The Sixth Training Course officially began on 13 March 1986 with the Opening Ceremonies held at the SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department in Tigbauan, Iloilo. Dr. Ulrich Grieb, FAO Country Representative gave the keynote address. Mr. Pedro G. Padlan was the acting NACA Training Coordinator. Nineteen participants from 8 countries in Asia joined the 6th Training Course. They were initially given an orientation of Tigbauan Research facilities and enrolled at the UPV for the summer semester. A Precourse Examination was given to assess the participants' basic knowledge on various fields of Biology, Chemistry, Fisheries and Aquaculture (Appendix 1) On the performance of the precourse examination, each participant was given proper guidance to improve his/her proficiency and knowledge on the subjects including their standard of English. The regular lectures started from 18 March 1986.
Relevant background information on the course participants were compiled and distributed to instructors so as to facilitate efficient monitoring of their academic performance and to help them in acquiring the necessary technical know-how.
The participants' profile (Appendix 2) shows that out of 19 trainees, 2 are from China; 7 are from South Asia (4 Indians, 2 Sri Lankans & 1 Pakistani) and the rest 10 are Southeast Asians (4 Filipino, 3 Thai, 2 Indonesians and 1 Malaysian). There are 8 females which is the highest female proportion so far since the NACA Training Course started. Their academic background shows that 15 are BS and 4 are MS degree holders.
The following is a list of the names of the participants, the countries they represent and the Funding Organizations sponsoring their Fellowship:
| Name of Participants | Country | Funding Agency |
| 1. Baruah, G.C. | India | NACA (FAO/UNDP) |
| 2. Chaubal, S.V. | India | -do- |
| 3. Duangrat Dhesprasith | Thailand | -do- |
| 4. Fang Xiu Zhen | China | -do- |
| 5. Dadang Gunarso | Indonesia | -do- |
| 6. Kathamuthu S/O Subramaniam | Malaysia | -do- |
| 7. Pholphot Kittisuwan | Thailand | -do- |
| 8. Rumpon, Danilo P. | Philippines | -do- |
| 9. Irshad Hussain Shah | Pakistan | -do- |
| 10. Vinci, G.K. | India | -do- |
| 11. Hettiarachchi, A. | Sri Lanka | Asian Development Bank |
| 12. Shantha, K.B. | Sri Lanka | -do- |
| 13. Amar, Edgar C. | Philippines | IDRC |
| 14. Bolivar, Remedios B. | Philippines | -do- |
| 15. Ladja, Jocelyn M. | Philippines | -do- |
| 16. Luanprida, Somsak | Thailand | -do- |
| 17. Shen Ling | China | -do- |
| 18. Singh, Hardial | India | -do- |
| 19. Tatie Sri Paryanti | Indonesia | -do- |
In addition, one Bangladesh participant Mr. Abdul Khaleque from the 5th batch (1985–86) also attended the summer courses to complete his academic requirements. He was sponsored by COMSEC.
Seventeen out of 19 participants were admitted to the Master of Aquaculture programme of UPV for the summer semester. In the case of two, the enrollment was deferred pending submission of original documents. However, all of them were qualified for registration for the First and Second semesters.
During early March 1986, the Academic Planning Committee (APC) consisting of 6 members (2 from FAO, 2 from SEAFDEC and 2 from UPV) met at UPV for selecting the Main Instructors of the 17 Courses. Subsequently, also the Committee met for this purpose. The names of the Main Instructors, their affiliations and the corresponding courses are furnished in Appendix 3. The UPV Coordinator to NACA took the responsibility of getting the main instructors approved by UPV for their appointment as Faculty members which is a requirement. Other instructors and resource persons were also tentatively selected and invitations were sent to them. Since the training course offered 18 diversified subjects, the host institutions could not provide all the lecturers and hence a number of resource persons were invited from outside. A total of 53 instructors, practical assistants and resource persons took part in the training programme, of which 29 were SEAFDEC AQD staff, 10 from UPV and the rest from FAO and other Organizations and Institutions in and outside the Philippines. Besides, quite a substantial number of instructors and practical assistants from the Regional Lead Centres in India, Thailand and China also contributed their share in the training programme. Appendix 4 provides a list of Subjects/Topics/Lecturers and Organizations/Affiliations of the entire training course.
A curriculum for the NACA Training Programme was developed by FAO Task force of experts covering all essential aspects of aquaculture. The task force recommended 337 hours for theoretical instructions and 1,252 hours for practicum (Appendix 5). This was however, slightly modified and expanded in order to place appropriate emphasis on Aquaculture practices that have immediate application to the Region. Besides, since the project has an agreement with UPV for the award of a degree in Master of Aquaculture to qualified participants, the course curriculum had to be adjusted to satisfy the academic requirements of UPV and at the same time maintaining the training objectives (Appendix 5A).
During the 6th session (March 1986-March 1987), 17 courses were planned out and implemented. The lectures (in hrs.) cover about 26% and the practicals 74%. The consultant's share of lecture hours in the entire course was over 70 hrs. The details of lecture topics are furnished in Appendix 6.
During the course of the entire training more emphasis was given to laboratory and fieldwork and almost three-fourths of the total training instruction time was utilized for practicum. Direct exposure and experience in the field gave a better appreciation and understanding as well as conceptualization of related activities as compared to the classroom sessions. The details of the practical exercises are shown in Appendix 7.
A detailed course time-table for the 6th session of NACA Training Course carried out during the period of 17 March 1986 to 6 March 1987 was prepared outlining the daily activities, lectures, practicals, field trips, overseas study tour and other important activities is furnished in Appendix 8.
In addition to regular lectures and praticum conducted by the subject-matter specialists and instructors, the participants of the 6th training course were subjected to regular class discussions on specific subjects with the instructors and also held seminars and workshops occasionally on specific topics. In addition, the trainees were asked to prepare term papers on selected topics and gave lectures in the class on term papers prepared by them for developing their technical and communication skills. Also group discussions and self-learning systems were generally encouraged.
The participants were initiated to take active part in regular class discussions and also held regular seminars/workshops on specific topics. A number of seminars were organized under the leadership of the consultant or the instructors of the respective courses where the trainees were assigned topics for oral presentation to develop their ability to stage presence, delivery and their knowledge on the topics. The entire class was encouraged to participate in the discussions. The seminars conducted and the details of the topics allotted to individual participants are detailed in Appendix 9, 10, 11 and 12.
In addition to the written reports prepared by the participants for seminars, they had to submit various other reports on theoretical subjects and field trips. Besides, written reports were also prepared for almost all practicals undertaken including experiments. In addition, each individual participant was allotted special topics to prepare term papers after thorough and exhaustive consultation of literature and references and then the topics discussed in the class. The details of the reports and term papers are given in Appendix 9, 10, 11 and 12.
A number of field trips were undertaken by the participants to several private fish farms in the Iloilo Province to study the fish farming activities. They visited the milkfish/prawn farms (extensive farming) of Ms. Jamandre at Dumangas, of Ms. Jaranilla at Villa and that of Ms. Trespeces also at Villa. Besides, they visited the finfish floating cages at the lgang Sub-station of SEAFDEC at Guimaras, Iloilo.
The participants visited the private shrimp hatcheries, oyster and mussel farms at Batan, Aklan and Roxas City, Capiz. They also observed other aquaculture activities in those areas during their two days trip on 4–5 October 1986.
The participants undertook a four day trip (21–25 October, 1986) to Cebu and Bohol Provinces in the Central Visayas to plant marine seaweeds in seaweed farms and also visited the seaweed processing plants in Cebu.
The participants undertook study tours both in the Philippines as well as to several Asian countries. The study tours provided opportunities to study various aquafarming systems as practiced in countries visited, so as to widen their vision and knowledge of aquaculture.
A seven-day study tour (2 July - 8 July 1986) was undertaken to various important aquaculture centres (mainly freshwater) in Luzon Island in the Philippines before the participants' departure for the overseas study tour. The aquaculture centres visited were Binangonan Research Station of SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department, Central Luzon State University (CLSU), Laguna Lake pen and cage culture for milkfish and tilapia and tilapia cage culture in Lakes Bunot, Sampaloc and Calibato. They also visited fish farm at Tanay, Rizal and also the office and library of ICLARM at Makati. Dr. Crispino Saclauso, UPV Coordinator and Ms. Morena Fernandez, Trainee Affairs Assistant, accompanied the trainees during the tour.
As in previous years, an overseas study tour was organized to the other three regional centres in India, Thailand and China for 17, 21 and 30 days respectively. These Asian countries have long experience in aquaculture. The overseas study tour (8 July - 10 Sept. 1986) mainly included activities such as, study of various fish culture and pond management systems, seed production and hatchery management, integrated fish/livestock/crop farming systems, composite fish culture and polyculture practices, primary productivity studies, aquatic micro-biology, aquaculture planning and extension, production economics and aquaculture industry development policy and administration in the countries visited. The main emphasis, however, was given to the following studies:
Large-scale seed production by induced breeding and other methods of commercially important species such as, Indian and Chinese Carps, Catfish (Clarias and Pangasius), giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium) and others.
Integrated fish/livestock/crop farming systems and their economics.
Different aquafarming systems in the countries visited and their comparative merits.
Aquaculture research and development: its organization and administration.
Study of reservoir fisheries and their management.
During the tours the participants visited many important Research Institutes and Research Centres in the countries visited. The detailed itinerary is given in Appendix 13.
Dr. Crispino Saclauso, accompanied the participants during the tour to India and Thailand while Mr. Hermenegildo Sitoy of the Training and Extension Division of SEAFDEC AQD joined the group in Bangkok and accompanied them in their China tour.
All the 17 courses were completed by the second week of February 1987 and the participants were given more than two weeks time for recaptulation for their Comprehensive Exam. The academic performance of trainees was assessed by continuous assessment through periodic examinations, field and laboratory reports, term papers and practical work. The final examination for each course including practicals were held as soon as the courses were completed. The grades are given according to the grading systems of the University of the Philippines in the Visayas. A weighted average grade of 2.0 is the minimum for the eligibility to seat in the Comprehensive Exam for the degree in Master of Aquaculture by UPV. The grades (weighted average) for all the 19 participants are furnished in Appendix 14. The grade list shows that only Mr. Dadang Gunarso from Indonesia (INS/81/008) got a grade slightly lower than 2.0. In a meeting with a panel of instructors held on 24 February 1987 for recommending participants for the diploma in Aquaculture to be awarded by NACA and SEAFDEC, all the 19 participants were recommended for the diploma. The case of Mr. Dadang Gunarso was especially taken up. Since in previous years a grade below his was considered for the diploma, the panel recommended him eligible for the diploma.
The examination results of the participants showed that the 6th batch obtained a weighted average of 1.63 as against the 5th batch of 1.72. One participant of the 6th batch obtained an all time highest weighted grade average of 1.1875 and three others around 1.34 to 1.36.
The comprehensive examination for the 6th batch NACA Training Course was held during 2–4 March 1987. An Examination Committee was organized with Prof. Valeriano Corre (UPV) as the Chairman. The other members were Dr. Crispino A. Saclauso (UPV), Prof. Virgilio A. Dureza (UPV), Ms. Jurgenne H. Primavera (SEAFDEC) and Dr. Hiralal Chaudhuri (NACA/SEAFDEC). The exam was divided into three parts: the general field (45%) was held on 2 March 1987 and the specialized field (45%) on 3 March and the oral exam (10%) was held on 4 March 1987. Excepting Mr. Dadang Gunarso, all the 18 participants were qualified to seat for the Comprehensive Examination. However, at the request of the NACA Training Coordinator, Mr. Dadang Gunarso was permitted to seat for the said exam for NACA purposes only.
The results of the comprehensive examination was very encouraging and all the 18 qualified participants came out successful. Dadang, however, could not get the passing mark. The highest mark obtained by a participant was 86.61% whereas the average for the batch was 80.94% as compared to last years' (5th batch) average of 75.83%. The details of the grades obtained are given in Appendix 15.
The university of the Philippines in the Visayas have awarded the degree in Master of Aquaculture to all the 18 NACA 6th batch participants in the Graduation Ceremony held on 2 April 1987.
The closing ceremonies were held on 6 March 1987 at the Amigo Terrace Hotel, Iloilo City at 5:30 p.m. Dr. Ulrich Grieb, FAO Representative, Manila gave the keynote address and Dr. Flor J. Lacanilao awarded the diplomas. Mr. Turhan Mangun, UNDP Resident Representative, Manila accepted the invitation to give a speech as the guest speaker but at the last moment he could not come but his prepared speech was read by Mr. N. Brown, Asst. Resident Representative, UNDP. Dr. Dionisia Rola, Chancellor of UPV also delivered a speech to the participants as a guest speaker. Since Director Juanito Malig of BFAR could not attend, his speech was read by his representative, Mr. Justo Montemayor, Asst. Director of Fisheries. All the 19 participants received the Diploma in Aquaculture. The ceremony ended with a dinner. The detailed programme for the Closing Ceremonies is given in Appendix 16. In next two days the participants departed for their home countries.
