Monitoring and identifying parasites is a major factor in aquaculture which intern leads to if the product is safe for export and for the end consumers. The goal of the training was to aid us in identifying the parasites and their overall body structure for ease of identification.
The training was held at the Seychelles Maritime Academy(SMA), conducted by Dr. Sasha Saugh a fish veterinarian form South Africa, and consisting of people not just from the SFA Aquaculture team but from other agencies including some students from SMA. The training consisted of 2 parts, the theory part where we got a detailed presentation about parasites and the practical part where we worked in pairs for the whole process of the parasite identification.
Fishes used during the training were freshly caught by the aquaculture team the day before the training and put on ice. The procedures for the practical was very basic where in turn we had to measure the fish first, then remove samples from the outside of the fish mainly the mucus on the fish and the eyes, blood samples and a piece of the fish gills were also taken and placed under a microscope to identify if any parasites were present. Afterwards, we gutted the fish to identify if any parasites were present inside the fish and its internal organs.
The overall training was very knowledgeable and informative and will no doubt aid us in the future.