V.Public Service and Project Development

The research activity of the CRSP has resulted in major improvements to the research infrastructure of collaborating host country institutions, both directly and by helping to attract other funding opportunities. In addition, CRSP scientists serve as advisors in the research programs of students at host-country universities and make contributions to curriculum development.

In Honduras, a CRSP-led, public-private joint venture continues to produce economic benefits while increasing the understanding of the water quality issues associated with the shrimp industry in southern Honduras. The CRSP works with the Ministry of Natural Resources, the National Association of Honduran Aquaculturist (ANDAH), the Panamerican Agriculture School (EAP), and the Federation of Producers and Exporters of Honduras (FPX) to study water quality issues that affect shrimp production and the estuarine environment surrounding the farms. The refurbishment of the laboratory in La Lujosa, near Choluteca, was made possible by the active participation of all the partners in this joint venture. The Ministry of Natural Resources provides the laboratory and office space at La Lujosa. ANDAH provides equipment and supplies for the lab, funded by a self-imposed assessment on shrimp exports. ANDAH members also provide ponds and inputs to conduct CRSP experiments. FPX extensionists assist in collecting data from their members and disseminating research information. Students under the direction of EAP conduct research in shrimp culture and water quality analysis. The laboratory was dedicated in the spring of 1993, and makes important contributions to research issues such as estuarine monitoring, pond fertilization, and shrimp feeding strategies, that will increase farmers' economic efficiency and minimize negative environmental impact.

Right up to the time of the forced evacuation from Rwanda, the laboratory at Rwasave was the premier water quality laboratory in East Africa, despite the on-going climate of civil unrest that seriously damaged national infrastructure and interfered with travel and communications. Prior to the evacuation, the fry production pond was renovated, including the addition of a catch basin to improve the capacity of the station to generate large numbers of fry for on-farm studies. Bridges were constructed over two sex-reversal ponds to facilitate the use of hapas in the sex-reversal process. The loss of this research facility will be felt not only in Rwanda, but throughout East Central Africa, which relied on the laboratory for water quality and soil sample analysis, and on the expertise of the CRSP researchers for training and advice.

The CRSP continues to be an active partner in the establishment of research ponds at the Chaiyaphum Fisheries Station in northeast Thailand and at Phayao Station in northern Thailand.

In Egypt, the CRSP provided support for an overwintering facility and installed a second recirculating system. Ten round (100 m²) earthen ponds were renovated for tilapia reproduction. The water inlet and outlet structures on experimental ponds were modified to exclude contamination with wild fish. The presence of CRSP researchers in Egypt significantly enlarges the institutional and professional network available to students, and strengthens Egyptian universities through these increased international linkages.

Formal training programs have been infrequently (or rarely) funded by this CRSP; nevertheless, the involvement of students from host countries and the United States constitutes an important part of the CRSP's international outreach. Informal training activities such as short courses and workshops are frequently conducted. Since the beginning of the program, over 400 individuals have benefited from CRSP training activities.

Thailand and Philippines

The CRSP is involved in training as a component of several studies that help extend CRSP research to farm ponds throughout Thailand. The CRSP provides the research component for an adaptive management system. The on-farm studies help speed the extension of research to the farmers, and at the same time, use the farmers' concerns to help create the research agenda. In the Philippines, the regional verification of the CRSP fertilizer guidelines continues at the Freshwater Aquaculture Center at Central Luzon State University (FAC/CLSU).

Honduras

David Teichert-Coddington conducted a short course on water quality as part of a longer course on shrimp diseases organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources. In January, Teichert-Coddington played a key role in organizing a one-day conference on sustainable shrimp farming in Honduras. The conference was designed to educate the farming community on sustainable shrimp culture, and to elicit support for CRSP research relating to estuarine monitoring and water quality. Teichert-Coddington was instrumental in organizing a two-day regional conference, Sustainable Development of the Gulf of Fonseca and its Watershed. Three hundred farmers and researchers from Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador attended. CRSP researchers Claude Boyd and C. Kwei Lin were invited speakers, addressing the environmental regulation of coastal aquaculture and environmental impacts of intensive shrimp farming in Thailand, respectively. Teichert-Coddington presented a talk on the relation between estuarine water quality and shrimp farm discharge in southern Honduras. In addition, Teichert-Coddington conducted a workshop on tilapia production techniques to Peace Corps volunteers.

Egypt

Academic advancement is the focus of the CRSP's professional development activities in Egypt. A total of ten students are supported by the Egypt project; six are working on advanced degrees, while four others conduct research at the University of Hawaii, at Auburn University, and at Oregon State University. The focal point of the CRSPs professional development activities in Egypt is the scholarly exchange program. Eleven scientists participated in this program during this reporting period: four at Auburn University, two at the University of Maryland, one at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, one at University of Hawaii, one at University of Oklahoma, and two at Oregon State University.

In addition to the Scholarly Exchange program, the CRSP has sponsored numerous workshops at the CLAR during this reporting period. C. Kwei Lin gave three seminars at CLAR in November 1993 when he visited Egypt to work on polyculture research protocol and on catfish hatchery techniques. Komonporn Tonguthai, Director of the Aquatic Animal Health Research Institute in Bangkok, also presented a seminar about diseases of cultured fish. The CRSP sponsored a field day at the CLAR in December 1993 to highlight project progress and results. In January, Ali Abdelghany and Bartholomew Green organized an in-service training for fifty Government of Egypt aquaculture/fisheries personnel. Shmuel Rothbard from the Gan Shmuel Fish Breeding Center, Israel, and CRSP visiting scientists Kevin Hopkins and William Shelton also participated in the workshop. Bartholomew Green and Esam Rizkallea conducted a one-day tilapia fingerling production workshop at CLAR, which was attended by fish farmers, extension personnel, university professors, and students. Green and Rizkalla lectured and then demonstrated reproduction pond harvest, broodfish handling, fry collection, handling and transport, and sex reversal treatment. Claude Boyd presented a two-day workshop at the CLAR on water quality management in aquaculture ponds. Martin Fitzpatrick presented seminars on the reproductive physiology of fishes, sex differentiation in tilapia, and induced breeding in fishes. He also conducted workshops on identifying the sex of tilapia fry and physiological sampling techniques.

Enthusiasm generated by such informal training and by exposure to activities at the CRSP research sites has led some students to pursue university degree programs, either at institutions in their own countries or at participating U.S. universities. Students have pursued degrees at seven overseas institutions and at all of the collaborating universities in the U.S. Prior to this reporting period over 111 degrees (B.S., M.S., and Ph.D.) were awarded, and during this period, another five were completed under the direction of CRSP researchers. In addition, over 78 theses have been completed under the direction of CRSP researchers. Theses completed during this period are:

Alcívar, V.A. 1994. Crecimiento de dos razas de tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) alimentadas con tres dietas de diferente nivel proteico. Thesis, Ingeniero Agronomo, Escuela Agricola Panamericana en El Zamorano, Honduras.

Havanont, V. 1994. Effect of Controlled Dissolved Oxygen Regimes on Growth of Sea Bass (Lates calcarifer). M.S. thesis. Asian Institute of Technology.

Gonzalez, H.J. 1994. Cultivo de tilapia(Oreochromis niloticus), carpa común (Cyprinus carpio), y tambaquí (Colossoma macropomum) en jaulas. Thesis, Ingeniero Agronomo, Escuela Agricola Panamericana en El Zamorano, Honduras.

Keawchum, S. 1994. Impact of substrate and commercial bacteria on the growth performance of shrimp (Penaeus monodon) in intensive closed and open culture systems. M.S. thesis. Asian Institute of Technology.

La-ongual, T. 1994. Development of a Model of Phytoplankton Productivity in Fertile Ponds. M.S. thesis. Asian Institute of Technology.

Nguyen, M.N. 1994. Current status, constraints, and potential of shrimp seed production in Central Vietnam. M.S. thesis. Asian Institute of Technology.

Nyirahabimana, P. 1994. Gender Differences and Technology Adoption: The Effect of Household Pressures on the Practice of Fish Farming in Rwanda. M.S. thesis. Auburn University.

Shrestha, M. 1994. Dynamics and recovery of phosphorus in mud of fertilized fish ponds. Ph.D. thesis. Asian Institute of Technology.

Wang, C.Y. 1994. Preliminary trials for nursing of Chinese catfish (Silurus asotus) in cages in tilapia culture ponds. M.S. thesis. Asian Institute of Technology.

Yahiya, Y.S. 1994. Eutrophication problem in shrimp (Peneaus monodon) ponds and the biological control using Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). M.S. thesis. Asian Institute of Technology.

The number of individuals involved in all forms of training, from non-degree activities through work on advanced degrees, has climbed to well over 400 since the beginning of the program. Most of the trainees have come from PD/A CRSP host countries (Egypt, Honduras, Indonesia, Panama, Philippines, Rwanda, Thailand, and U.S.A.); however, the benefits of CRSP-related training have extended well beyond the borders of the seven collaborating countries, as evidenced by the fact that participants have been drawn from at least 27 countries over the course of the program. Furthermore, the interdisciplinary nature of aquacultural research attracts students from a wide range of academic disciplines. Many participants take positions in schools, banks, agricultural research institutes, national parks services, development projects, and agricultural extension services, where they are able to increase public awareness of aquaculture's importance in food systems.

CRSP linkages in Honduras have been strengthened and broadened with the inauguration of the brackish water site in Choluteca. The CRSP was able to add this site largely because of the enthusiastic collaboration of private organizations and government institutions. Among the collaborators are the Ministry of Natural Resources, the National Association of Honduran Aquaculturists, the Panamerican Agriculture School, and the Federation of Producers and Exporters of Honduras, all of whom make substantial contributions to the on-going operation of the project. In addition, CRSP researchers serve as consultants for Peace Corps volunteers, and Peace Corps volunteers have assisted with logistical arrangements for researchers involved with the social sciences project.

The CRSP continues to strengthen its ties with institutions in southeast Asia. In Thailand, CRSP researchers hold long- and short-term faculty appointments at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), and teach a variety of courses and seminars. AIT serves as a regional resource for technology development and dissemination in Southeast Asia, so CRSP researchers are able to form linkages with students and faculty from many countries. They also serve as advisors to the Thai government on aquaculture and fisheries related projects.

In the Philippines, CRSP ties with the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM) continue to grow. Current work plans call for the use of genetically selected tilapia from an ICLARM-sponsored project for field testing at the FAC/CLSU as part of the regional verification trials being conducted by the CRSP in the Philippines. Another collaborator, the FAC/CLSU-University of Wales Swansea Research Project on Genetic Manipulations for Improved Tilapia (GMIT), will provide genetically male tilapia (GMT) produced by breeding "YY supermales" with untreated females to provide all male tilapia for use in one treatment of the CRSP regional verification.

The Research Associate in Rwanda advised the USAID/Kigali Mission and the USAID Natural Resources Management Project on natural resource issues up until the time of evacuation. CRSP researchers also advised the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture's Aquaculture Strategy Commission in establishing research priorities and in proposing suitable research and extension linkages. The CRSP made major contributions to the Rwasave station in constructing facilities and supporting extension personnel and publications.

Linkages between Egyptian and U.S. institutions were strengthened, and new linkages were developed. The University of Maryland and the Gan Shmuel Fish Breeding Center in Israel collaborated with CRSP research during this period.

Raul Piedrahita, Principal Investigator for the UCD/DAST, traveled to Scotland to participate in a meeting on Aquaculture and Water Resource Management, and in a workshop on the Economics of Waster Water Management in Aquaculture. The workshop was sponsored by the European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission (EIFAC). In addition to the CRSP's numerous formal connections with host country institutions through Memoranda of Understanding, the CRSP maintains ties with numerous other organizations, including many commercial fish producers in the U.S. and in host countries. A partial list of informal CRSP linkages follows:

Al Azhar University, Egypt
American Tilapia Association, United States
Board for International Food and Agricultural Development and Economic Concerns
(BIFADEC), Washington, D.C.
Boy Scouts, Rwanda
Cairo University, Egypt
CARE, Honduras
Catholic University of Leuven (CUL), Belgium, Rwanda
Central Luzon State University, Freshwater Aquaculture Center, Philippines
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), Washington, D.C.
Department of Aquaculture (DINAAC), Panama
Department of Fisheries, Udorn Thani, Thailand
Department of Renewable Natural Resources (DIGEPESCA), Honduras
Eastern Fish Cultural Laboratory, Marion, Alabama
Escuela Agrícola Panamericana, (EAP) Honduras
European Economic Community
European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission (EIFAC)
Fish Breeding Centre, Israel
Fish Culture Research Institute, Szarvas, Hungary
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, Italy
Freshwater Aquaculture Center (FAC), Philippines
Gan Shmuel Fish Breeding Center, Israel
General Authority for Fish Resource Development, Cairo, Egypt
Gondol Research Station, Ensenada, Mexico
Honduran Federation of Agricultural and Agroindustrial Producers and Exporters (FPX)
INTSORMIL CRSP, Honduras
Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB), Indonesia
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines
International Center for Aquaculture (ICA), Auburn University, Alabama
International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM), Philippines
J.F.K. Agricultural School, Honduras
Mariut Fish Farm, Egypt
Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Center, Egypt
National Agricultural Library, Washington, D.C.
National Agricultural Research Project (NARP), Egypt
National Association of Honduran Aquaculturists (ANDAH)
National Inland Fisheries Institute (NIFI), Thailand
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), La Jolla, California
National Technical Information Services, (NTIS) Springfield, Virginia
North Central Regional Aquaculture Center (NCRAC), Michigan
Northwest Fisheries Sciences Center, Seattle, Washington Peace Corps: Honduras, Thailand, Burundi, Rwanda
Red Cross, Rwanda
Soil Management CRSP, Honduras
South East Asian Fisheries Development (SEAFDEC), Philippines
Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources Management (SANREM) CRSP
Special Program for African Agricultural Research (SPAAR), Washington, D.C.
The University of the Philippines in the Visayas
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Western Regional Aquaculture Consortium (WRAC), Seattle, Washington
Zagazig University, Egypt

With its extensive international network of researchers, the CRSP is well positioned to identify needed areas of research and opportunities for aquaculture development. Emerging themes in development and in aquaculture are being addressed by the CRSP. With worldwide attention now focused on sustainable development, the CRSP work in natural resource policy development and implementation in Rwanda and Honduras assumes greater importance. The CRSP has taken an active role in encouraging women in aquaculture, reflecting the recognition of women's pivotal role in agricultural production and family nutrition. A workshop at the Annual Meeting focused on integrating a gender dimension into future aquaculture research and development. The private sector in many countries has been able to capitalize on CRSP research. The models and guidelines developed by CRSP researchers are being used in directing on-farm trials, the "acid-test" of new techniques and technologies. Finally, recognizing that new technology does not operate in a vacuum but is part of a larger socioeconomic system, the CRSP is devoting more resources to integrating the social sciences into the core research. A project inaugurated during this reporting period is investigating the socioeconomic dimensions of aquaculture development in Honduras, Thailand, and the Philippines.

The PD/A CRSP is commited to extending aquaculture development to appropriate sites. The on-going Egypt project gives the program an opportunity to apply the CRSP technologies and methodologies in an arid climate. Investigations have begun to increase the number of CRSP sites to include new agroecological zones. Deputy Director Brigitte Goetze responded to an invitation from the Ministry of Agriculture in Eritrea to visit that country to review its potential as a CRSP site. The CRSP Request for Proposals for the Continuation Plan attracted collaborators with experience and linkages in South American countries, and a new sites tin Peru is tentatively being planned, contingent on funding. In the next reporting period, Director Hillary Egna and Rwanda Principal Investigator Wayne Seim will undertake a site visit to Kenya to evaluate its appropriateness as the CRSP Africa site.

The planning for the CRSP Continuation Plan beyond 1995 began in August 1993, and continued during this reporting period. The positive reviews of the PD/A CRSP by the External Evaluation Panel and by the all-CRSP review conducted by Tropical Research and Development have resulted in an invitation from USAID to submit a Continuation Proposal during the next reporting period. A strategic document is being prepared that includes an ecological perspective on aquaculture development.

Environmental concerns are motivating the creation of more sustainable agricultural systems worldwide, at the same time as aquaculture production is being recognized as vital to the world's food economy. Diminishing stocks of wild fish, coupled with increasing demand for fish worldwide, have driven up the value of aquaculture products, especially fish and shellfish, and aquaculture is projected to continue to fill an important niche as a food source and cash crop in developing countries. Pond production of animals and plants is a key component of integrated agricultural systems in several ways. Aquaculture ponds provide an efficient means of conserving water in areas where water supplies are limited. Further, effluent from ponds can be used for crop irrigation, thus avoiding pollution of natural waterways. Pond mud-often high in organic matter and rich in nutrients-can be partially removed and used as a fertile soil additive for land crops. Aquaculture is easily integrated with other forms of agricultural production, such as chicken-fish and duck-fish operations. Farm by-products such as manures, grasses, inedible plant parts, and composts can be used as nutrient sources in aquaculture ponds. CRSP research at all sites continues to emphasize efficient utilization of these agricultural by-products to enhance production in ponds, and to contribute to sustainability by recycling farm materials.

In Egypt, researchers investigate the possibilities of using biological controls to solve pond management problems. Experiments are conducted to evaluate the ability of grass carp to control nuisance aquatic weeds. Black carp, a voracious snail predator, is being tested for its potential to reduce the snail population. Since snails are hosts to the parasite that causes bilharzia, a reduction in the snail population may reduce fish farmers' danger of contracting bilharzia. These studies are designed as building blocks in the development of a polyculture system unique to Egypt. Polyculture studies will be conducted during the second year of CRSP research in Egypt. In a second line of inquiry, CRSP researchers are comparing different management strategies (e.g. traditional Egyptian aquaculture practices) with CRSP management guidelines in an attempt to determine which strategies might work best under the arid conditions found in Egypt, thus guaranteeing the most efficient use of precious water and nutrients.

Biotechnology opens alternative avenues for the production of monosex tilapia. Research is being conducted in both Egypt and the U.S., focusing on the safe use of steroids with a special emphasis on minimizing impacts on humans, fish, and the environment.

In southern Honduras, CRSP researchers are making progress in developing efficient farming practices for shrimp farmers and in determining the carrying capacity of the Gulf of Fonseca. An understanding of the Gulf's carrying capacity will give development planners information needed to insure the protection the estuarine environment surrounding the gulf. Already, research results have shown farmers that they can reduce the percentage of protein in their shrimp feed without affecting yield, lowering both farmers' feed costs and the nutrient load in the estuary. Further research will continue to integrate environmental issues with production concerns.

Water quality concerns are also on the research agenda in Thailand. Experiments to determine the most efficient level of nutrient input help Thai farmers plan for optimal resource use without polluting ground and surface waters. CRSP researchers at all sites demonstrate a concern for the effects of aquacultural production on the wider environment.

The CRSP has long recognized that social and economic factors play an important role in the development and adoption of aquaculture technologies and management strategies. Limited funding for this CRSP has constrained research in these areas, so that only small, site-specific studies could be conducted. Past socioeconomic research was limited to providing answers to specific questions, ranging from economic analyses of feeding strategies in Honduras to analysis of gender variables in Rwanda. However, CRSP researchers recognize the need to provide basic economic information to enable farmers to evaluate research recommendations in the light of financial profitability. On-going efforts are being made to include socioeconomic variables in core research.

• POND, the expert system for pond management developed by the OSU/DAST, now includes economic data. The user-friendly program runs on IBM-compatible personal computers, and supports pond manager decisions regarding variables such as fertilization and stocking strategies.
• In Honduras, brackishwater research has already had an economic impact. Studies showed that no significant difference occurred in shrimp production when a 20% protein feed was substituted for a 40% protein feed. This finding allows farmers to cut their feed costs substantially without affecting production.
• In Rwanda, enterprise budgets for fish production and production of 12 different crops commonly raised on Rwandan farms indicate that fish farming affords the greatest rate of return to both labor and capital. An unexpected result of this study showed that farmers enter aquaculture mainly to generate income, not as was thought, to have fish as an additional food item.
• In Thailand, feeding studies designed to determine the optimal time for initial application of supplemental feed in fertilized ponds help farmers make economically sound decisions regarding supplemental feeding by identifying the critical stages when the natural food supply is inadequate to support optimal fish production.

Socioeconomic studies will soon move from the periphery of the CRSP research agenda. Socioeconomic concerns are identified as one of the core themes in the new Continuation Proposal, and will be firmly integrated into the CRSP research agenda. The global social sciences project, "Socioeconomic Dimensions of Aquaculture Development: A Comparative Assessment of Financial Returns, Adoption Barriers, and Impacts of Tilapia Production Regimes," identifies the level and type of technology available to tilapia farmers in Honduras, Thailand, and the Philippines. The role played by CRSP technology in the evolution of tilapia production practice, and the relationship of these technologies to the larger research and technology development systems is articulated, and the economic context that shapes farmers' decisions concerning technology adoption is profiled. The results of the study will have implications for future research proposals, development policy, and farm-level decision-making about tilapia technology. Field work in Honduras, Thailand, and the Philippines was completed during this reporting period.

USAID sponsored a workshop at the 1994 Annual Meeting on integrating gender dimensions of development into the research agenda. The workshop offered CRSP researchers the opportunity to reframe research proposals to reflect social, economic, and cultural variables, in addition to physical, biological and chemical variables, that affect pond production systems.

David Teichert-Coddington presented a talk on the "Relation between estuarine water quality and shrimp farm discharge in southern Honduras" at the Sustainable Development of the Gulf of Fonseca and its Watershed conference in Honduras. He also was invited to chair a section and present a paper at the regional conference on Aquaculture Research in Central America in Costa Rica, and presented a talk on water quality in shrimp ponds at the Camaron '94 conference in Mazatlán, Mexico. This conference was organized by Ralston Purina Feed Company for shrimp farmers and business people in Mexico and Central America.

Ali Abdelghany, Abdel R. El Gamal, Bartholomew Green, Hussein El Ghobashy, Fatma Hafez, Inrahim Shaker and Yasir Awad attended the World Aquaculture Society Conference and Expo '94 in New Orleans. Green presented two papers at the Water Quality/Fertilization session: "Water Budgets for Fish Ponds in the Dry Tropics" and "Chemical Budgets for Fish Ponds in the Dry Tropics."

Abdelghany also presented two posters at the Sixth International Symposium on Fish Nutrition and Feeding in Hobart, Tasmania: "Optimum ratio of animal to plant protein in formulated diets for Nile tilapia," and "Optimum protein requirements for Nile tilapia."

Jim Diana attended the annual American Fisheries Society meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Joseph Molnar presented a paper based on the CRSP survey data to the Annual Meeting of The Rural Sociological Society in Portland, Oregon.

William Shelton attended the Fifth International Symposium on Genetics in Aquaculture in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and presented a paper on "Ploidy Manipulation in Black Carp."

Hillary Egna, Brigitte Goetze, and Martin Fitzpatrick attended the two-day "Drugs in Aquaculture" workshop sponsored by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, DC.

Marion McNamara attended the Association of Women in Development in Washington, DC. She and Hillary Egna participated in the World Bank's International Centers week.

Raul Piedrahita traveled to Scotland to participate in a meeting on Aquaculture and Water Resource Management. He also participated in a workshop on the Economics of Waste Water Management in Aquaculture, sponsored by the European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission (EIFAC).