IRD - Catfish

Rationale

Catfishes, and particularly the Clariidae, Pangasiidae and Bagridae, are important aquatic resources in Asia where their annual aquaculture production exceeds 150 000 tons. Further development of this catfish culture industry faces difficulties related to the poorly known systematic of these fish groups, the scarce knowledge of the biology and aquaculture potential of autochthonous species, the limitation of seed supply and the declining performances reported in some cultivated stocks.

Objectives



Pangasius djambal brood stock

Initially focused on two catfish families, Clariidae and Pangasiidae, the research aimed at:

Acquiring a stronger knowledge of the biological diversity of Southeast Asian catfishes and to enhance its utilization through a correct identification and characterization of valuable species and populations of aquaculture interest.
Acquiring sound biological bases for the diversification and optimization of catfish culture in the Southeast Asian region.

The identification and characterization of species, populations and strains has involved three complementary disciplines and methods: morphometry, genetics (protein electrophoresis, mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite DNA analyses) and parasitology (specific Monogenea). In parallel, experimental studies on growth, reproduction, nutrition and pathology are carried out for the control of the breeding cycles and the improvement or development of culture techniques in some species of potential or actual economic importance.
Aiming at similar objectives, the research work is now deepened on some selected species of Pangasiidae of the Indonesian ichtyofauna and extended to catfish species of the Bagridae family.

Duration of the project

The research activities carried out in Indonesia, initially planned from 1996 to 2001, have been extended for a new program phase.

Human resources and partnerships

Since 1996, the "Catfish Asia" project has been coordinated from Indonesia by IRD and associated 6 research teams, from France (IRD and CIRAD), Belgium (MRAC and KU-Leuven), Indonesia (Departemen Kelautan dan Perikanan) and Vietnam (CTU). In Indonesia, the research is conducted in close cooperation with the Research Institute for Freshwater Fisheries (RIFF) and the General Direction for Aquaculture (DGA).

Funding

European Commission, DG XII, INCO-DC (1996-2000)
French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1999 and 2003)
IRD, Research Unit 081, Genome-populations-environment interactions in tropical fish (M. Legendre)

Main results & perspectives



Hormonal injection of P. djambal

Many significant results have been obtained in terms of both basic and applied research. They concern more particularly: the evaluation of the phylogeographic relationships among species of the Pangasiidae and Clariidae families, the clarification of their systematic and evolution (11 new Pangasius or Clarias species were discovered and described), a better knowledge of their bio-ecology, the isolation of new polymorphic micro satellite markers, the discovering of more than 80 new species of Monogean parasites of catfishes, the identification of new valuable candidate species for fish farming, the control of their artificial propagation in captivity and first evaluation of their nutritional requirements.
In Indonesia, several valuable characteristics demonstrated one of the autochthonous species, Pangasius djambal, to be an excellent candidate for aquaculture. Its breeding cycle in captivity has been fully mastered (see also the IRD Journal, Sciences au Sud, n° 10, 2001).
In the line of previous research actions (Catfish Asia program) carried out in Indonesia, the IRD-Indonesian team is presently continuing its work on four Pangasius species: a reference species, P. hypophthalmus, and three autochthonous species, P. djambal, P. nasutus and P. kunyit, selected for their interest for fish culture and the perspectives they offer for the diversification of aquaculture production in this country. Studies are focused more particularly on:

the genetic structure of populations for Indonesian native species,
the nature and role of environmental factors involved in the control of reproductive cycle and optimal conditions for their induced breeding in culture conditions,
the development of digestive functions during larval stage,
the growth and feed utilisation capacities with comparison between species and populations,
the optimisation of low cost water recirculating systems for fry production.

Recently, studies have been started in order to estimate genetic divergence between populations and determine reproductive characteristics in Bagridae species of economic importance (Hemibagrus nemurus, mainly).

Training & capacity building



Stripping of Pangasius djambal

The project contributed to strengthen the research capabilities of Vietnamese and Indonesian partner institutions, with the training of 3 PhDs and the upgrading of equipment and experimental facilities. Since 1996, three Indonesian partners have been invited in Europe for one or more sessions of a few months to be trained in specialized laboratories. Two international workshops on biodiversity and aquaculture of catfishes were also organized, one at Cantho (Vietnam) in 1998 and the other at Bogor (Indonesia) in 2000.

Selected publications & conferences

Cacot P., Legendre M., Dan T.Q., Hung L.T., Liem P.T., Mariojouls C. & Lazard J., 2002. Induced ovulation of Pangasius bocourti (Sauvage, 1880) with a progressive hCG treatment. Aquaculture, 213, 199-206.

Cacot P., Eeckhoutte P., Muon D.T., Trieu T.T., Legendre M. & Lazard J., 2002. Induced spermiation and milt management in Pangasius bocourti (Sauvage, 1880). Aquaculture. (sous presse).

Gustiano R., Teugels G.G. & Pouyaud L. - Redescription of the pangasiid catfish Pangasius kunyit Pouyaud et al., (1999) (Siluriformes) with an identification of two new species. Journal of Natural History. (sous presse).

Hùng LT., Lazard J., Mariojouls C. &, Moreau Y., 2002. Comparison of starch utilization in fingerlings of two Asian catfishes from the Mekong river (Pangasius bocourti Sauvage, 1880, Pangasius hypophthalmus Sauvage, 1878). Aquaculture Nutrition. (sous presse).

Legendre M. & Pariselle A. (eds), 1999. The biological diversity and aquaculture of clariid and pangasiid catfishes in south-east Asia. Proceedings of the mid-term workshop of the "Catfish Asia Project", 11-15 May 1998, Cantho, Vietnam. 226 p.

Legendre M., Pouyaud L., Slembrouck J., Gustiano R., Kristanto A.H., Subagja J., Komarudin O., Sudarto & Maskur, 2000. Pangasius djambal : a new candidate species for fish culture in indonesia. IARD Journal, 22, 1-14.

Legendre M., Slembrouck J., Subagja J. & Kristanto A.H., 2000. Ovulation rate, latency period and ova viability after GnRH- or hCG-induced breeding in the Asian catfish Pangasius hypophthalmus (Siluriformes, Pangasiidae). Aquat. Living Resour., 13, 145-151.

Pariselle A., Lim S. & Lambert A., 2001. Monogeneans from Pangasiidae (Siluriformes) in Southeast Asia: I. Five new species of Thaparocleidus Jain, 1952 (Ancylodiscoidinae) from Pangasius pangasius, P. kinabatanganensis, P. rheophilus and P. nieuwenhuisii. Parasite, 8, 127-135.

Pariselle A., Lim S. & Lambert A., 2001. Monogeneans from Pangasiidae (Siluriformes) in Southeast Asia: II: Four new species of Thaparocleidus Jain, 1952 (Ancylodiscoidinae) from Pangasius humeralis. Parasite, 8, 317-324.

Pariselle A., Lim S. & Lambert A. - Monogeneans from Pangasiidae (Siluriformes) in Southeast Asia: III: Five new species of Thaparocleidus Jain, 1952 (Ancylodiscoidinae) from Pangasius bocourti, P. djambal and P. hypophthalmus. Parasite,. 9, (sous presse).

Pouyaud L. & Teugels G.G., 1999. Description of a new pangasiid catfish from Northeast kalimantan, indonesia (Siluriformes, Pangasiidae). Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters, 11, 193-200.

Pouyaud L., Teugels G.G. & Legendre M., 1999. Description of a new pangasiid catfish from south-east asia (Siluriformes, pangasiidae). Cybium, 23, 247-258.

Pouyaud L., Teugels G.G., Gustiano R. & Legendre M., 2000. Contribution to the phylogeny of pangasiid catfish (Siluriformes, Pangasiidae) based on allozymes and mitochondrial DNA. J. Fish Biol., 56, 1509-1538.

Pouyaud L., Gustiano R. & Teugels G.G. - Systematic revision of Pangasius polyuranodon (Siluriformes, Pangasiidae) with description of two new species. Cybium. (sous presse).

Subagja J., Slembrouck J., Hung L.T. & Legendre M., 1999. Larval rearing of an Asian catfish Pangasius hypophthalmus (Siluroidei, Pangasiidae): Analysis of precocious mortality and proposition of appropriate treatments. Aquat. Living Resour., 12, 37-44.

Teugels G.G., Diego R.C., Pouyaud L. & Legendre M., 1999. Redescription of Clarias macrocephalus (Siluriformes, Clariidae) from South-East asia. Cybium, 23, 285-295.

Teugels G.G., Sudarto & Pouyaud L., 2001. Description of a new Clarias species from Southeast Asia based on morphological and genetical evidence (Siluriformes ; Clariidae). Cybium, 25, 81-92.

Volckaert F.A., Hellemans B. & Pouyaud L., 1999. Nine polymorphic microsatellite markers in the catfishes Pangasius hypophthalmus and Clarias batrachus. Anim.Genet., 30, 283-284.

For more information, please contact:
Dr Marc Legendre, Marc.Legendre@mpl.ird.fr or Mr Jacques Slembrouck, Jacques.Slembrouck@ird.fr