Fisheries and Aquaculture Biosystems Laboratory and Engineering Hub

⏳ Only 1 Day to Go!

Discover the future of aquaculture tomorrow! The FABLE Hub warmly invites you to the Thesis Public Seminar of Mr. Dennis A. P**n and Mr. Junelou B. Hinautan.🐟

Learn how research is drastically improving UPV SpiN® tilapia hybrid's reproductive and breeding performance to boost sustainable aquaculture.

🗓️ When: June 9 (Tuesday) | 1:00 - 3:00 PM
📍 Where: FC Conference, Umali Hall, CFOS-UPV

Be part of this impactful academic discussion and see how UPV research drives real-world solutions. See you there!

Can a saline-tolerant female SpiN breeder maintains its reproductive performance at higher salinities?

FABLE Hub invites you to the Thesis Public Seminar of one of our FABLE Hubbers —Mr. Junelou B. Hinautan where you'll discover the reproductive potential of saline-tolerant tilapia female breeders under freshwater and brackish water conditions.

This study investigates the reproductive capability of UPV SpiN® tilapia hybrid female breeders under freshwater and brackish water conditions. Through assessments of fecundity, egg quality, ovarian development, and fry production, the study provides insights for climate-resilient aquaculture, hatchery innovation, and ecological safety.

🗓️ When: June 9 (Tuesday) | 2:00 PM
📍 Where: FC Conference, Umali Hall, CFOS-UPV

We look forward to your attendance and participation in this academic discussion.

From egg to life—ever wondered how the transformation unfolds? 🐟

FABLE Hub invites you to the Thesis Public Seminar of one of our FABLE Hubbers —Mr. Dennis A. P**n, where you'll discover the fascinating journey of fish development from its earliest stages of life.

This study explores how an artificial incubation system can support the development of UPV SpiN tilapia hybrid eggs under varying salinity conditions, contributing to the sustainable fry production and addressing the limited supply of freshwater sources.

🗓️ When: June 9 (Tuesday) | 1:00 PM
📍 Where: FC Conference, Umali Hall, CFOS-UPV

Your presence and insights during the open forum will be highly appreciated.

We are pleased to share that our very own Dr. Sanny David Lumayno has joined Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria as a Subject Editor in the field of Aquaculture.

Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria is an international, peer-reviewed journal published by Pensoft Publishers, dedicated to advancing research in ichthyology, fisheries, and aquaculture. Established in 1970, the journal has more than five decades of publishing history and serves as a platform for high-quality scientific contributions from researchers worldwide. The journal currently has a Journal Impact Factor of 1.0 and is indexed in major databases, including Web of Science and Scopus.

His addition to the editorial team further strengthens the journal’s commitment to advancing excellence in aquaculture and fisheries science.

Congratulations, Dr. Lumayno, on this well-deserved appointment!

Dr. Sanny David Lumayno joins Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria as a new Subject Editor Dr. Sanny David Lumayno is an Aquaculturist and Associate Professor at the Institute of Aquaculture, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas. His research interests encompass fish reproductive biology and breeding, fish parasitology, otolith-based fisheries res...

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐍!

A student research done collaboratively by the Institute of Fish Processing Technology and the Institute of Aquaculture finds marination a significant step in improving the microbiological, chemical, and sensory characteristics of frozen UPV SpiN tilapia fillets, regardless of the rearing environment, further exhibiting superior sensory acceptability regarding appearance, texture, and taste, while minimizing off-odors and off-flavors.

Overall, the combination of marination, vacuum-packing, and freezing effectively preserves quality, suggesting a viable method to enhance product safety.

This study highlights the versatility of UPV SpiN tilapia, finding importance in the production stage of UPV SpiN thanks to its saline-tolerance, making it possible to rear in brackish and saline ponds, thus, reducing mortalities and improving productivity while addressing issues on saline intrusion caused by climate change, demonstrating its potential not only in aquaculture but in post-harvest fisheries as well!

𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐢𝐧 𝐘𝐘 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐚 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲

Responsible Tilapia Aquaculture for the Philippines

Tilapia is the second most consumed fish in the Philippines, making it an important and affordable source of protein for many Filipino households. As the aquaculture industry continues to expand, developing responsible and sustainable farming practices supported by scientific research is becoming increasingly important.

In conventional tilapia farming, monos*x culture is commonly practiced to produce all-male fish for grow-out. This is typically achieved through hormonal s*x reversal, which helps improve growth performance and prevent uncontrolled reproduction in production systems.

As an alternative approach, researchers are developing YY Male Technology, a breeding strategy that can produce up to 100% all-male tilapia fry without the direct use of hormones during fry production. This method also helps address concerns about unwanted reproduction from aquaculture systems.

Researchers from the Institute of Aquaculture, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (CFOS-IA), University of the Philippines Visayas have successfully developed YY supermales in the saline-tolerant UPV SpiN tilapia using molecular marker-assisted breeding. With the aid of molecular markers, the research team was able to identify and produce YY supermales in less than one year, significantly shortening the development time compared to the conventional approach, which typically takes around four years to establish YY broodstock.

The project is supported by funding from the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD). The initiative aims to help address emerging challenges in tilapia farming, including limited freshwater availability and increasing salinity intrusion in aquaculture areas.

Currently, the research team is refining and optimizing the technology to facilitate its responsible and sustainable transition toward commercial adoption in the Philippine tilapia industry.

Paper: Lumayno SDP, Genciana ABN, Alcantara JD, Failaman AN, Ferriols VMEN, Traifalgar RFM (2025) Development of a saline-tolerant YY supermale UPV SpiN tilapia hybrid (Oreochromis spilurus × O. niloticus) (Actinopterygii, Cichliformes, Cichlidae) using molecular marker-assisted selection. Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria 55: 393-401.

𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬!

CFOS-IA faculty member Dr. Sanny David Lumayno visited Mindanao State University - Maguindanao and served as resource person during the Training Workshop on Research and Technical Writing on January 27–28, 2026.

The activity is part of the capacity-building initiatives for research personnel and student researchers involved in the National Tilapia Research and Development Program, particularly Program B: Productivity Enhancement of SpiN Tilapia Culture Systems, under Project 1: Development of Improved Production System for SpiN Tilapia.

The project is led by Dean Dr. Ramjie Y. Odin of MSU-Maguindanao College of Fisheries and is funded by DOST–PCAARRD.

The training-workshop was also attended by researchers from other ongoing projects of MSU–Maguindanao.

Following the training-workshop, Dr. Lumayno visited the university’s hatchery facilities and provided technical guidance on UPV SpiN broodstock management on January 29.

Dr. Lumayno has been actively involved in the improvement of saline-tolerant UPV SpiN tilapia since 2023 and has led two DOST–PCAARRD–funded research projects focused on the development of YY male technology for producing all-male tilapia offspring without direct hormone use, as well as the enhancement of reproductive performance in brackishwater systems.

📸: MSU-Maguindanao Team

📢 ℕ𝕖𝕨 𝕊𝕔𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕊𝕡𝕠𝕥𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥: ℝ𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝔽𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕟 𝔻𝕒𝕥𝕒-𝕃𝕚𝕞𝕚𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕋𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕊𝕖𝕒𝕤 🌊🐟

Tropical fisheries catch many species at once, but current monitoring often fails to reliably record which species and what sizes are being caught, especially when onboard human observers are not present. This makes it extremely hard to assess stock status, catch composition, and ecosystem impacts in multispecies systems like those of Southeast Asia.

In the recent study published in Frontiers in Marine Science, the authors compared traditional statistical methods and machine learning (ML) models to estimate fish length using otolith measurements across several pelagic and demersal species. Otoliths are often recovered even when species composition data are missing, making them a valuable source of biological information.

✅ Otolith length and area were strong predictors of fish body length, especially for demersal species
✅ Machine learning models (e.g., Random Forest) outperformed classical approaches in complex cases
✅ This opens the door for more cost-effective, scalable ways to reconstruct catch size structure and species identity even when traditional monitoring is weak or absent
✅ When paired with advanced tools like deep learning or image recognition, these methods could revolutionize biodiversity monitoring, stock assessment, and electronic monitoring systems in data-limited fisheries

This shows great potential especially for tropical, small-scale, or mixed-gear fisheries where onboard data collection is minimal but otoliths are available from landings. With smart modeling and simple biological samples, we can start filling critical data gaps in multispecies fisheries, improving sustainability and our understanding of tropical marine ecosystems.

Read more: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1711110/full

🌊 L𝑖f𝑒 𝑜f a F𝐴B𝐿E H𝑢b𝑏e𝑟 🌊

Meet our dedicated FABLE Hubbers — 𝑨𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒂, 𝑨𝒊𝒓𝒂, 𝑫𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑱𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒖 — MS Fisheries (Aquaculture) students, all currently working on their masters thesis under the guidance of Dr. Lumayno. Earlier this semester, they successfully defended their thesis proposals before their esteemed panel committees. All four scholars are also proud recipients of the 𝐃𝐎𝐒𝐓-𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐃𝐏 𝐌𝐒 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭, supporting their pursuit of excellence in research and innovation.

Their collective efforts are centered on advancing the 𝐔𝐏𝐕 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐍 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞-𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐚 𝐡𝐲𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝, a step toward resilient aquaculture in the face of freshwater scarcity and saline intrusion.

𝑨𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒂 is leading the development of XX Neomale Technology, targeting the production of all-female tilapia for improved broodstock management. Her research is backed by the 1st-ever 𝐔𝐏 𝐆𝐏𝐍𝐈𝐌 (𝐆𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐬𝐚 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐲𝐨𝐧 𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐠-𝐚𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐥), having secured ~ ₱1 million in funding — a remarkable milestone!

𝑨𝒊𝒓𝒂 is investigating how broodstock age and size influence the reproductive and growth performance of the offspring, including their economic implications for hatchery owners.

𝑫𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒔 is designing and testing an artificial incubation
system across varying salinity conditions to support improved hatching performance in saline environments.

𝑱𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒖 is assessing the reproductive capability of broodstock conditioned under freshwater versus brackishwater systems, generating insights crucial for saline-adapted hatchery operations.

Together, their works aim to strengthen the promotion of a saline-tolerant tilapia breed, addressing urgent concerns such as limited freshwater supply, saltwater intrusion, and the resulting physiological stress that often leads to mass mortalities in aquaculture.

To our FABLE Hubbers, best of luck on your MS thesis journey!

Your hard work and passion continue to help shape the future of sustainable aquaculture. 🌟🐟

Development of a saline-tolerant YY supermale UPV SpiN tilapia hybrid (Oreochromis spilurus × O. niloticus) (Actinopterygii, Cichliformes, Cichlidae) using molecular marker-assisted selection The tilapia aquaculture industry faces increasing challenges from saline intrusion into freshwater systems and consumer concerns over hormone-treated fish. This study developed a molecular marker-assisted YY male technology in the saline-tolerant UPV SpiN tilapia hybrid {Oreochromis spilurus (Günth...