http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12066/6987 2026-04-06T03:07:43Z http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12066/6984 Fish for the People Vol. 20 No. 1 Fisheries have been playing important roles in the socioeconomic structure of many countries in the world, especially in Southeast Asia. In addition to supplying the source of protein for many, fisheries have always played a fundamental part in enhancing the world economies and providing job opportunities to a lot of people, making it critical for the sustainable management of the fisheries for the future generations. In the Southeast Asian region, the need to enhance the integration of habitat and biodiversity conservation into fishery management and practices has been realized through the establishment of fisheries refugia, which is considered an important approach for the conservation and management of major critical coastal habitats including mangroves, coral reefs, and seagrass beds. The countries in the region recognized that a comprehensive structural framework, criteria, and indicators are essential components of effective fisheries refugia to manage the intense levels of small-scale fishing pressures that exert unsustainable pressure on the fisheries and the environment. Specifically, indicators that reflect broad ecological, social, economic, and institutional objectives could provide supplementary information to improve sustainable fisheries management and formulate fishery management policies and frameworks. For aquaculture, technologies are continued to be developed to enhance the reproduction of economically important cultured penaeid species as well as recuperate threatened fish species. However, slow growth, diseases, and low reproduction are among the challenges in closing the life cycle in captivity and domesticating shrimp; thus, novel strategies are being explored to manipulate sex-specific nutritional requirements and enhance the maturation and mating of male and female broodstock. Meanwhile, experimental farming of threatened freshwater fish revealed unfeasible results due to slow growth, predatory behavior, and high feed requirement; nevertheless, research on broodstock rearing, spawning, and hatching is underway to support conservation efforts. Due to COVID-19, the government-imposed lockdowns made negative and positive impacts on the fisheries sector of major fishing countries of the region. Although the closure harmed the ecotourism industry, the local people have found sustainable ways to survive through the crisis such as returning to fishing and farming while not abandoning their environmental conservation initiatives. Measures have also restricted trade which led to a decline in demand for fish and fishery products. On the other hand, lockdowns did not stop illegal fishing, particularly encroachment of commercial fishing in areas that are restricted to small-scale fishing. Nonetheless, the countries remained vigilant to apprehend illegal fishing practices by sustaining the enforcement activities despite COVID-19 restrictions. Recently, the use of information technologies had been strengthened to include not only monitoring and tracking the activities of fishing vessels but also monitoring, managing, and warning of any environmental problems in coastal areas. The technologies are also being used for mobile catch documentation applications for small-scale fish suppliers and buyers, and also serve as communication devices, enabling small-scale fishers to participate in electronic catch documentation traceability and establish increased communication and safety at sea. These technologies are therefore potential tools for utilization in data and information compilation and various analyses, the results of which could be used in decision making and in formulating management strategies for sustainable utilization of fishery resources. 2022-07-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12066/6983 Integrating habitat conservation and fishery management in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand through fisheries refugia Siriraksophon, Somboon The integration of habitat and biodiversity conservation into fishery management and practices in the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand has been improved through the efforts of concerned communities and governments. This approach was made possible under the project “Establishment and Operation of a Regional System of Fisheries Refugia in the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand” supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The Project was implemented by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) in partnership with the fisheries agencies of the riparian countries bordering the South China Sea, namely: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The main focus of the Project was establishing a regional system of fisheries refugia, which are fisheries management areas, in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand. Initially planned for 48 months from January 2017 until December 2020, the Project duration was extended until December 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, as of June 2022, the communities in the fisheries refugia sites of the participating countries have been working towards enhancing the integration of habitat and biodiversity conservation into fishery management and practices for the economically important aquatic species. By 2022, the effective management of critical threats to 15 fisheries refugia sites with a total area of about 1.36 million ha is expected to be adopted. This is more than five times of the proposed refugia areas (269,500 ha) adopted by the GEF/CEO. Among these, five fisheries refugia were agreed upon among stakeholders and approved by the governments, including three in Cambodia at Kep Province for blue swimming crab, Preah Sihanouk for blood cockle, and Koh Kong Province for Indo-Pacific mackerel; and two in Thailand at Surat Thani Province for blue swimming crab and Trat Province for Indo-Pacific mackerel. In addition, seven fisheries refugia sites were recognized by the stakeholders and will be adopted by the responsible agencies. These include one in Cambodia at Kampot Province for the juvenile grouper; two in Malaysia at Tanjung Leman, Johor State for spiny lobster and at Miri, Sarawak State for tiger prawn; three in the Philippines at Bolinao for siganids, at Masinloc for onestripe fusilier, and Coron for redbelly yellowtail fusilier; and two in Indonesia at West Kalimantan for white prawn, and at Bangka Regency for squid. Moreover, although the activities in Viet Nam were delayed, the country have identified two refugia sites, one at the Eastern coastal area of Phu Quoc – Kien Giang for blue swimming crab, and another at the coastal area of Lagi, Binh Thuan for subcrenata ark clam. 2022-07-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12066/6982 Establishing indicators for sustainable management of fisheries refugia Siriraksophon, Somboon The project “Establishment and Operation of a Regional System of Fisheries Refugia in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand” was developed as part of the implementation of the fisheries component of the Strategic Action Programme for the South China Sea. Supported financially by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) from 2016 to 2022, the Project was executed in the South China Sea area by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) in partnership with the fisheries agencies of the riparian countries of South China Sea, namely: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The Project was mainly focused on establishing a regional system of fisheries management areas known as fisheries refugia in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand. The four components of the Project include 1) establishment of operational management at 14 priority fisheries refugia, with community-based refugia management plans being the key outputs; 2) strengthening of the enabling environment for the formal designation and operational management of refugia; 3) strengthening of information management and dissemination for enhancing the national uptake of best practices in integrating fisheries management and biodiversity conservation, and in improving community acceptance of area-based approaches to fisheries and coastal environmental management; and 4) strengthening the cross-sectorial coordination for integrated fisheries and environmental management while harnessing national scientific and technical expertise, and knowledge required to promote policy, legal and institutional reforms for fisheries refugia management in the participating countries. More specifically, the third component focused on information management which includes supporting activities that involve the development of national knowledge management systems on the use of fisheries refugia in capture fisheries management, establishment of a Regional Education and Awareness Centre as a facility for the production and sharing of information and education materials on fisheries and critical habitat linkages in the South China Sea area, development of indicators to monitor the effectiveness of coastal fisheries management systems established for priority fisheries refugia, and establishment of a regional program for the compilation of standardized fisheries statistics for identifying and managing fisheries refugia. During the implementation of the Project, the participating countries defined the structural frameworks together with criteria and indicators to enhance the effective management of fisheries refugia leading to the development of the Regional Guidelines on Indicators for Sustainable Management of Fisheries Refugia. 2022-07-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12066/6981 Enhancing the reproductive performance of cultured shrimp: novel information on scent, maturation, and mating Santander-Avanceña, Sheryll S. What are sex pheromones and how do they function in the courtship and mating of shrimps and other crustaceans? Best known as chemical compounds excreted by animals to initiate reproduction-related responses from their potential mates, pheromones became an important factor in shrimp culture. An earlier study, showed that the domesticated shrimp had a reduced level of pursuit behavior than the wild-caught and suggested that sex pheromones could have played a role in this behavioral difference. Domesticated penaeids are typically reared communally until ready for use as broodstock wherein animals are continually exposed to varying chemical cues. There is a close relationship between chemicals involved in molting and mating of closed thelycum species but information regarding the effect of prolonged exposure of male penaeids to molting and sex pheromones of females on reproduction behavior is not available. In 2021, SEAFDEC/AQD conducted a research to evaluate the possible implications of monosex rearing on gonad maturation and reproduction behavior of Penaeus indicus broodstock. Results demonstrated that the traditional communal rearing of male and female P. indicus broodstock do not have a significant effect on the ovary development and sperm quality of female and male broodstock, respectively. But this common practice of rearing male and female broodstock together significantly reduced reproductive related behavior leading to lower successful matings compared to when broodstock were reared monosex. This novel information could be linked to previous report on reduced successful matings previously reported in black tiger prawn, P. monodon. Therefore, monosex rearing should be considered as an alternate broodstock setup as this will facilitate optimized sexspecific nutritional manipulation and even potentially increase the mating success of domesticated penaeid broodstock. 2022-07-01T00:00:00Z