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THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT CENTER (SEAFDEC)


Rolando R. Platon, SEAFDEC/AQD Chief

Responsible aquaculture for livelihood and development in Southeast Asia SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department

SEAFDEC is a regional treaty organization established in 1967 to promote sustainable fisheries development in Southeast Asia. The member countries of SEAFDEC are:

The application for membership of Lao PDR in SEAFDEC is presently being processed.

Four departments of SEAFDEC

New SEAFDEC Strategic Plan (adopted in March 1998)

During the First Meeting of the ASEAN-SEAFDEC Fisheries Consultative Group, Bangkok, Thailand, 4 March 1999, the need to strengthen ASEAN-SEAFDEC relations was emphasized. This collaborative framework between SEAFDEC as a technical organization and ASEAN as a political organization provides effective mechanism for technological developments as output from SEAFDEC activities to be incorporated into ASEAN countries' national development programmes. This also facilitates examination of policy implications on the regional level of certain issues requiring technical expertise.

ASEAN-SEAFDEC Millennium Conference

ASEAN-SEAFDEC Special Five-Year Programme

The SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department (AQD)

Mandates of AQD

Programme formulation

Project stations

Facilities for RD&E

Research publications

Since 1976 AQD researchers continuously publish results of their research studies conducted at AQD in international refereed journals. Through such research publications, many AQD researchers have been recognized as world-class scientists.

RD&E programs of AQD

The technical recommendations of ADSEA on priority species and technology gaps are used as basis for the formulation of the research programs of AQD. These recommendations were prioritized based on areas of concern in responsible aquaculture development, namely, technology feasibility, economic viability, environmental integrity and social equity.

Responsible technologies for increased aquaculture production

Screening of new species for aquaculture

This program aims to search candidate species of finfishes, shellfishes and aquatic plants suitable for culture. A major component of the program includes the identification and screening of novel species for aquaculture to augment and further diversify the present number of aquaculture commodities in the region, emphasizing on indigenous species.

Development of strategies for stock enhancement

This program aims to promote stock enhancement activities in the region to increase fish supplies from inland and coastal waters. This program includes development of technologies for seed production and stock enhancement of mollusks and invertebrates, initially through the release of hatchery-produced juveniles into the natural environments.

Development of appropriate technologies for use of lakes

This program generally aims for the rational use of lakes by determining the carrying capacity of major lakes currently being used or planned for aquaculture activities; carrying out studies on pollutants in lakes and their biota as well as the possible consequences on human health; and investigating the toxic algal blooms in lakes and their possible effects on fish populations. While initial activities are undertaken in the Philippines in collaboration with a number of government agencies and NGOs, these will later expand to cover other countries in the region.

Regional fish disease project

This project is aimed at the development of fish disease inspection methodologies for artificially bred seeds, which is funded by the Japanese Trust Fund and implemented through the ASEAN-SEAFDEC Fisheries Consultative Group (FCG) collaborative mechanism.

The project aims to promote disease-free aquaculture in the region and healthy and wholesome aquaculture products including seeds for aquaculture; develop standardized diagnostic methods for important diseases of aquacultured organisms and disseminate these through trainers' training courses involving fish health personnel in the region; and establish a surveillance system.

In the proposed scheme for the Regional Network for Fish Disease Control in the Region, the project will coordinate with the FAO and OIE as well as with WHO at the global level; and with NACA, ASEAN, APEC, ACIAR, JIRCAS, AAHRI, ICLARM, AusAID, etc. at the regional level with NACA serving as the Information Centre and SEAFDEC as the Technical Center; and with the national centres at the respective fisheries departments of the ASEAN member countries.

Sustainable production of aquatic animals in brackish mangrove areas

Under the collaborative mechanism of SEAFDEC and the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), this project aims to: develop low input aquaculture systems in mangrove areas; undertake valuation of mangrove resources and services, property regimes in mangrove ecosystems, implication for the adoption of mangrove-friendly aquaculture; and undertake an analysis of farm management and economic benefits of new sustainable fish production system in brackish mangrove areas.

Technology transfer

This program aims to test the viability of research-based aquaculture technologies in collaboration with the government and the private sector, non-government organizations, fisheries schools, financing institutions and other agencies. The technologies transferred must not only be technically and financially viable but also ecologically sustainable and socially equitable. Technologies verified are documented by AQD into manuals and other information format, then disseminated in the region.

Training

The training program of AQD aims to accelerate the transfer of responsible aquaculture technologies through regular and collaborative training programs, suitable to different levels of knowledge and skills in order to produce self-reliant and responsible manpower for the promotion and development of sustainable aquaculture practices. The training courses conducted by AQD are organized into:

Verification and commercialization

Information packaging and dissemination

AQD continues to produce aquaculture manuals, newsletters, flyers, posters, video production, etc. using the output from its RD&E activities and packaging specific aquaculture systems. Moreover, AQD also recently came up with two collegiate-level textbooks that have been pre-tested in a number of Philippine universities. The following are the recent publications of AQD:

Specific collaborative programs

Collaborative projects with FAO, NACA and ICLARM

Proposed collaboration between SEAFDEC through AQD and MRC


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