Aquaculture CRSP
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
addressed by the CRSP in the Continuation Plan for 1996-2001.
An analysis of constraints to aquaculture revealed seven main areas:
* Aquacultural productivity
* Socioeconomics
* Environmental effects of aquaculture
* Information management
* Networking
* Human capacity
* Target economies
The focus of the CRSP efforts will consist of research in production systems
and capacity building through research support activities. Production systems
research will concentrate on specific themes in the areas of production
optimization, social and economic aspects, and environmental effects. Research
support activities are proposed in information management, networking, and
human capacity development. The structural changes needed to remove constraints
to target economies are beyond the scope of this program. However, the CRSP is
specifically designed to address the other constraints, through its
multidisciplinary systems approach to the task of generating information and
developing more sustainable production technologies.
The PD/A CRSP is committed to extending aquaculture development to appropriate
sites. The Continuation Plan calls for establishment of regional research
centers in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. These centers will
serve as springboards for extending activities to other countries in the region
while maintaining the research focus at the main site. Several new institutions
and new sites have been included in the Continuation Plan. The Sagana Fish
Culture Farm in Kenya is under consideration as a possible primary site in
Africa. Possible companion sites include the Kibos fish culture station near
Kisumu in Kenya and the Bunda College of Agriculture and the Domasi Fish Farm
in Malawi. The Honduras site at La Lujosa in Choluteca will continue to be the
primary Central American site, with continuing activities funded at the El
Carao station in Comayagua. Guatemala, Panama, and Nicaragua are being
considered as possible companion sites. In South America, the Universidad
Nacional de la Amazonia Peruana aquaculture facility at Iquitos and the
Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonia Peruana are being considered as
primary sites. Bolivia and Ecuador are being considered as possible companion
sites. AIT in Bangkok will continue to serve as the primary CRSP site in
southeast Asia, with companion sites planned for the Philippines and other
countries in Indochina.
New U.S. institutional collaborators will include: Harbor Branch Oceanographic
Institute, Ohio State University, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale,
University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Arizona, University of
Oklahoma, and University of Pittsburgh. Potential new host country
institutional collaborators are the National University of the Peruvian Amazon
and the Kenya Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife/Department of Fisheries.
Aquaculture
is projected to continue filling an important niche as a food source and cash crop in developing countries. The greatest challenge of
aquaculture development is to help create systems that can be self-sustaining.
The CRSP recognizes that the development of sustainable aquaculture systems
depends upon identifying and addressing major constraints. Major areas that
limit the development of sustainable aquaculture systems currently include:
inefficient and inconsistent aquacultural productivity; a poor understanding of
the socioeconomic factors that impact aquaculture; negative environmental
effects resulting form aquaculture operations; insufficient human capacity
development; poor or outdated information management; and limited networking
capacities. The Continuation Plan directly addresses these constraints in the
major research areas mapped out by CRSP researchers. Past CRSP accomplishments
have helped further the sustainability of aquaculture endeavors, as evidenced
by the continued growth and interest in aquaculture at all sites.
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. The impact of the
CRSP as a research and education project is evidenced by the increased
awareness on the part of Honduran shrimp farmers that the health of the Gulf of
Fonseca and its estuaries is essential for their continued economic survival.
For example, research results have shown farmers that they can lower their feed
costs while lessening 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. Studies of
deep rain-fed ponds help farmers determine the most efficient and effective
fertilizer regime to boost yield while maintaining water quality. CRSP
researchers at all sites demonstrate a concern for the effects of aquacultural
production on the wider environment.
Biotechnology opens alternative avenues for the production of monosex tilapia.
Although the Egypt project ended during this reporting period, research begun
under that project is being continued in the U.S., focusing on the safe use of
masculinizing hormones with a special emphasis on minimizing impacts on humans,
fish, and the 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. In the Continuation Plan, the CRSP allocates
significant resources to the study of socioeconomic issues that constrain
aquaculture. 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. That work describes the role of CRSP technology in the evolution
of tilapia production practice, and the relationship of these technologies to
the larger research and technology development systems. It also profiles the
economic context that shapes farmers' decisions concerning technology adoption.
The results of the study will have implications for future research proposals,
development policy, and farm-level decision-making about tilapia technology.
CRSP researchers contribute to the general aquaculture community through
their participation in international scientific meetings and conferences.
During this reporting period, CRSP researchers took part in the following
activities.
Jim Diana served as president of the North Central Division of the American
Fisheries Society. Diana attended the 1994 Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference
in Indianapolis, Indiana.
David Teichert-Coddington served on the technical organizing committee of the
Third Central American Shrimp Symposium, which was held in Tegucigalpa in April
1995. The shrimp symposium has helped to establish Honduras as a leader in
shrimp culture in Central America. In addition to Teichert-Coddington, other
CRSP-related symposium presenters included: Daniel Meyers, L. Milla, R.
Rodriguez, W. Toyofuku, J. Harvin, Delia Martinez, Bart Green, and Claude
Boyd.
J.J. Newman attended the Fifth International Symposium on Reproductive
Physiology of Fish in Austin, Texas, in July.
C.K. Lin and Claude E. Boyd served as Technical Program Chairmen for the 1996
World Aquaculture Society (WAS) meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, held 29
January-2 February 1996. Other CRSP participants who served on the
Technical Program Committee were Gary Jensen, Raul Piedrahita, David
Teichert-Coddington, and Kamonporn Tonguthai. Kitjar Jaiyen, former CRSP Host
Country Principle Investigator, served on the Organizing Committee for the WAS
meeting.
The following CRSP participants attended the World Aquaculture Society '95
meeting in San Diego, California: Jim Bowman, Hillary Egna, Doug Ernst, Martin
Fitzpatrick, Robert Fridley, Bill Gale, Brigitte Goetze, Terry Hanson, Daniel
Jamu, Eduardo Lopez, Leonard Lovshin, Joe Molnar, Shree Nath, J-J Newman, Raul
Piedrahita, Tom Popma, James Szyper, and Karen Veverica.
The following papers were presented at WAS '95 by CRSP researchers:
* Abdelghany, A.E. Effects of feeding 17a-methyltestosterone and
withdrawal on feed utilization and growth of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis
niloticus L.) fingerlings, presented by Abdelghany;
* Bowman, J.R. and J.E. Baham. Effects of calcium carbonate treatments on soil
and water chemistry in laboratory microcosms, presented by Bowman;
* Boyd, C. E. Chemistry and efficacy of amendments used to treat water and soil
quality imbalances in shrimp ponds, presented by Boyd;
* Boyd, C. E. Sustainability of channel catfish farming in the southeastern
United States, presented by Boyd;
* Boyd, C. E. Water quality characterization needs related to effluent
permitting, presented by Boyd;
* Brinkop, W.S., and R.H Piedrahita. Intensive aquaculture systems model,
presented by Brinkop;
* Emberson, C. and K. Hopkins. Intensive culture of Penaeus stylirostris
in plastic-lined tanks, poster presentation;
* Gale, W.L., M.S. Fitzpatrick, C.B. Schreck. Binding sties for the
masculinizing steroid mibolerone in the gonadal tissue of adult tilapia
(Oreochromis niloticus), presented by Gale;
* Green, B.W., Z. El Nagdy, H. Hebicha, and A. R. El Gamal. Nile tilapia
grow-out pond management strategies in Egypt, presented by Green;
* Hanson, T.R., J.J. Molnar, and L.L. Lovshin. A socio-economic analysis of
Oreochromis niloticus production in Thailand, Philippines, Honduras, and
Rwanda, presented by Hanson;
* Kastner, R.J. and C.E. Boyd. Evaluation of controlled release fertilizers for
use in fish ponds, presented by Boyd;
* Lin, C.K. Progression of intensive marine shrimp culture in Thailand,
presented by Lin;
* Lin, C.K., J.S. Diana, C.F. Yi. Optimal rate of supplementary feeding for
Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in fertilized ponds, presented by
Lin;
* Munsiri, P. and C.E. Boyd. Physical and chemical properties of soil profiles
in aquaculture ponds at Auburn, Alabama, presented by Boyd;
* Schwartz, M.F. and C.E. Boyd. Constructed wetlands for treatment of effluents
from channel catfish ponds, presented by Boyd;
* Szyper, J. P. and W. Havanont. Effects of controlled concentration of
dissolved oxygen on growth and food conversion of juveniles of two carnivorous
fishes in tanks, presented by Szyper.
Teichert-Coddington was an invited speaker at the WAS Special Session on Shrimp
Farming. He presented the paper, "Estuarine water quality and sustainable
shrimp culture in Honduras."
Also at the WAS meeting, CRSP researcher Shree Nath demonstrated
POND (c) during the session on "Education in the
Age of the Information Highway."
In January 1995, Lin presented a seminar on pond fertilization to fishery
officers from five provinces in northeast Thailand. A practical protocol was
formulated for farmers interested in adopting high fertilizer input for tilapia
culture.
Joseph Molnar organized a symposium on aquaculture as part of the 1995 annual
meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The
symposium, held on February 17 in Atlanta, Georgia, addressed how recent
advances in aquaculture are augmenting world food supplies. Szyper and Boyd
each presented papers at the symposium.
Hillary Egna and Bryan Duncan participated in a workshop on "Developing
Strategy Objectives for the Office of Agriculture and Food Security," 21-23
February 1995 in Fair Oaks, Virginia.
Bryan Duncan served on the organizing committee of the Pacific Congress on
Marine Science and Technology (PACON) Conference on Sustainable Aquaculture '95
in Honolulu, Hawaii, in June 1995. Other CRSP members attending the conference
were: Claude Boyd, Hillary Egna, Phil Helfrich, C. Kwei Lin, Shree Nath, Harry
Rea, and James Szyper.
The following papers were presented:
* Boyd, C.E. Source water, soil, and water quality impacts on sustainability in
aquaculture, presented by Boyd;
* Nath, S., J.P. Bolte, and D.H. Ernst. Decision support for pond aquaculture
planning and management, presented by Nath;
* Szyper, J., C. Lin, D. Little, A. Yakupitiyage, and S. Sethboonsorng.
Techniques for efficient and sustainable mass production of tilapia in
Thailand, presented by Szyper;
* Teichert-Coddington, D. and G. Ward. Pond management, estuarine water
quality, and sustainable shrimp culture in Central America, presented by
Boyd.
* Veverica, K. and T. Popma. Cut grass as fertilizer for tilapia ponds:
composting methods, presented by Duncan;
* Veverica, K. and T. Popma. Cut grass as fertilizer for tilapia ponds:
application rates and timing, presented by Duncan.
PD/A CRSP
