This week’s blog features, Dr. Cheng-Sheng Lee, Executive Director of the Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture, an organization jointly administered by the Oceanic Institute and the University of Hawaii. He recently returned from a volunteer assignment in Myanmar where he provided training to catfish farmers and breeders at the Myanmar Fisheries Federation office and a practical training at Yangon University in collaboration with the the USAID-funded Developing a Sustainable Seafood Industry Infrastructure project in Myanmar.

Dr. Lee noted, “The best reward as a volunteer is to work with a group of trainees who are eager to learn. At the conclusion of the workshop, I saw several sub-groups were formed and talking to each other. Later, I was informed that they were organizing a small working group to facilitate communication in the future, it was so great to hear that. I wanted them to network at my first day lecture, but did not expect it would happen right after the workshop. They are one of the best groups I have worked with in my nearly 50-year career in aquaculture. It was so enjoyable to work with them. The local catfish farming industry will expand as the result of this workshop.”

One participant from Maubin University expressed his thanks, saying, “This training helped us organize catfish farmers from different regions and know the existence of laboratory facilities that can help us with testing and research finding.”

Dr. Lee expects that the workshop will lead to an increased number of farmers who will start to spawn stinging catfish during the upcoming spawning season, an increase in production of stinging catfish fingerlings, improved interactions and relationships between farmers and university faculty, an increase in university faculty and students’ interests in aquaculture, and increased communication of the working group following the workshop. Dr. Lee concluded by saying, “I felt my time with them was worthwhile and am inspired to continue doing more volunteer works.”

Dr. Lee in Twante Township, conducting an initial field visit of the catfish farms prior to training.

Fish farming, beyond other agriculture activities, is practiced by youth as a main source of income in Nepal. Gaining skills on improved management practices like water quality management and learning to adjust inputs based on pond fertilization results, can lead to decreases in fish mortality rates, and thus diminish economic losses for youth-led businesses.

F2F volunteer, Dr. Hugh Thomforde earned his PhD in Fisheries Management from Auburn University and was an  Aquaculture Extension Specialist for 17 years at the University of Arkansas. He recently returned from a rewarding assignment in Nepal where he worked with youth from the Sahodar Agriculture Cooperative to improve their fish pond management skills.

“The Secchi disk is a low-tech tool to assist fish producers in making management decisions regarding feeding, fertilizing, and water quality. Members of Sahodar Agricultural Cooperative at Shiktahan Village in southern Nepal were introduced to this device on the first day of training. Ms. Pabita Dewi Chaudary went home and made one from found materials. She used a novel method. She molded cement in a bowl for the bulls-eye base, with an old flag pole set vertically in the middle for the handle. These photos were taken the next morning. We see Shailesh Gurung of Tribhuvan University coaching Ms. Chaudary (foreground) and Ms. Taru as they learn how to use this tool to measure phytoplankton density.”

“The livestock pen shown below was built by Ram Kumar Tharu, Chairperson of the Sahodar Agriculture Cooperative on March 8th, showing quick implementation of one of my recommendations. Animal waste will drop directly into the pond, providing fertilizer to plankton and supplemental feed to carps. It is the first of its kind in the area. The photo came via Shailesh Gurung, who says other cooperative members will monitor the results closely.”

I usually prefer to find a way to make assignments more active, but here at the Jal Devi Matsya Cooperative in southern Nepal we spent most of the training in a classroom, discussing the complexities of shallow earthen pond ecology, and carp production through organic fertilization and growth of natural foods. It’s a topic I know well, and which the participants were highly motivated to grasp. The level of involvement by female participants was inspiring. Women are involved in the cooperative at all levels, and they sometimes occupied half the seats in the room. A group of three were brave enough to stop our car one morning, close their umbrellas, and squeeze in with me in the back seat. In the classroom both men and women sit in relaxed positions, often cross-legged, in the plastic chairs. They self-segregate, with women on one side of the middle aisle and men on the other. The women were sometimes less vocal but at other times more willing to speak up to let me know when they understood a concept or when they remained uncertain about something. Women immediately gravitated to the microscope during class exercises, and generally became more skilled at mounting slides and getting plankton, or gut contents, gill tissues, or skin scrapings in view and in focus, and understanding what they see. On many afternoons we left the heat of the cramped classroom by 3 or 4 pm to spend an hour visiting participants’ farms. (This is southern Nepal, at 300 feet above sea level, and midday temperatures often exceeds 100 F.) All co-op members manage ponds and many own land, and I believe that puts them among the wealthiest tier of the Banghusari population. Several were able to speak English but Arun Thapa, Winrock International, Nepal Farmer-to-Farmer Project Management and Communications Specialist, knew that I would insist on translation to Nepali for continuity among the group.

Women participants practicing how to view and understand aquaculture slides during the training

I expect the follow-up evaluations of this training will indicate greater impact than many other assignments I’ve conducted for Winrock. Participants demonstrated extraordinary motivation to implement improved practices. During my initial visit to Jal Devi Matsya, I observed 20 Secchi disks in their storehouse. They were dusty, and it soon became clear that their use was not well understood, and as a consequence I made a major effort to reinforce the use of Secchi disks. They are a key low-tech tool for plankton management. Reliable measurement of plankton density allows the pond manager to adjust nutrient loading with fair accuracy. Participants learned to limit manure and feed applications until plankton density, as measured with a Secchi disk, was 20 to 45 cm. This criteria is well-established throughout Asia for semi-intensive carp polyculture in fertilized earthen ponds. Managing ponds so that Secchi readings are within this range generally leads to high fish yields without creating harmful environmental conditions. After explaining and demonstrating pond management techniques the Secchi disks sold out.

On several afternoons I shopped for mangoes, guavas, stubby bananas and pomegranates under the threat of rain. Mounds of fresh ginger in the market piqued my interest. I took advantage of working wifi and learned Nepal is third in world exports of ginger, and also that the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service lists ginger as generally admissible from any source as long as the roots are free from dirt, so I bought some to bring back as gifts. Arun found me a scrub brush. He was most helpful at every juncture.

Hugh Thomforde managed commercial fish farms in the Philippines and Hawaii. He is retired from the graduate faculty of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries. He has completed 8 Farmer to Farmer assignments for Winrock in Africa and Asia.

Our September volunteer of the month is fisheries and aquaculture expert Dr. Joe Sullivan. Joe served in the Peace Corps as a Fisheries Extension Agent in Zambia after retiring from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, fulfilling a lifelong dream. Since then, he has volunteered several times with Winrock’s USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program, completing two volunteer assignments for Winrock this year alone. His volunteer service for Winrock since 2002 has taken him to Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Nigeria, Mali, and Senegal.

During his most recent assignment in Nigeria, Joe worked with the Nigeria Cooperative Women Alliance (NICOWA), an all-female organization set up to assist women from all works of life to engage in productive ventures and attain self-reliance. NICOWA requested support from a F2F volunteer to provide training-of-trainers in catfish fingerlings production to a select group of its members who will go on to train other members of this group. Joe trained more than 100 women. He found NICOWA to be a well-organized cooperative with enthusiastic members dedicated to solving their problem of access to catfish fingerlings for their growers.

“I have been on around 18 volunteer assignments over the years and I would have to say, this one was the most memorable. The host was so enthusiastic about the training and what they could do with the information they learned.”

Joe Sullivan demonstrating improved techniques for growing catfish larvae

Joe Sullivan and NICOWA chapter leaders

Joe is a very passionate fisheries and aquaculture expert. During his recent assignment in Nigeria, he was unable to return to the fish farm in the evening to inject the fish with hormones so that the catfish could spawn the next morning. Therefore, he took a couple of catfish in plastic tubs back to his hotel room so he could inject them in the evening. During the night, the catfish jumped out of the plastic tubs and were walking around the bathroom! Fortunately, Joe knows how to handle catfish.

Joe is also a big advocate of volunteerism and the Farmer-to-Farmer program. He recently wrote about his volunteer experiences with F2F for Oncorhynchus, the newsletter for the Alaska Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, and he often speaks at public events to share his volunteer experiences. Joe says that when he talks to groups about Farmer-to-Farmer, he explains, “All you need are your skills and a desire to help people; Winrock takes care of everything else!” To be successful, he says, “the volunteer has to connect to the people he or she is training.”

After so many volunteer experiences around the globe, what inspires Joe to keep volunteering?

“It is so much fun and being able to connect with people of other cultures and know you are giving a hand up and not a hand out. Volunteering allows me to give my love and knowledge of aquaculture to others and see them benefit from these assignments. I always learn something new.”

Thank you for your great work, commitment, and service, Joe!

Today’s blog entry comes from Dr. Bill Daniels from Auburn University, who recently completed a Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer assignment in Bangladesh.

“Bangladesh is a lush, green tropical country, at least during the rainy season, and the delta region has water everywhere. It is not surprising that it is the 5^th largest producer of aquaculture products, but it could produce so much more. Its people and culture are also most hospitable and welcoming to the outsider. Despite the language barrier, people went out of their way to make the visit enjoyable.

According to the Department of Fisheries, aquaculture and fisheries provide employment of 17 million people in Bangladesh, 60% of animal protein supply and 650 million US$ export earnings per year. It has 10 million hectares of rice fields with an additional 2.8 million hectares of seasonal rice fields where water remain 4-6 months (BRKB 2010). In 2014, fish production reached 3.5 million metric tons. Despite the lush conditions of Bangladesh, the intensity of aquaculture production is relatively low compared to other Asian countries. In Bangladesh, aquaculture production is mainly extensive and the production rate is comparatively low. For example, shrimp yield is only 200-300 kg/ha/year.

Freshwater prawn (Golda) production in Bangladesh (and also in Myanmar –where I completed another F2F assignment earlier this year) is hampered by the lack of hatchery-reared post-larvae for pond stocking and has to be supplemented with wild-caught post-larvae and juveniles. Despite the numerous existing hatcheries, most of these are not producing because of continued failure to consistently produce larvae leading to high financial losses.

My assignment focused on evaluating the cause of prawn larval mortalities and training in proper hatchery management to reduce losses. This work focused on working with the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute’s Shrimp Research Center in Bagerhat located near the area where freshwater prawns are grown and marketed. Through its staff and scientists, we were able to convert an existing system (water exchange based) into a closed recirculating system to provide better water quality and solids removal along with better biosecurity and daily hatchery management.

I am looking forward to seeing the fruits of our labor when the rainy season ends and a new era in Golda hatcheries begins!”