Palembang, Indonesia.- In order to improve the current on-farm survival of glass eels in the nursery, SEAFDEC/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).
Dr. Maria Lourdes Aralar, a scientist of SEAFDEC/AQD, attended the preparatory meeting for the JAIF project on anguillid eels on June 9, 2017 in Palembang, Indonesia.
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.
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.
For the Philippines, Dr. Evelyn Ame of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-Region II and the technical person for eel, said that the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute will do the analysis. In addition, Dr. Aralar suggested during the meeting that SEAFDEC/AQD can do the analysis for glass eel samples collected for the nursery rearing component.
The JAIF fund for the eel project is expected to be released in July 2017.
