The CRSP Ninth Work Plan encompasses research, training, and extension activities to be carried out in three major regions of the world—South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. The South America project is located in Peru, the Africa project operates out of Kenya, and the projects in Southeast Asia are composed of an island/oceanic component in the Philippines and a mainland component in Thailand. In addition, under a restricted request for proposals issued by the Management Entity in March 1999, a Central America project sited in Honduras will likely be in place by mid-1999.

The prime site for South America was established under the Eighth Work Plan at Quistacocha Research Station, Iquitos, Peru, in the Loreto Region of the Peruvian Amazon, where the CRSP collaborates with the Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonia Peruana and the Universidad Nacional de la Amazonia Peruana. Under the Ninth Work Plan, the site will be further developed, including enhancement of the water quality lab and pond and hatchery facilities. The objectives of specific research activities will continue to be the development of alternative species for culture, with a focus on broodstock maintenance, including nutrition, induced spawning using hormones, and analysis of seasonal plasma steroid levels. Pond grow-out studies will also be performed to build upon results of pond studies conducted in the Eighth Work Plan. Training of Peruvian personnel will continue, focusing on water quality analyses, the use of hormones as spawning aids, and proper nutrition of broodstock. Outreach and networking activities will be undertaken to regionalize the benefits of the CRSP.

The Africa project operates out of Sagana Fish Farm, Sagana, Kenya, in collaboration with the Kenya Fisheries Department. Plans also include the establishment of at least one companion site in the East Africa region where relevant aquaculture research can be conducted. Research to be conducted at Sagana under the Ninth Work Plan includes a feed study to determine the best combination of locally available feedstuffs for use in farmers’ ponds and a study on the use of pond effluents in crop production on adjacent field plots. Other activities to be carried out under the Ninth Work Plan include aquaculture training for fisheries extension officers and students at both graduate and undergraduate levels, on-farm trials of stocking and management options, and outreach efforts to establish and encourage linkages and collaboration among regional aquaculture institutions, including the CRSP.

The Philippines project is based at Central Luzon State University (CLSU), but may also include research on other islands and in other areas of the Philippines. Project coordination and integration will be improved by strengthening electronic networking, allowing CLSU to function effectively as a regional prime site in support of aquaculture throughout Southeast Asia. Ninth Work Plan activities include on-farm trials of timing of the onset of supplemental feeding and reduction of rations below satiation levels, as well as workshops and production of improved extension materials. The Thailand project is based at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), near Bangkok, but has in recent years included outreach activities out of Udorn and other fisheries stations in the region. Under the Ninth Work Plan, research will also be conducted at sites in Vietnam and Laos and opportunities for work in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal will be explored. It is hoped that a high-elevation site, which might provide comparable information to the African site, can be developed. Studies undertaken out of AIT will include studies on polyculture of mixed-sex tilapia with snakehead, integrated recycle systems for catfish and tilapia, and taro culture in fish ponds to recycle pond mud nutrients.