SEAFDEC conducts training on milkfish culture for Thai DOF staff

SEAFDEC supported three staff from the Department of Fisheries (DOF) Thailand, namely: Dr. Jirayuth Ruensirikul, Mr. Supakant Chaichotranunt, and Mr. Chalit Sangangam, to participate in the “Training Course on Milkfish Culture,” held on 3–14 March 2025 at SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department (AQD) in Iloilo, Philippines.

This training consisted of lectures, practical sessions and field trips that encompassed the following topics on milkfish culture technologies i.e. broodstock management; egg collection and incubation; larval rearing, natural food production (phytoplankton and zooplankton); harvest, packing and transport of milkfish fry; nutritional requirements; feed formulation and preparation; water quality monitoring and management; diseases of milkfish and disease management; hatchery site selection; milkfish culture in earthen ponds and culture in sea cages, and post-harvest processing of milkfish.

Apart from lectures and demonstrations on broodstock management and larval rearing at the AQD Tigbauan Main Station, the trainees also went to the Dumangas Brackishwater Station for lectures and practicals related to milkfish culture in ponds. They also went to the Igang Marine Station for a lecture on milkfish cage culture and observation of milkfish cage culture facilities. Furthermore, the trainees also visited the Institute of Fish Processing Technology, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences of the University of the Philippines Visayas in Miagao, Iloilo for lectures on post-harvest processing and value-added milkfish products.

Through this Training, the trainees are envisaged to be able to apply the knowledge they gained to develop the cultivation of milkfish in Thailand, especially in rearing milkfish broodstock to receive complete nutrition, nursing milkfish fry to achieve high survival rate, and cultivating phytoplankton and zooplankton for milkfish culture. It is also expected that DOF Thailand will promote the production of milkfish fry to meet the demand of Thai farmers in the future.