The Training Course consisting of lectures, tutorials, class and laboratory practical work provided the knowledge essential for the initiation of fish nutrition work at both research and practical levels in feed programming and diet development. The field visits to government aquacultural research and commercial feed processing facilities provided exposure to the current state of the art in aquaculture techniques and modern production methods in feed ingredient and fish diet manufacture, respectively.
Tutorials intended to augment the lectures were helpful for those trainees who had weaker backgrounds in the basic sciences. Discussions of country problems planned for most afternoons focussed on subject matter presented in the morning lectures. Trainee participation in those discussions was restrained during the earlier sessions but picked up during the second week of the Course. Topics relating to fish health, nutrition and culture in each participating country were openly discussed. Highlights of these discussions were the individual presentations of his or her country's aquacultural development efforts, covering aspects of culture techniques and diet development.
From the presentations and discussions, the impression was that, to date, no concerted effort has been made to determine the nutritional adequacy of traditional fish diets in each of the ten countries represented. Successful development of artificial diets for use in countries that rely on traditional methods in aquaculture is contingent on the following:
(a) Thorough knowledge of traditional feeding methods;(b) availability of reliable data on the composition of feed ingredients making up the traditional fish diets;
(c) appreciation of the importance of nutrition in achieving the productive potential in the cultured species; and
(d) availability of aquaculturists with sufficient background and training in fish nutrition and diet formulation to initiate fish diet development.
During the last week of the Course, UNDP's Fishery Advisor, Dr. Wm. Ellis Ripley, evaluated the Course. Each participant was asked to answer a questionnaire designed to evaluate the usefulness of the Training Course. All the trainees agreed that what was learned in the Course would enable them to formulate and initiate fish diet development programmes upon their return to their home stations.
The Aquaculture Development and Coordination Programme intends to follow up this training by providing assistance for a feed development programme in selected countries. This would - include:
(a) Comprenhensive study, followed by evaluation, of traditional feeds and feeding practices;(b) survey of all local feed ingredients suitable for fish feeding;
(c) compilation of nutrient data on all such feedstuffs;
(d) assessment by calculation or by chemical analysis of the traditional diets to determine their nutritional adequacy;
(e) development of balanced diets; and
(f) testing and evaluation of new balanced diets.
The objectives will be to develop new economic diets for large-scale fish culture and to improve traditional diets for smaller culture units, using locally available feed ingredients.
