USSEC’s target hatchery cooperator in Thailand recently celebrated its first successful spawning of broodstock.
USSEC Southeast Asia Technical Director - Aquaculture Lukas Manomaitis, USSEC Asia Marine Specialist Hsiang Pin Lan and USSEC Thailand Country Manager Opas Supamornpun met with staff from 88 Hatchery in Chachoengsao, Thailand to discuss their success in spawning their broodstock for the first time.  The spawning is notable because 88 Hatchery raised these brooders using only formulated feeds, which is the opposite of the industry norm of using fresh seafood as food for broodstock.
This hatchery is also one of USSEC’s eight “target hatcheries” in Southeast Asia that are hoped to be used as examples for the rest of the region to improve the quantity and quality of marine fish fingerlings being produced.  Although the numbers produced from this spawning were small, this is a “proof of concept” for the industry as it may be the first time that broodstock raised on formulated feeds only have spawned successfully in Thailand.