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Improving the survival rate of mud crab

Monday, April 30, 2018

THROUGH the use of formulated feeds and natural food, the survival rate of mud crab from zoea to megalopae and zoea to crab instar has significantly improved.

The improvement was realized under a project entitled “Improvement of Larval Rearing Protocol,” which is implemented by the Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC/AQD) and is led by Dr. Emilia T. Quinitio of the said agency.

The project is being funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Data showed that the survival rate from zoea to megalopae has significantly improved from 3.75 percent to 22.5 percent, while the survival rate from zoea to crab instar has improved from 1.0-3.5 percent to 6 percent.

At present, basic hatchery technology has been developed in the country, however, a number of farms are still experiencing low survival rate during the megalopae stage due to Molt Death Syndrome (MDS).

It is a disease due to luminescent bacteria (Vibrio spp.).

It was learned that antibiotics are still being used to treat Vibrio spp., however, incorrect use of antibiotics can cause incomplete molting, deformities, slow growth, and even death.

Vibrio spp. is dominant in marine environments and can cause seafoodborne infections.

Furthermore, mud crab farmers in the country are experiencing lack of crab seeds for farming from the wild due to over exploitation.

To address over exploitation, the project aims to introduce the need to manage available resources and produce seed stocks in the hatchery for a sustainable mud crab industry.

This would also reduce the dependence of mud crab farmersregarding the sourcing of seed stock from the wild.

To reduce the occurrence of MDS, the zoea is fed with formulated feeds and natural food.

The use of natural food or rotifiers was reduced by as much as 50 percent.

For the natural food, minced fish or mussel can replace Artemia as feed during megalopae stage.

On the other hand, in terms of antibiotic use, the project compared the performance of antibiotics, antimicrobial, nitrofuran, disinfectant, therapeutant, and probiotics in larval rearing.

However, the project showed that the proper use of antibiotics, specifically furazolidone and oxytetracycline, is still the most effective way of preventing or treating diseases in mud crab.

To further equip the farm owners and different local government agencies, 22 collaborators and stakeholders were trained on the improved hatchery technology at the SEAFDEC/AQDin their respective sites.

Moreover, at least 13 mud crab hatcheries (9 are privately owned, 2 with the local government unit (LGU), 2 with state universities and colleges or SUCs) were established all over the country.

These hatcheries have been producing crablets that will help sustain the mud crab industry.

In Guindulman, Bohol, a prototype commercial-scale hatchery has already been turned over to the LGU.

This hatchery can produce about 40,000 crab instars per run.

The project is part of the National Mud Crab Science and Technology(S&T) Program, which is being monitored by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of DOST (DOST-PCAARRD). (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it./PN)

Invention program reaches Tawi-Tawi youth

By: BusinessMirror

April 29, 2018

science02-042918 — In Photo: Invent School Program participants, with Technology Application and Promotion Institute of the Department of Science and Technology resource speakers.

TAWI-TAWI—The youth have fresh minds that are creative and are ideal starting ground for inventors. To harness this important human resource, the Invent School Program (ISP) expanded its services to borders unusually reached through its recent first seminar-workshop in Mindanao State University-Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography (MSU–TCTO), Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.

ISP, one of the leading programs of the Technology Application and Promotion Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-Tapi), is designed to open the young minds of students as a starting ground for young Filipino inventors.

In collaboration with DOST-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Provincial Science and Technology Center (PSTC)-Tawi-Tawi, and MSU-TCTO, the ISP organized two sets of seminar-workshops for college and high-school students.

“The first ever ISP in Tawi-Tawi is a milestone for the program having reached the southernmost part of the Philippines. We are very privileged to be given the opportunity to speak before the Tawi-Tawi people,” said Atty. Marion Ivy D. Decena, division chief of Invention Development Division of DOST-Tapi.

A total of 44 college students and 49 high-school students showcased their creativity and inventiveness in tackling the pressing problems in Tawi-Tawi and boosting the province’s promising natural resources and wealth.

The platform serves to stir the youth’s ingenuity by stimulating their interests on techniques in developing creative and inventive knowledge that is crucial in invention and prototype development.

“The old pedagogy should be replaced with more interactive approach to bring more learning to the students, and ISP is necessary to change this pedagogy,” said Dr. Annabel Wellms, office in charge, Office of the Chancellor of MSU-TCTO.

ISP’s goal is to bring the assistance closer to the Filipino youth by bringing the program all over the regions in the country.

Engr. Elizabeth I. Garcia and Anna Liza B. Saet from DOST-Tapi served as resource speakers in the five-day seminar-workshop.

“ISP will always serve as a platform in equipping our future engineers and scientists, who will become the very foundations in building our great nation,” Saet said.Moreover, PSTC-Tawi-Tawi Director Ibnotalib J. Nasirin commended DOST-Tapi’s efforts in prioritizing the province, as the bold step serves as a springboard to hone students in ARMM.

S&T Media Service

Image Credits: S&T Media Service photo

1st PHL National Halal Conference slated

By: Raison D. Aborinto / Halal Section - DTI-EMB

April 17, 2018

THE Philippine Halal Export Development and Promotion Board, composed of nine government agencies led by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), will hold its first-ever Philippine National Halal Conference on May 2 and 3 at the Marco Polo Hotel, Davao City.

With the theme “Towards Making the Philippines a Respectable Player in the Global Halal Ecosystem,” the conference will feature the unveiling of the comprehensive Philippine Halal Export Development and Promotion Strategic Road Map, a result of a series of consultations and extensive work collaborations among all major stakeholders concluded last year.

The strategic road map includes the launch of the approved Philippine National halal Certification Scheme and the Accreditation Guidelines, two of the most important components of halal in the quest to be recognized as a major player in the global halal ecosystem.

During the sixth Halal Export Board meeting held on March 21, the Board emphasized the need for the Philippine standard-setting bodies, such as the DTI, Department of Agriculture and Department of Health to develop the necessary standards for Philippine halal to be recognized in the global halal ecosystem.

The conference will also gather some of the major halal global players to share their experiences and best practices in establishing a respectable and sustainable Halal ecosystem in their respective countries. This will be done through holding of lecture sessions with resource speakers from the well-known experts in the Halal international community.

Also happening during the conference is the Assembly of the Philippine Muslim Religious Scholars, where information sessions and lectures on development of the halal industry with respect to the Sharia aspect in particular will be conducted. The assembly would also aim to identify from among these Muslim scholars one resource person who will perform the religious components necessary to strengthen the Philippines integrity for halal.

As the Philippines opens its door for the global halal market, it also widens its horizon as it pursues several cooperation instruments for Halal from the global halal community.

In April last year, the Philippines, represented by Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, and Brunei Darussalam, represented by Pehin Dato Dr. Mohammad Yasmin Umar, the minister of Energy and Industry at the Prime Minister’s Office, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the Halal Industry and Halal Export Development and Promotion.

The Philippines also signed a membership with the International Halal Accreditation Forum in December 2017. Ihaf is an independent, non-government network of accreditation entities that are mandated to enforce halal standards in their countries and territories. The Philippine affiliation to Ihaf is expected to pave the way for the entry and acceptance of Philippine halal-certified products to the member markets of the organization.

A similar instrument will also be signed between the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates Standardization and Metrology Authority on mutual recognition for halal accreditation. The MOU was already agreed upon by the two parties in February, however, the actual signing of the agreement would take place during the conference as one separate side event.

The conference will be participated in by Philippine MSMEs with halal-certified products and services, including travel and tourism services sector; representative from government agencies; Philippine halal certification bodies; academe; Muslim and interested non-Muslim consumers; Muslim religious groups; concerned civil society groups; international major halal players; and other stakeholders.