SEAFDEC to Lead Aquaculture Component of Eel Project
In order to improve the current on-farm survival of glass eels in the nursery, SEAFDEC/Aquaculture Department (AQD) was assigned to take charge of the aquaculture component of the Enhancing Sustainable Utilization and Management Scheme of Tropical Anguillid Eel Resources in Southeast Asia project funded by Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF).
The aquaculture component of the project will involve rearing trials of glass eels using various refinements to improve survival. It will also include a survey of existing eel farms for rearing practices and survival data.
Dr. Maria Lourdes Aralar, a scientist of SEAFDEC/AQD, attended the preparatory meeting for the JAIF project on anguillid eels on 9 June 2017 in Palembang, Indonesia. Based on Dr. Aralar’s report, DNA analysis of glass eels will be conducted in the second year of the project. It was agreed that ASEAN member states with anguillid eel fisheries (i.e. Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, and Viet Nam) will conduct their own genetic analysis for their own stocks.