V. Public Service

• Institution Building
  
• Education and Professional Development
  
• Thailand
  
• Honduras
  
• United States
  
• Degree programs
  
• Linkages

The Pond Dynamics/Aquaculture CRSP relies on its on-site researchers to recognize opportunities to support training activities at local research institutions and to find efficient ways to extend CRSP research results to farmers. CRSP researchers in all countries have capitalized on these opportunities, enabling the CRSP to increase its impact at little or no additional cost. Although ancillary to the Global Experiment and site-specific studies, these activities contribute to institution building and increased food production, thereby furthering the main strategic approach. Such activities also help promote international scientific linkages through the exchange of technical information. As a result, research capabilities have been substantially strengthened in every developing country where the CRSP has been active. Some of these important contributions are described below.

Institution Building

The research activity of the CRSP has resulted in major improvements to the research infrastructure of the 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 contribute to curriculum development.

In Honduras, a CRSP-led public-private joint venture continues to produce economic benefits while increasing the understanding of 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 Aquaculturists (ANDAH), the Panamerican Agriculture School (EAP), and the Federation of Producers and Exporters of Honduras (FPX) to study water quality issues affecting 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 materials such as fertilizer and feed needed for 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 in Choluteca was dedicated in 1993 and makes important contributions to research issues including estuarine monitoring, pond fertilization, and shrimp feeding strategies. The results of this research will help increase farmers' economic efficiency and minimize negative environmental impact.

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. The CRSP has also been instrumental in providing outreach assistance in northeast Thailand. The CRSP researcher there conducted a workshop for fisheries officers from four northeast provinces; each fishery officer in turn solicited small-scale farmers to participate in the high input green water regimen recommended by the AIT/CRSP.

Education and Professional
Development

Formal training programs have rarely been funded by this CRSP; nevertheless, the involvement of students from host countries and the U.S. constitutes an important part of the CRSPs 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

The CRSP is involved in training as a component of several studies that help extend CRSP research to farm ponds throughout Thailand. C. Kwei Lin organized a three-week training course entitled "Water quality and pond soil management for sustainable aquaculture." The course was held at AIT from 17 April to 5 May 1995. The CRSP provides the research component for an adaptive management system in which on-farm studies help speed the extension of research to the farmers while the farmers' concerns help create the research agenda. As an example, during this reporting period researchers investigated deep rain-fed ponds, an important element of the farm system in northeast Thailand.

Honduras

The CRSP has maintained informal linkages with the Panamerican Agriculture School at Zamorano for many years. During this reporting period, a student from the school will complete a fourth year degree with a CRSP study of the interaction among biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and nutrient changes over a period of 21 days in shrimp farm intake and discharge water. Two other students began a study on the effects of tides on nutrients, oxygen, temperature, and salinity profiles in two major shrimp-producing estuaries of southern Honduras.

United States

Joseph Molnar of Auburn University organized a symposium on aquaculture for the 1995 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Atlanta, Georgia. Entitled "Augmenting World Food Supplies through Aquaculture: Recent Advances in Fish Culture and the Technology of Aquatic Systems," the symposium featured presentations by CRSP presenters Claude E. Boyd (on "Control of water quality as a fundamental aspect of aquaculture") and James P. Szyper (on "Photosynthesis and reproduction in culture ponds"). CRSP researchers offer seminars on topics related to CRSP research at the participating U.S. universities whenever appropriate.

Degree programs

Enthusiasm generated by informal training opportunities and by exposure to research activities at the CRSP 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. Before this reporting period, over 130 degrees (B.S., M.S., and Ph.D.) were awarded, and during this period, another nine were completed under the direction of CRSP researchers.

Over 87 theses have been completed under the direction of CRSP researchers. Theses completed during this period are:

* Amechi, Enc O. 1995. An Assessment of By-Catch Biomass in Experimental Fish Ponds. M.S. Thesis. Asian Institute of Technology.
* Ahmed, Saleh. 1995. Assessment of Chlorine as a Piscicide in Freshwater Fish Culture. M.S. Thesis. Asian Institute of Technology.
* Baouthong, Pompimon. 1995. The Effect of Feeding Regime on Growth and Body Composition of Shrimp (P. monodon). M.S. Thesis. Asian Institute of Technology.
* Chughtai, Muhammad A. 1995. Effects of Water Spinach (Ipomoea Aquatic) on Nutrient Regime and Fish Growth. M.S. Thesis. Asian Institute of Technology.
* Rungruengwudhikrai, Em-om. 1995. Characterization and Classification of Off-Flavour of Nile Tilapia. M.S. Thesis. Asian Institute of Technology.
* Vuthana, Hean. 1995. Fish Pond Turbidity in Cambodia. M.S. Thesis. Asian Institute of Technology.
* Ungsethaphan, Theapparath. 1995. An On-Farm Trial to Investigate Feeding Strategies for Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Broodfish. M.S. Thesis. Asian Institute of Technology.
* Xie, Jian Jun. 1995. Alternative Methods for Maggot Production. M.S. Thesis. Asian Institute of Technology.
* Md, Rafiqul Islam, 1995. A Field Survey of the Factors Involved in the Use of Ponds for Fish Culture in Bangladesh, With Emphasis on Water Quality. 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. Figure 1 (not included here) indicates the distribution of degree and non-degree training.

Most of the trainees have come from PD/A CRSP host countries-Egypt, Honduras, Indonesia, Panama, the Philippines, Rwanda, and Thailand (Figure 2); 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, development projects, and agricultural extension services, where they are able to increase public awareness of aquaculture's importance in food systems.

Linkages

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, ANDAH, EAP, and FPX, who each make substantial contributions to the on-going operation of the project. In addition, CRSP researchers serve as consultants for Peace Corps volunteers, who also have assisted with logistical arrangements for researchers involved with the social sciences project. During this reporting period, the in-country CRSP researcher held a field trip for members of the Programa Regional de Apoyo al Desarrollo de la Pesca en el Istmo Centroamericano (PRADEPESCA), a project funded by the European Union for aquaculture and fisheries work in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Participants had the opportunity to view the CRSP work first-hand and to discuss potential collaboration between the two projects. The in-country CRSP researcher also conducted a field trip and seminar for 12 USAID personnel, including the Mission Director from Honduras, and representatives from environmental offices in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Representatives from the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of the Environment of Honduras also attended. The group toured the water quality lab and several farms and estuaries, before convening a seminar to discuss potential interaction among USAID, ANDAH, and the La Lujosa Water Quality Lab.

A four-person team from USDA visited Choluteca after conducting workshops on shrimp culture in Nicaragua. The team toured the lab and a local shrimp farm. As a follow-up the CRSP researcher and representatives from USDA, the Panamerican School in Zamorano, and ANDAH created a plan of action for presenting a project proposal to the International Development Bank (IDB) for funding an aquaculture training and demonstration project in Honduras and the Central American region. The Country Director of the IDB joined in some of the planning meetings. The project will be led by a local institution.

The CRSP continues to strengthen its ties with institutions in southeast Asia. In Thailand, CRSP researchers hold long- and short-term faculty appointments at 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. CRSP researchers working on outside projects in Vietnam and Laos have added to the regional network of potential CRSP collaborators.

The CRSP presence in the Philippines, once a primary CRSP site, was re-established by setting up a companion site at the Freshwater Aquaculture Center at Central Luzon State University (FAC/CLSU). In addition, the CRSP maintains ties with ICLARM. Genetically selected tilapia from an ICLARM-sponsored project are used for field testing at the FAC/CLSU as part of the regional verification trials being conducted by the CRSP in the Philippines. Another collaborator is the FAC/CLSU-University of Wales Swansea Research Project on Genetic Manipulations for Improved Tilapia (GMIT). This research program provides all male tilapia for use in one treatment of the CRSP regional verification. These genetically male tilapia are produced by breeding "YY supermales" with untreated females. In addition to the CRSPs numerous formal connections with host country institutions through Memoranda of Understanding, the CRSP maintains ties with numerous other organizations, including some commercial fish producers in the U.S. and in host countries. A partial list of informal CRSP linkages follows:

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Al Azhar University, Egypt
American Tilapia Association, United States
American Fisheries Society
Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD, Washington, D.C.)
Cairo University, Egypt
CARE, Honduras
Catholic University of Leuven (CUL), Belgium, Rwanda
Central Luzon State University, Freshwater Aquaculture Center, Philippines (FAC/CLSU)
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), Washington, D.C.
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
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, Italy
Honduran Federation of Agricultural and Agroindustrial Producers and Exporters (FPX)
International Development Bank (IDB)
International Sorghum and Millet (INTSORMIL) CRSP
Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB), Indonesia
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada
International Center for Aquaculture (ICA), Auburn University, Alabama
International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM), Philippines
J.F.K. Agricultural School, Honduras
Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Center, Abbassa, Egypt
National Agricultural Library, Washington, D.C.
National Association of Honduran Aquaculturists (ANDAH), Honduras
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
Programa Regional de Apoyo al Desarrollo de la Pesca en el Istmo Centroamericano (PRADEPESCA), Honduras
Peace Corps, Honduras
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), Washington, D.C.
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C.
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
World Aquaculture Society (WAS), Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Western Regional Aquaculture Consortium (WRAC), Seattle, Washington

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