Personnel from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) regions 1, 2, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), and National Capital Region (NCR) participated in the “Hands-on Training on Environmental Assessment for the Production Carrying Capacity of Marine Finfish Aquaculture” held on May 4-8, 2026, in Labrador, Pangasinan.

Facilitated by the DA-National Fisheries Research and Development Institute’s Philippine Fisheries and Coastal Resiliency (FISHCORE) under the Subcomponent FishCRRM 1.2 Carrying Capacity Project, the activity served as the second phase of a training series on production carrying capacity assessment. It focused on practical applications and hands-on learning to further strengthen participants’ technical knowledge and field skills.

The training aimed to immerse participants in the proper use, operation, calibration, and preventive maintenance of equipment used in environmental assessments for marine finfish aquaculture while providing practical experience in field sampling procedures.

The activity opened with demonstrations on key environmental assessment instruments. Participants were introduced to YSI EXO2 Multiparameter SONDE, which measures water quality parameters such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity, and pH; Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP), which measures water current speed and direction; Van Dorn and Niskin Water Samplers for collecting water samples at specific depths; sediment samplers for examining seabed materials; echosounder for mapping water depth and underwater topography; and colorimeter for analyzing nutrient concentrations in collected water samples.

Participants then conducted hands-on field activities at the proposed Labrador Mariculture Site, where they performed water and sediment sampling, physicochemical data gathering, nutrient analysis, current profiling, and bathymetric data collection under the guidance of DA-NFRDI technical staff. Proper equipment handling, maintenance, and sample analysis protocols were emphasized to ensure accurate and reliable results.

Simultaneously, key informant interviews were conducted with local aquaculture farm operators to gather information on mariculture practices, including cage specifications, stocking density, feed conversion ratio, and environmental challenges such as fish kill incidents. These data will be used during the final phase of the training for production carrying capacity computation and analysis.

Through the combined theoretical and practical sessions, participants enhanced their understanding of environmental assessment methods for sustainable marine finfish aquaculture. The final phase of the training series will focus on data processing, analysis, interpretation, and map generation to support science-based aquaculture planning and management. ### (Jerony Bruto)