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AKUATROP Activities

FISH PARASITES COURSE FOR STUDENTS AQUACULTURE, TAMPIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE (KKM) 2013 This course has been requested by the Tampin Community College as one of the learning activities for aquaculture program student. AKUATROP was selected as course venue because of our experience and expertise in aquatic parasitology. This course was organized by the Fish Health Research Laboratory Management Unit AKUATROP. The course was held successfully on 20th - May 23, 2013 at the Research Laboratory AKUATROP and Tasik Kenyir. The 4 day 3 nights programme covered the fish ectoparasites and endoparasites where participants experienced how to learn the diagnose techniques and methods for freshwater, brackish and salt water. This course exposed the field of fish parasites to the students. The objectives of this workshop are to train students from Tampin Community College Aquaculture program with fish parasites, to meet the KPI of institute in aspects of the workshop and to introduce AKUATROP to the community and other agencies. This workshop involved ten students from KKM accompanied by 2 officers. Speakers that were appointed were Prof. Prof Dr. Ikhwanuddin Abdullah and Prof. Emeritus Dr. Faizah Shaharom from AKUATROP.

Tampin Community College Students and Lecturers taking the opportunity to commemorate the occasion with AKUATROP Director and staffs.

The participants were very excited when given an opportunity to visit the tilapia cage culture at

Tasik Kenyir.

AKUATROP staff sharing their knowledge with the participants during the practical session in the laboratory.

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SEMINAR AND FORUM ON FOOD AUTHENTICITY WITHIN AQUACULTURE PROSPECT

This Seminar and forum was successfully held on 5th

June 2013 at the INOS Auditorium. It was held to meet the requirement of Special Topics in Aquaculture Courses (SBA 5414) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Abol Munafi Ambok Bolong. There were four speakers of high calibre invited namely Prof. Dato‘ Dr. Mohamed Shariff Mohamed Din from University Putra Malaysia (UPM), Assoc. Dr. Irwandi Jaswir from Islamic International University (UIA), Dr. Mazuki Hashim from Department of Fisheries, Putrajaya and Dr. Wan Mohd Yusof Wan Chik from University Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA). This seminar piqued the interest of about 146 participations and outside of UMT. The first topic of the day was “The Use of Chemicals in Aquaculture” by Prof. Dato‘Dr. Mohamed Shariff Mohamed Din. The essence of the talk focused on the impact of chemotherapeutic on aquatic life. It became a widespread trend and this can cause impaired balance of aquatic ecosystems if not properly controlled. Through his lecture, the speaker commented a bit about the responsibilities of the target groups involved; especially the farmers , hatchery operators and students so that they can understand and know the effects of chemical use either directly or indirectly to the aquatic life . The second talk was given by Prof. Dr. Irwandi Jaswir, on “Food Authenticity”. The synopsis of the talk was related to the authenticity of halal food source for farmed fish. He also highlighted the use of technology or new methods to detect the presence of DNA in fish flesh and fish food. Dr. Hashim Mazuki delivered his talk entitled “Fish Production - between economic and ethics” as the third speaker. The talk focused on the economy and ethics which are known contradictory inputs to each other. Economics is defined as the management of limited resources to meet the requirements of people who are not limited. Meanwhile, ethics can be defined as all the guidelines that aim to improve quality, productivity and discipline in the services, focusing on all aspects pertaining to the rules and civilization. Examples are aquatic in nature, it requires a certain time to a natural food to survival. However, in order to achieve the purpose of the economy, the fish were fed with artificial food in a captive environment in which it is categorized as a breach of ethics. At the end of this seminar, a questions and answers forum was held between all the invited speakers including Dr. Wan Mohd Yusof Wan Chik, to answer questions about Halal & Haram in aquaculture aspects. This forum was chaired Miss Nur Hidayu Abdul Razab. Various questions on the topics were posed and answered by the competent panel as an expert in their field.

Welcoming Dinner with Speakers

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Speakers impart their knowledge on food authenticity in aquaculture prospect based on their expertise in their

respective fields during the forum and seminar.

This event has received overwhelming participation from government agencies, private agencies, students and

lecturers.

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CLINICAL PATHOLOGY AQUATIC ORGANISM WORKSHOP SERIES 1: BLOOD On the 1st and 2nd July 2013, a “Clinical Pathology Aquatic Organism Workshop Series 1: Blood” was held in Parasitology Laboratory AKUATROP. The objectives for this workshop were to educate, expose and guide the laboratory staff on the right methods in handling a clinical pathology on aquatic organisms experiments by the expert in the field. It is important to enhance and develop staffs specialty in handling such tests so that they can guide students and other users in carrying out such experiments and research. All the participants were involved theoretically and practically from preparing the chemicals, handling samples and collecting blood sample technique until analyzing the blood samples. This workshop was led by Dr. Marina Hassan from the School of Fisheries and Aquaculture and assisted by her research assistant. Eleven research and laboratory staffs from AKUATROP and School of Fisheries and Aquaculture were involved as participants. From AKUATROP were Mr. Azmie Ghazali, Mr. Gusti Afiz Gusti Ruslan Noor, Mrs. Farizan Abdullah, Mrs. Wahidah Wahab, and Mr. Ahmad Shuhaimi Draman, while Mr. Shahrol Idham Ismail, Miss Norafiza Ramly, Mrs. Faridah Musa, Mr. Zafrullah Abu Bakar, Mr. Hasrul Hizat Hassin and Mrs. Norraidah Abd Aziz are from the School of Fisheries and Aquaculture. AQUATIC ORGANISM PATHOLOGY WORKSHOP SERIES 2: TISSUE PROCESSING This workshop was held successfully on 27 to 29 October 2013 at the Histology Laboratory AKUATROP. This workshop covers sampling and processing fish organs, fixation, embedding, cutting and staining. The objectives of this workshop were to provide exposure, instruction and guidance to laboratory staff on the methods in handling the sample of aquatic organisms by lecturers in the field. It was also to train the laboratory staff in handling samples and organs and at the same time to be the trainee to the graduate students in teaching or in the research study. The instructor for this workshop is Dr. Marina Hassan from School of Fisheries Science and Aquaculture. The workshop involved four research staffs from AKUATROP (Mr. Mohd Ihwan Zakariah, Mr. Muhammad Haniff Mohd Yusoff, Mrs. Farizan Abdullah and Mrs Wahidah Wahab) and two laboratory staffs (Mr. Hasrul Hizat Hassin and Mrs. Norraidah Abd Aziz) from the Faculty of Fisheries Aqua Industries which is now known as the School of Fisheries Science and Aquaculture.

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ATTACHMENT PROGRAMME AT HUNGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES This year Mohd Ihwan Zakariah was selected to undergo a training program at Hungarian Academy of Sciences on 18

th of July to 1

st of August 2013. During the program he was trained in fish parasitology field under the

guidance of Prof. Dr. Csaba Székely, Prof. Dr. Kálmán Molnár and Dr. Gábor Cech. Therefore, various activities were planned for him including field work to obtain the fish sample from the lake Balaton, Hungary before the sample was taken to the laboratory at Pathology and Parasitology Institute to be diagnosed. During the lab work exercise, they found several types of fish parasites such as:

Fish diagnose training supervised by Dr. Csaba Székely and Prof. Dr. Kálmán Molnár at laboratory at Pathology and Parasitology Institute.

Other than that, Ihwan also got a chance to visit several institutes in Budapest which services in aquaculture field such as 1) sturgeon hatchery, biotechnology laboratory and research hatchery at the Georgikon Faculty in University of Pannonia and 2) Veterinary teaching laboratories and Bacteriology Laboratory Fish at Hungarian Institute of Sciences.

Skrjabillanus sp.

Thelohanellus sp. Goussia misgurni

Sturgeon hatchery at the Georgikon Faculty in University of Pannonia

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ACADEMIC VISIT OF STUDENT OF MASTERS SCIENCE IN AQUACULTURE (BY COURSEWORK) TO SEVERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND PRIVATE AGENCIES IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF PENINSULAR MALAYSIA. A visit was conducted for Student Master of Science in Aquaculture (by Coursework) on 25

th to 29

th August

2013. A total of 6 officers and 18 students took part in this tour to a number of government and private agencies in Johor, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan. Selected agencies for the visits were Pertubuhan Peladang Kawasan Mersing Selatan,Johor, MARDI Kluang, Pusat Teknologi Ternakan AKUAMARIN, FRI Gelang Patah, Biotechnology & Biodiversity Co., Johor branch, Johor Biotechnology & Biodiversity Corporation, Skudai, Melaka Biotechnology Corporation, Melaka, Coral Wonderland, Melaka and Fresh water Fisheries Research department FRI Glami Lemi, Jelebu. The first visit was to a shrimp farm operated by the Pertubuhan Peladang Kawasan Mersing Selatan where students were exposed to the management of pond shrimp farming. Then, the trips continue to MARDI, Kluang and students were briefed about the role of MARDI in the development of agro-based industries as well as ruminant livestock. MARDI staff was also has been pleased to demonstrate the processes in gonads scanning of female breeders and sperm collection from the male breeders. On 27

th August, the visit continued to Pusat Teknologi Ternakan AKUAMARIN, FRI Gelang Patah. The delegation

was briefed about the function of the institutions and the facilities available here. There were also a tour to the white shrimp ponds which are equipped with a sophisticated system of water quality monitoring and solar powered ventilation systems. The group also visited the hatchery of Johor Biotechnology & Biodiversity Co. to see the live feed hatchery and breeding hatchery where the production of seabass was done. Meanwhile, at Johor Biotechnology & Biodiversity Corporation in Skudai, there were briefing about the institutional parties which are actively engaged in research on aquaculture and conservation activities for a number of species of aquatic animals such as giant clam and Seahorse. Visit to Melaka Biotechnology Corporation opened the opportunity to visit their research laboratories. Here, trained staffs needed to conduct clean practices that emphasized on biosecurity to meet the standards as accredited laboratory. The group was also taken to visit their shrimp farm in Merlimau. Coral Wonderland is located in Bandar Hilir, Melaka. Here, we can see many species of aquatic animal exhibition from various habitats, amphibians and exotic insects locally and non-local species. The journey continued to Bahagian Penyelidikan Perikanan Air Tawar, FRI Glami Lemi, Jelebu, negeri Sembilan. The group was briefed on the projects under the centre and took a tour to their laboratories, fish ponds, ornamental aquatic nursery and fish repository centre guided by Mr. Chua, the senior research officer.

The students took the opportunity to see how Pertubuhan Peladang Kawasan Mersing, Selatan manage their

prawn farms.

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In MARDI, Kluang the delegation had the opportunity to visit a goat and cattle farm to see the ranging from

local and foreign breeds.

The view around the white shrimp culture ponds equipped with solar panels and water quality smart

monitoring device at Pusat Teknologi Ternakan AKUAMARIN, FRI Gelang Patah.

One of the research projects conducted at the hatchery’s Johor Biotechnology & Biodiversity Co., the Artemia were cultured in a colored solution as the objective to see the effect of different colors on food consumption

rate by fish and shrimp larvae.

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Briefing sesion at Johor Biotechnology & Biodiversity Corporation, Skudai.

Members of the group are given the opportunity to visit research labs and white shrimp culture ponds under

the supervision of the Melaka Biotechnology Corporation.

Among the aquatic animals displayed at Coral Wonderland, Melaka.

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The facilities and infrastructure that were visited in Freshwater Fisheries Research Division, FRI Glami Lemi,

Jelebu.

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OFFICIAL VISIT TO JAPAN UNIVERSITIES On 30

th of November until 8

th of December 2013, the director of AKUATROP accompanied the Chairman of

Board of Directors make an official visit to two universities in Japan. This visit was accompanied by UMT Vice

Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Dean of Faculty of Fisheries Sciences and Aquaculture. The

delegation visited the University of Kagoshima and Nagasaki University. During the visit, the delegation had a

small meeting to discuss on the proposals to expand cooperation between UMT and the two universities,

including the attachment of staffs and students, both for academic and research purposes.

During a visit to the University of Kagoshima and Nagasaki University.

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RESEARCH STRATEGIC PLAN WORKSHOP, INSTITUTE OF TROPICAL AQUACULTURE (AKUATROP) AKUATROP is one of the centre of excellence which is proactive in doing aquaculture research activities in achieving the goals to be Aquaculture Research and Service Centre (ARASE). In striving the goals, a workshop was held on 12 to 14 December 2013, in Hotel Sri Costa, Banda Hilir, Melaka. This workshop was participated by 29 AKUATROP staffs, associate fellows, and practical students. AKUATROP has plan to be Aquaculture Research and Service Centre (ARASE) which will impact the three aspects or theme in research which are; a) Food Security (Kecukupan Makanan), b) Industry Empowerment (Pemerkasaan Industri) and c) Resources Sustainability (Kelestarian Sumber) In this workshop, a proposal was planned for the approval from the University Management Meeting (Mesyuarat Pengurusan Universiti, MPU) and was presented in the University Management Board Meeting (Mesyuarat Lembaga Pengurusan Universiti, LPU).

AKUATROP Deputy Director, Prof. Dr. Sakri Ibrahim lead the delegations during our visit at Melaka Biotech

Corp.

AKUATROP Director, Prof. Emeritus Dr. Mohd Azmi Ambak delivered his opening speech and guideline for the

workshop during the opening ceremony.

All participants were divided into three groups to discuss about the theme of Food Security, Industry

Empowerment and Resources Sustainability.

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Each group leaders presented their strategic planning for each theme after discusiion with group members.

AKUATROP staffs and lecturers during the Research Strategic Plan Workshop at Hotel Sri Costa, Banda Hilir, Melaka.

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AKUATROP LIVE FEED WORKSHOP 2013

On the 23rd and 24th of December 2013 Live Feed Culture Unit, AKUATROP has organized a microalgae program entitled AKUATROP Live Feed Workshop 2013. The objective of this program was to expose the participants to the importance of microalgae in all fields including aquaculture. Dr. Helena Khatoon, a lecturer at School of Fisheries and Aquaculture, UMT and Dato Paduka Syed Isa Syed Alwi the CEO of Algaetech International Sdn Bhd (AISB) were the invited speakers. The program was held for two days involving a talk from CEO of AISB entitled “Can Algae Save the World? “ and continued with a Career Fair program involving open interviews for contract researcher post in AISB. Dr. Helena Khatoon briefed about the use of microalgae in bioremediation, mass production, nutritional profile, feed supplements, microalgae biotechnology and biofloc on the second day of the program. The program continued with microalgae workshop for the participants. There were about 52 participants in the program including 35 students, one UMT lecturer and 16 participants from other agencies such as the National Institute of Agrobiotechnology [ABI] MOSTI, Institute of Marine Oceanography (INOCEM) UIAM, Blue Archipelago Sdn. Bhd., Kembang Subur Sdn. Bhd., AB Hatchery Sdn. Bhd. and Ken CMEN Farm Sdn. Bhd. The impact of the program is the collaboration offer between Algaetech International Sdn Bhd and AKUATROP in research and developments. It also offers an opportunity to UMT students for contract researcher post in AISB. Participants from other agencies also learnt new technique to isolate microalgae from Dr. Helena Khatoon.

AKUATROP LIVE FEED WORKSHOP received encouraging response from the government and private agencies.

Dr. Helena khatoon and Mr. Fathurrahman Lananan (Ph.D Student) gave full cooperation for the success of this

live feed workshop.

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The participants diligently did their training during practical sessions in the AKUATROP Live Feed Laboratory.