TIGBAUAN, Iloilo – “The training has a personal touch. It’s learning by doing,” said Chinnasamy Ravichandran, an Indian participant at the recently concluded sandfish training at the SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department (AQD).
Other trainees were from Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Philippines.
Antonio Vrayen, a trainee from Sri Lanka, has never seen, touched or eaten a sandfish – until he came to Molocaboc in Sagay City, Negros Occidental. “I have zero knowledge, but now I am fully confident I can grow sandfish on my own. It was a very good experience,” he said.
Ravichandran, an aquaculture consultant, trained in sandfish growing because he intends to go into commercial scale in grow-out production and integrate sandfish in Biofloc technology.
Vrayen, on the other hand, took the training course because his company is developing a 50-hectare aquaculture farm, and sandfish is one of the species they aim to culture.
Aside from the technical knowledge and skills imparted by SEAFDEC-AQD experts, the trainees also appreciated the way the training course was conducted – they said the experts were very approachable and open to sharing information.
The 15-day training course culminated in Sagay City. It equipped the participants with technical knowledge and skills on spawning and larval rearing, nursery, and grow-out management of sandfish.
Sandfish (Holothuria scabra) is the most commercially valuable of the tropical species of sea cucumbers that are processed into bêche-de-mer, or boiled-and-dried sea cucumber. It is also an ideal species for aquaculture since it can grow well feeding only on organic matter in enriched sediments.
Interest in sea cucumbers is increasing but in the past three years, there were more participation from foreign countries than from the Philippines./PN
