Larviculture
of marine species in Southeast Asia: current research and industry prospects
C.L. Marte
Aquaculture, 227(1-4): 293-304
Abstract:
The increased requirement for food fish, the
lucrative market for expensive seafood, and the need to conserve marine
resources, have motivated the rapid pace of larviculture research in
Southeast Asia. Various research and academic institutions in Southeast Asia
such as the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture
Department (SEAFDEC AQD) are carrying out research on commercially important
marine species including 10 fish, 6 crustacean, and 7 mollusk species. Since
fry availability is a major constraint in the development of culture
systems, a major research thrust of SEAFDEC AQD is the development of
commercially viable technologies for breeding and seed production of
commercially important marine fish and crustaceans such as milkfish,
groupers, snappers and mud crabs, in addition to the production of fry and
juveniles of endangered and depleted species such as the sea horse and the
tropical abalone for stock enhancement and sea ranching.
Although hatchery production of milkfish and sea bass
are now commercially viable enterprises, research is being pursued to
improve fry quality through feed supplementation and to lower production
cost by using alternative live or artificial feeds. Larviculture techniques
are being developed for technically demanding species such as groupers and
snappers. The recent success in larviculture of the mud crab Scylla
serrata is expected to stimulate the growth of the mud crab industry in
the region. Similarly, encouraging developments in the breeding and
larviculture of the sea horse and mollusks such as the tropical abalone will
provide the necessary support to carry out future stock enhancement and sea
ranching programs for these species.
(Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center
Aquaculture Department, Tigbauan 5021, Iloilo, Philippines, e-mail: clmarte@aqd.seafdec.org.ph)