SMA students benefit from parasite scan protocol training from SFA |29 May 2023

Ten students of the Seychelles Maritime Academy got the opportunity to take part in a parasite scan protocol training conducted by staff of the aquaculture department of the Seychelles Fishing Authority last month.

For the half-day training, 10 fish (mainly groupers) that were caught the previous day from the wild population by the aquaculture team, were brought to the Seychelles Maritime Academy (SMA) laboratory where the parasite scan took place.

Shamira Payet, aquaculture research officer, and Maria Rose, assistant aquaculture research officer, delivered the training. An aquaculture research technician was also in attendance along with the students and a lecturer from SMA.

Seychelles Fishing Authority’s (SFA) aquaculture department collects broodstock (reproductively mature fish species that are able to breed or spawn and produce more offspring) from the wild population. With this practice, it is important to know the parasite distribution among wild caught fish, as the presence of parasites in fishery products may have a harmful effect on public health. It may also affect the commercial value of products leading to a reduction in their marketability. Therefore, it is important to take necessary steps to prevent infection from parasite and to properly identify, monitor and treat outbreaks when they occur.

During the training, the students got to measure and weigh the fish, followed by doing external parasite scans. Additionally, they got the chance to dissect the fish to perform internal parasite scans. The students were shown how to use a microscope to see if there were any parasites present in different parts of the fish.

Ms Payet said “it was a great learning opportunity for the SMA students as parasite scan is new to them and they also got the chance to use their dissecting and microscope skills. The training provided them with new skills to be used in the future and I’m glad that they were excited and eager to learn”.

She added that “maintaining good fish health and welfare are important components of sustainable aquaculture and fish parasite is a major issue in production. Since we practice fish cage farming, such activities also give us an idea of the type of parasites we might expect to see in the fish being kept in the cage.”

SMA’s Fish Biology lecturer, Vivek M. Vasu, said “first-year students study fish biology, the anatomy and physiology of fish and disease prevention. So this training will help them a lot because now they are doing it practically.”

He also added that the SMA is developing two new programmes: Advanced Certificate in Fishing Technology and Advanced Certificate in Fisheries Science and Aquaculture.

“The students will be doing this parasite scan analysis, genetics, nutrition, feed, etc. so this is a really good exposure for them. What we are doing right now will be a stepping stone to developing these programmes,” said lecturer Vasu.

The SFA plans to conduct this training four times a year.

The accompanying photos show some highlights of the training.

Contributed