coloration are
obtained.

Commodity: Silver or snub nose Pompano Basic Info

Characteristics
Readily adapt in the culture environment;
○ Acceptance of formulated feeds; and
○ Rapid and uniform growth rates compared to other farmed fish
○ Exhibit a strong schooling behavior and high tolerance to a wide range of salinity. The species is pelagic, very active and is able to
acclimatize to lower salinities showing growth even at 10 ppt salinity.
Taxonomy
Phylum Chordata
○ Class: Actinopterygii
○ Order: Perciformes
○ Family Carangidae
○ Trachinotus blochii
○ Common names: Asian Pompano, Silver Pompano, Snub-nosed Pompano, Pompano, Buck-nosed
Trevally, Dart Golden O, Golden Permit, Ladyfish, Long Dorsal Fin Pompano, Moonfish, Ovate Pompano,
Palometa, Permit, Pompio, Round Pompano, Snub-nosed Dart, Snub-nose Swallowtail, Spinous Dory, Tropical Permit, Tropical Pompano ●
Top producers
○ Mariculture of snubnose pompano is conducted in open sea cages, brackishwater cages and ponds in
China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Methods for open sea cage farming
has been well established in Vietnam and commercial farming is being undertaken by small farmers and private companies.
Species and variants
Florida pompano (Trachinotus carolinus)
Life History
Adults
Feed primarily on sand mollusks and other hard-shelled invertebrates.
○ Selective grazer feeding primarily along the bottom. Large and well-developed pharyngeal plates indicate specialization to feed on hardshell
organisms such as clams or crabs.
○ The stomach is well-defined and sac shaped, indicating omnivorous food habits.
Juvenile
Inhabit sandy shorelines and shallow sandy or muddy bays near river mouths, while adults move out in schools to clear seaward reefs. Found
near coral and rock reefs. Juveniles are in small schools, while adults are usually solitary.

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Broodstock
Age at maturity o 3 to 4 years to mature as broodstock. Wild collected snubnose pompano broodstock above one kilogram can be conditioned
through photo-thermal regulation to accelerate the maturity of the gonads. Once the intra-ovarian eggs attain 450–500 µm (micron) size, fish
can be induced to spawn by using hormones including gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) or human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). ●
Place of culture
Sex Determination o Gonadal maturation can be determined through cannulation biopsy of intra-ovarian eggs.
Spawning o Spawning can be done either by natural or inducing with hormonal treatment. Induced breeding is commonly practiced in most
commercial hatcheries. The hormonal treatment is intended to trigger the last phases in egg maturation, i.e. a strong egg hydration followed by
their release. However, if eggs have not reached the late-vitellogenic (or post-vitellogenic) stage, the treatment does not work; hence
ovarian biopsy is essential for assessing the ovarian development. The human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) is used at a dosage of 350 IU per
kg body weight is used for male and female. This dosage can be administered as a single dose on the dorsal muscles. The HCG can be
successfully replaced by an analogue of the luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone [LH-RHa des-Gly10 (D-Ala6) LH-RH ethylamide, acetate
salt]. It is a small molecule with 10 peptides and acts on the pituitary gland to induce the release of gonadotropins which, in turn, act on the
gonads. Almost 100 percent of injected fish spawn eggs whose quality matches that of natural spawning.
Spawning will occur generally within 36–48 hours after hormone injection. The spawning takes place normally between late night and early
morning hours. To minimise the presence of poor quality eggs, which usually float deeper in the water, it is recommended to collect only the
eggs found at the water surface.
Once gonads are matured, eggs can be produced either by natural spawning (voluntary) or by manual stripping. Manual stripping is the
preferred method as it provides a predictable spawning event and timing. Eggs and milt are stripped in batches into bowls. Once fertilized, eggs
are buoyant and transparent.
Hatchery
Hatching o Incubation of eggs can be carried out in incubation tanks of 3–5 tonne capacity. Stocking density can be maintained at a level of 200
to 500 eggs per litre. After hatching, the fish larvae have to be moved to the larval rearing tanks filled with filtered seawater. The hatching of
eggs takes place from 18 to 24 hours after fertilization.
Place of culture: fiberglass reinforced plastic
Stocking density o The larvae hatched in the incubation tanks or larval rearing tanks need to be distributed in larviculture tanks to have stocking
density of 20–30 larvae per litre.
Nursery
Place of culture: Floating cages or hapa nets (4 x 4 x 3 m)
Stocking density o Rearing is initiated at 25-30 dph. 30-50 pcs/m 3 0.5 to 1.0 inch fingerlings
Days of culture o Around a month until fingerlings reach juvenile size (12.0 to 15 g) Grow-out
Area for culture o Floating net cages (4 x 4 x 3 m) in calm waters particularly in protected areas such as coves, sheltered lagoons, and bays.
Cage frame should be High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipes which is resistant to big waves and strong currents. These pipes are buoyant
and can serve as floaters of the cage. Net cages are made of knotless black nets (Super G no. 14)
o After 3 months, the nets are replaced with bigger sized mesh nets (40 cm) to ensure good water exchange
Stocking density o Supply of fingerlings (0.5 to 1.5 inches) comes mainly from hatcheries. 30 pcs/ m 3 ● Day of culture: four to seven months
Optimum Parameters
Salinity: 30-35 ppt
Temperature: 27-30 C
Dissolved Oxygen: 6.0-7.6 mg/L
Depth (for mariculture): 5-7.5 m

Commodity: Sea Cucumber Basic Info

Characteristics
Holothurians have been harvested commercially for at least a thousand years, occasionally for the raw body wall or viscera, but mostly in order
to be processed into a dry product called bêche-de-mer, trepang, or hai-san, which is considered a delicacy and a medicinal food by Chinese
and other Asian peoples.
Taxonomy
Among the commercial coastal holothurians, the Aspidochirotida are predominant in the tropics, while the Dendrochirotida are more common in
temperate regions
○ Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Holothuroidea

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Order: Aspidochirotida
Family: Holothuriidae
History
The Philippines was once a top producer of dried sea cucumbers (also known as beche-de-mer or trepang) in the 1980s. With its decreasing
annual production of less than 900 tons, the country ranks as the world’s eighth sea cucumber producer (FAO, 2015).
Species and variants
Teatfish (Holothuria fuscogilva)
○ Golden sandfish (Holothuria lessoni)
○ Sandfish (Holothuria scabra)
○ Ball sea cucumber (Phyllophorus proteus)
○ Chalkfish (Bohadschia marmorata)
Life History
● Adults
○ The adult stages are benthic (living on the sea bottom); some species live on hard substrates, rocks, coral reefs, or as epizoites on plants or
invertebrates. Most of the species inhabit soft bottoms, on the sediment surface or buried in the sediment ● Eggs and larvae
○ Sea cucumbers within the order Aspidochirotida have planktotrophic larvae (auricularia stage), i.e. that feed on microalgae in the water
column during the dispersive larval phase. Within the order
Dendrochirotida, the larvae of sea cucumbers are lecithotrophic, i.e. the dispersive larvae feed on a lipid yolk rather than on microalgae in the
water column. They then shrink to 400 to 500 um and metamorphose to the doliolaria stage. Doliolaria larvae quickly (~1 day) metamorphose
into pentactula larvae and are ready to settle on the substratum.

Broodstock
From the wild o Natural seed is collected in the spawning season using PE bags packed with oyster shells and/or scallop shells and artificial
screens made of PE as settlement materials. These are suspended from ropes in the sea.
Spawning o Broodstock for hatchery use are obtained from natural stocks. Fully matured broodstock in the spawning season can be used for
gamete collection immediately. To induce maturation, broodstock are reared for several months at a density of 25-10/m3 and fed with powdered
brown algae. Maturation is judged by the egg diameter (>150 um) and sperm formation in the gonads.
o Gametes are obtained by thermal stimulation in Japan. The broodstock are set individually in 15 litre containers and/or 20-30 broodstock are
placed in 100 litre tanks filled with sea water and the temperature is raised to 5 °C higher than the normal rearing temperature. The released
eggs are fertilized within two hours.
Hatchery and nursery
● Stocking density o The fertilized eggs are washed to remove excess sperm and left to hatch out for about 18 hours without aeration. The
hatched blastulae swim to the surface and are transferred to larval rearing tanks at a density of 1-2/ml and fed microalgae.
 Place of culture o Nursery is done in mesh enclosures in earthen ponds. Early technology comprised two steps: small juveniles (3–5 mm
long) are firstly grown in fine-mesh ‘hapas’ (400–700 μm) then, at 1 g, they are moved to larger-mesh (e.g. 1 mm) ‘bag nets’
Food
For larval food, Dunaliella sp. and some diatoms are used.
Days of culture o Full developed metamorphosing larvae are collected on corrugated PVC plates and/or frame fitted screens made of PE or PP.
Juveniles attach to these collectors and are fed natural diatoms. In China, juveniles are regularly transferred to new settling plates, to overcome
the mortality that occurs through high density levels, and are sorted by size because they grow at different rates.
Juveniles that have attained 2-3 cm in body length are transferred to ponds or for pen culture or are used for sea ranching in China. In Japan,
the juveniles produced are then transferred to an intermediate culture stage or are released directly onto the fishery grounds. The intermediate
culture continues in the hatchery or in 1-2 mm mesh lantern nets suspended in the sea until they reach ~30 mm. Grow-out
Stocking density o In ponds located near the sea shore, the sea cucumbers are stocked at 30-100/m 2.
In pen rearing, cages are hung under wooden rafts or placed directly on the sea floor and the sea cucumbers are fed with brown seaweeds
(Sargassum sp.) and other macroalgae.
Day of culture o Juveniles of about 6 cm (10 g) that are released in March to May grow to ~150 g by October to November of the same year.

Commodity: Sea Horse Basic Info

Characteristics
Group mane: Herd
○ Have no teeth and no stomach. Food passes through their digestive systems so quickly that they must eat constantly to stay alive
○ The body of sea horses is the main quality indicator, and therefore rearing bigger species is more profitable than growing small ones.
Taxonomy
Phylum: Chordata
○ Class: Actinopterygii
○ Order: Sygnathiformes ○ Family: Syngnathidae
Genus: Hippocampus
○ Species: H. kuda
H. japonicus
H. trimacutus
H. coronatus
H. histrix
H. kelleggi
History
Seahorses are under threat worldwide because of the global demand for them and products arising from them. It is claimed that nearly 80
nations trade 24 millions seahorses annually. Currently the largest threat to seahorses is their use in traditional Chinese medicines. Dead
seahorses are milled and used as cures or remedies for human skin ailments, high cholesterol levels, excess throat phlegm, goitres, heart
disease, lymph node disorders, incontinence and impotence. As seahorses retain their shape after being dried many are also sold as souvenirs.
The largest markets for these products are North America, Europe, Japan and Taiwan Province of China. Many are also taken for home
aquaria but, being difficult to rear, most are lost. The tiger tail seahorse Hippocampus comes is listed in Appendix II of CITES, effective May
2004. This species is particularly targeted by fishers for medicinal and aquarium purposes; it is also incidentally caught by trawlers. In the
Philippines the population of this species has been reported to have decreased by up to 70 percent over the decade 1985-1995.
○ Culturing seahorses is one of the measures being taken to sustainably recruit this species and also to meet the demand for Traditional
Chinese Medicines (TCM) and the aquarium trade. In Viet Nam, for conservation reasons, F1 broodstock are kept in cages where they produce
a lot of fry daily for release into the sea.
Top producers

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Although many countries, including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, New Zealand and the United States of America are reported to culture
seahorses, primarily for the aquarium trade, the tiger tail seahorse is currently cultured only in Viet Nam.
Species and variants
Vulnerable species
■ Great seahorse (Hippocampus kelloggi)
■ Hedgehog seahorse (Hippocampus spinosissimus)
■ Three-spot seahorse (Hippocamus trimaculatus)
■ Spotted seahorse (Hippocampus kuda) ■ Lined seahorse (Hippocampus erectus)
■ Japanese seahorse (Hippocampus mohnikei)
■ Giant seahorse (Hippocampus ingens)
■ Barbour’s seahorse (Hippocampus barbouri)
■ Patagonian seahorse (Hippocampus patagonicus)
■ Thorny seahorse (Hippocampus histrix)
■ Tiger tail seahorse (Hippocampus comes)
■ West African seahorse (Hippocampus algiricus)
○ Endangered species
■ White’s seahorse (Hippocampus whitei)
■ Knysna seahorse (Hippocampus capensis)
Life History
Infants: birth to 6 weeks
Food: brine shrimp
○ Growth rate: very rapid growth, the baby seahorse quadruples in size.
○ Mortality: eaten by predators or being swept into ocean currents (since they are pelagic)
Juveniles: 6 weeks to 4 months
Growth rate: rapid growth, first indications of pouch development, the young seahorse grows from 11 to 13 inches.
○ Mortality: outer bone (has a nasty taste, dropping the risk of it being eaten by predators) develops, the risk of death drops sharply
○ Prefer to live amongst Sargassum and move to corals and sponges when they become older.
Sub adults: 4 to 6 months
Growth rate: growth is slow, the male seahorse’s pouch development is complete, allowing sub adult seahorses to begin mating.
○ Mortality: from exhaustion and stress during heavy storms
Adults: from 6 months onward
Growth rate: growth stops at this stage, the adults have reached their maximum size and are now very mature.
Broodstock
Age at maturity o The age of sexual maturation varies among species, as well as being influenced by seawater temperature, nutrition and other
environmental conditions. When sea-horses are cultured under optimal conditions, they attain sexual maturity in 100 days.
As water temperature increases to 26–28 °C, they enter the peak period of reproduction
Place of culture o Broodstock are obtained by divers from the wild or from F1 generation animals maintained in captivity. The broodstock
animals are kept in cages (2 x 2 x 4 m), located in calm sea in a bay or in indoor tanks (2 x 2 x 1.5 m)
Sex Determination o Dioecious animals
Spawning o Spawns throughout the year but peak spawning lasts from August to November in Vietnam and September to December in the
Philippines.
Females produce the eggs, which are deposited in the male’s pouch, who becomes pregnant and gives birth to the offspring. The reproduction
season is closely related to water temperature (suitable temperature for reproduction is 20–28 °C).
A seahorse’s pregnancy lasts for two to four weeks.
When the baby seahorse is ready to be born, male undergoes muscular contractions to expel them from his pouch. He usually gives birth at
night and is ready for the next batch of eggs by morning when his mate returns.
Seahorses do not care for their young once they are born.
The fecundity of sea-horse cultured under controlled conditions is higher than that of wild specimens.
Over 70% of the broodstock have reproductive capabilities, and a mature specimen can reproduce 10– 12 times in one year.
During each spawn one female can lay several hundred eggs. o As the animals grow older the fecundity gradually decreases.
Hatchery
Place of culture o Small hatchery tanks are required for intensive stocking of broodstock and larvae. The tank bottom area should be about 2 m 2
with a depth of 0.6–1.0 meter. The bottom and walls of the tank must be painted black. The two ends of the tank should be fitted with an inlet
and an outlet, respectively.
Stocking density o One day after spawning, the fry are transferred, using a 1 mm mesh net, to 0.5 m 3 plastic indoor tanks supplied with a
biofilter, combined with UV and ozone treatment. The fry are stocked at 1-2/litre.
Nursery
● Place of culture o Nursery tanks are especially used to culture 7–15 day-old juveniles. They should have an area of 2–6 m 2 with a depth of
0.8–1.0 meter. Tanks built outdoors must be fitted with some sort of cover in order to prevent strong sunshine from directly radiating the culture
water.
Grow-out
Area for culture o The grow-out tanks are usually quite large with an area ranging between 5–20 m 2 and a depth of 0.8–1.0 meter.
After 40 days of fry rearing the seahorses are transferred by net for rearing to commercial size in larger indoor tanks (2-4 m 3) or outdoor cages
placed in calm bay waters with high transparency. Initially the stocking rate is 500/m 3 but is decreased as the fry grow to 200/m 3 by the end of
the rearing period.
Day of culture o Harvesting is usually carried out after one year. After harvesting, sea horses are soaked in freshwater for several hours,
washed and then dried under the sun.
Tiger tail seahorses grow rapidly, reaching commercial size for aquaria (6-8 cm) in three months. It takes 10-12 months to rear them to their
maximum size (12-16 cm).
Food o The favourite food items of sea-horses are small crustaceans and their larvae, such as Paracalanus sp., Sckmakeria sp., Acartia sp.,
Oithona sp., Neomysis sp., Palaemone sp., Periclimenes sp., etc. Thus, farming of sea-horse should include the artificial culture of these or
similar food organisms. In case of shortage of live diet, other feed stuff such as dried shrimp or fresh fish meat can be used as a supplementary
diet. Experiments have shown that dried or salted shrimp meat give better results than fish meat.
Optimum Parameters
Salinity: Euryhaline. They can live in seawater with salinities ranging between 9–37 ppt, however adaptation to salinity is closely related to the
stage of maturity. The lowest salinity the juveniles can survive in is 15 ppt, while adult specimens can tolerate a salinity of 6 ppt or even lower.
Temperature: They are euryhermal. Optimum temperature for most species is around 28 °C. When the seawater temperature increases to 20
°C the sexual activity of the broodstocks tends to increase considerably.
pH: 6.5 to 8.0
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Dissolved Oxygen: Although sea-horses are slow moving organisms, their oxygen requirement is relatively high, particularly during the hatching
period. The DO in a culture tank should always be above 3 mg/L.
Light intensity: A certain light intensity is required for normal growth and development of sea-horses. The optimal light intensity ranges from
1,000–10,000 Lux. In a culture environment where the light intensity is either too strong or too dim, diseases and other abnormalities often
occur. For example, sea-horses cultured in a dark pond become blind after several days.

Commodity: Sea Urchin Basic Info

Characteristics
Are an overfished resource and that total daily harvest is on the down trend.
○ Exported mainly to countries like Japan, (known as uni), Taiwan, Hongkong and Korea, the roe is obtained mainly.
○ The gonads are not only the source of eggs or sperm, which are referred to as roe, but also serve as the main nutrient storage organ.
Gonads tend to be bright orange in colour in females and light yellow in males.
Taxonomy
Phylum Echinodermata
○ Class Echinoidea
○ Order Camarodonta
○ Family Toxopneustidae
○ Tripneustes gratilla
○ Substitute species for export (less preferred): Diadema setosum and Echinothrix diadema
History
The industry started as an export-oriented activity
Top producers
Sea urchin juveniles have been produced on a commercial or semi-commercial scale by hatcheries in Japan, South Korea, Ireland, Norway,
Scotland and Canada.
Species and variants
Kina (Evechinus chloroticus) – endemic to New Zealand where its distribution is strongly associated with kelp beds
○ Purple sea urchin (Heliocidaris erythrogamma)
○ Erizo or Chilean red sea urchin (Loxechinus albus) Life History
Adults
They have separate sexes and are broadcast spawners. During the breeding season, the matured individuals shed their gametes in the
seawater column where fertilization occurs.
Eggs and larvae
The fertilized eggs develop to form pluteus larvae, which after a period of planktonic development, feeding on a microalgae, settle to a suitable
substratum and undergo metamorphosis to form tiny juvenile sea urchins. Larval life cycle is almost around 1 month at 26-28C, including the
feeding or fourarmed stage, the six to eight-armed stages and settling competent stage.
○ Sea urchin larvae and all developmental stages are pelagic (planktonic) up to the settlement stage or metamorphosis (pluteus).
○ Settlement and metamorphosis are the most critical stages in the development and culture of sea urchin larvae. High survival is dependent
on the larvae being competent to metamorphose and then responding to settlement cues. Induction of metamorphosis in small-scale culture
has recently been performed on coralline red algal extracts + Chaetoceros diatom (50:50) in petri dishes (9.0 x 3.0 cm) containing FSW.
Majority of the competent larvae are metamorphosed to young juvenile within 1 day postsettlement. They were then cultured on coralline algal
stones in aerated aquaria for three months by which time they attained appropriate juvenile sizes
Juveniles
The juveniles grow on microalgae and the estimated time for these young urchins to reach marketable size is commonly in the range of 1-3
years, but varying according to species.

Broodstock
Age at maturity o Sexual maturity at a size of 6 cm or roughly after 15 months

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Sex Determination o Sexes are separate in sea urchin but it is not possible to distinguish between males and females from their external
appearance unless they are running ripe. If this is the case, then sex may be determined by colour as the females’ spawn is usually bright
orange and the males’ semen light yellow
Spawning o Peak spawning in December to January although the release of gametes occur year-round.
Brood stocks of sea urchin are usually collected from the wild when they attain appropriate sexual maturity. Gametes from both female and
male urchins are obtained by injecting 0.5 M KCl into the coelomic cavity. Eggs are collected by inverting female urchins over a glass beaker
filled with filtered sea water (FSW), while sperms in the most concentrated form are pipetted off the genital pores
Fertilization is usually done at limited sperm concentration and the resulting embryos are reared.
Hatchery
Hatching o The fertilized eggs hatch in approximately 10–15 h, depending on the species, to develop to a ciliated blastula.
Place of culture o Sea urchin culture has been accomplished on a large scale in Japan for many decades. Millions of juvenile urchins are
produced in their hatcheries, for release to managed areas of seafloor on the intertidal areas. The nationally co-ordinated reseeding program
has developed to the extent that over
66 million juveniles were released on the reefs within which, over 80% were Strongylocentrotus
intermedius. There are also much smaller-scale reseeding programs operating in South Korea and on Luzon Island in the Philippines.
For the large scale culture in Japan, partial water exchange systems and continuous flow-through systems are used
Stocking density o When the larvae attain feeding stage (four-armed pluteus), they are cultured in glass bottles on a rotating roller with a larval
density of 1-2 individual/ml.
Food o Larvae are supplemented with a cultured phytoplankton (Chaetoceros calcitrans, Isochrysis galbana) at concentrations of 4000, 6,000
and 8,000 cells per ml of medium daily at four-, six- and eight-armed pluteus stages, respectively, until attaining metamorphic competence
within 1 month after fertilization
Most culturists use biofilm or a specially seeded diatom substrate created from species isolated locally and grown on a PVC wave plate.
Days of culture o Hatchery-reared juveniles are robust enough to survive, transfer to sea cages or other grow-out systems from a small size (5
mm test diameter). At this point, they are weaned onto other diets, soft macroalgae or artificial diets, depending on the grow-out protocols.
Nursery and grow-out
Indoor small-scale aquaria rearing o 1 day old juveniles are reared in small aquaria (25 x 20 x 10 cm) with aerated filtered seawater and pieces
of dead coral with coralline red algae as food. This is continued for up to three months, by which time the juveniles attain 9-10 mm in test
diameter. The three-month-old juveniles are then transferred to glass aquaria (46 x 30 x 30). Stocking density is at 20 juveniles per aquarium of
the specified size. After the culture period of one year, the urchins attain sexual maturity.
Hatchery-reared juveniles have been grown in suspended culture in closed recirculation systems and in dammed rock pools in southern Ireland
A sea-cage cultivation system of stacking baskets suspended from a ladder-like structure over which a work barge or raft can operate is being
developed by Norwegian researchers.
The time taken for juveniles to reach market size is 1-3 years.

Commodity: Sea Bass Basic Info

Characteristics
It is a species with catadromous habits within its areas of distribution (grows to maturity in fresh or brackish waters and spawns in the sea).
○ It is a relatively hardy species that tolerates crowding and has wide physiological tolerances.
○ The high fecundity of female fish provides plenty of material for hatchery production of seed.
○ Hatchery production of seed is relatively simple.
○ Barramundi feed well on pelleted diets, and juveniles are easy to wean to pellets.
○ Barramundi grow rapidly, reaching a harvestable size (350 g – 3 kg) in six months to two years.
Taxonomy
Local term: Barramundi (Australia and PNG), apahap, bulgan, kakap, salongsong
○ Common name: silver sea perch, giant perch, white seabass
○ Phylum Chordata
○ Class Actinopterygii
Order Perciformes
Family Latidae
○ Lates calcarifer
History
It is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific region from the Arabian Gulf to China, Taiwan Province of China, Papua New Guinea and
northern Australia. Aquaculture of this species commenced in the 1970s in Thailand, and rapidly spread throughout much of Southeast Asia.
Life History
Adults
Voracious carnivore. Fish spend most of their life in a lagoon which connects to the sea. They spend two to three more years in estuarine areas
until they mature, then migrate to the sea water around the mouth of a river or lagoon for spawning. . Spawners live in coastal rocky shores but
some migrate to a freshwater body after the spawning is over.
Eggs and embryo
Eggs are spawned and fertilized in the sea. Fertilized eggs need 12 to 15 hours in 29.5–31 degrees Celsius seawater for hatching. The
spherical eggs range from 0.74 to 0.80 cm in diameter with a single oil globule from 0.20–0.28 mm in diameter.
Larvae
Larvae enter brackishwater swamps and mangrove areas. Feed almost exclusively on microcrustacea (copepods, rotifers, Artemia).
Juvenile
The fish migrate to freshwater when they grow bigger. Also inhabit estuaries, rivers and lakes and return to marine waters to spawn. They are
omnivorous at this stage.
Broodstock
Age at maturity o Protandrous hermaphrodites: they first mature as males then become females on their sixth year or when they are over 3 kg
in size. Should egg production decrease as a result of having more female broodstock, the operator must cull and acquire younger or male
broodstock.
Wild spawners may be used, or breeders raised in cages, tanks or ponds. Seabass are injected with LHRHa and left to spawn for 2-3
consecutive days.
Place of culture: floating cages or in concrete or fiberglass tanks
Sex Determination o Sexing is difficult except during spawning season (April to September)
A milky white substance of medium-thick consistency extruded out of the urogenital opening indicates the presence of milt among sexually ripe
male spawners
When no milt is extruded after repeated massage of the abdomen, the tapered end of a polyethylene cannula is gently inserted 10 cm into the
urogenital opening of the fish. The other end of the cannula is then gently aspirated by mouth as the insulated end is carefully withdrawn from
the fish.
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Inspect the contents of the cannula. A milky substance indicates milt, whereas tiny spherical bodies are eggs and the spawner is female
Blow out eggs into a small vial containing 50% buffered formalin solution as fixative o Transfer a few eggs onto a glass slide and measure the
diameter of 30 eggs with a calibrated microscope. Calculate the average egg diameter. A female of at least 0.40 mm is sexually ripe.
Spawning o Asian barramundi have been induced to spawn by manipulation of environmental parameters (salinity and temperature) to simulate
the migration to the lower estuary, and the tidal regime there at the time of natural spawning. Breeding ratio is 1 female to 2 males. The same
techniques have proven unsuccessful with Australian populations of barramundi, which generally require hormonal induction to spawn.
Barramundi have been successfully spawned using a range of hormones at various doses, which were administered by techniques including
injection, slow-release cholesterol pellets and osmotic pumps. Induced spawning of barramundi is now generally carried out using the
leuteinising hormonereleasing hormone analogues (LHRHa) (Des-Gly10)D-Ala6,Pro9-LH-RH ethylamide and (Des-Gly10)DTrp6, Pro9-LH-RH
ethylamide.
Breeding season: coincides with the monsoon months from late June to late October
Pre-spawning behaviour involves the male fish pairing with a female and rubbing its dorsal surface against the area of the female's genital
papilla, erecting its fins and 'shivering'. In the absence of such displays, egg release may occur but they are not fertilised. Spawning occurs 34–
38 hours after injection, usually around dusk, and may be accompanied by violent splashing at the water surface. Barramundi will often spawn
for up to five consecutive nights.
At spawning, the sperm and eggs are released into the water column and fertilisation occurs externally. Barramundi eggs are 0.74–0.80 mm in
diameter with a single oil droplet of 0.23–0.26 mm diameter. The eggs are collected from spawning tanks using fine mesh (around 300 µm) egg
collection nets through which tank water is diverted. If barramundi are spawned in cages, the cages are lined with a fine mesh 'hapa' net that
retains the eggs inside the cage, enabling their later removal to the hatchery.
Fertilised eggs undergo rapid development and hatching occurs 12–17 hours after fertilisation at 27–30 °C. Newly hatched larvae have a large
yolk that is absorbed rapidly over the first 24 hours after hatching, and is largely exhausted by 50 hours after hatching. The oil globule is
absorbed more slowly and persists for about 140 hours after hatching. The mouth and gut develop the day after hatching (day two) and larvae
commence feeding from 45–50 hours after hatching.
Hatchery
Stocking density o Collect and incubate eggs at 1,200 eggs per liter. These hatch in about 14 hours. Stock 30 seabass larvae per liter but
reduce density to 15 per li on day 10 then 6 per li on day 21.
Food o The larvae that hatched from the eggs are fed mostly live food, Brachionus and Artemia. Because the latter is quite expensive,
SEAFDEC had found alternatives in cladocerans (or fleas); the freshwater species is Moina and the estuarine species is Diaphanosoma and
both can be collected and raised cheaply like Brachionus. The thing to watch out for in seabass hatchery, in addition to the routine activities, is
regular sorting and size-grading of fry to prevent cannibalism. A three-layed sorter box can be easily and cheaply made.
It is best to introduce live food before the seabass larvae begin feeding 50 hours after hatching.
Place of culture o Barramundi are generally reared using 'green water' intensive techniques, in circular or rectangular concrete tanks or in
circular canvas tanks
Barramundi fingerlings are also produced using extensive (pond-based) rearing procedures. Pond areas used for the extensive larval rearing of
barramundi range from 0.05 to 1 ha and may be earthen or plastic lined.
Days of culture o Harvest after 26 days of rearing.
Nursery
● Place of culture o Barramundi juveniles (1.0–2.5 cm TL) may be stocked in floating or fixed nursery cages (3 x 2 x 1.3 m) in rivers, coastal
areas or ponds, or directly into freshwater or brackishwater nursery ponds or tanks. o
 Stocking density o Stock 600-900 pieces of fry (1.0 to 2.5 cm)
Food
The fish are fed on minced trash fish (4–6 mm) or on small pellets. Vitamin premix may be added to the minced fish at a rate of 2 percent.
Cannibalism can be a major cause of mortalities during the nursery phase and during early grow-out because barramundi will cannibalise fish of
up to 61–67 percent of their own length. Cannibalism may start during the later stages of larval rearing and is most pronounced in fish less than
about 150 mm TL;
in larger fish, it is responsible for relatively few losses. Cannibalism is reduced by grading the fish at regular intervals (usually at least every
seven–ten days) to ensure that the fish in each cage are similar in size.
Days of culture o This nursery phase lasts for 30 to 45 days; once the fingerlings have reached 5–10 cm TL they can be transferred to grow-out
ponds.
Grow-out
Area for culture o Cages (4 x 4 x 3 m) or brackishwater ponds in an estuary. A 1 ha pond may be subdivided into six compartments so that
there is space to raise different batches of sorted and size-graded fish.
Stocking density o 40-50 pcs/ m2
Place of culture o Most barramundi culture is undertaken in net cages. Both floating and fixed cages are used; these range in size from 3×3 m
up to 10×10 m, and 2–3 m depth.
Day of culture o 3-4 months
Food
o Biggest expense is feeds, as the fish is carnivorous and must be fed trash fish.

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