Report
JSPS Fish Taxonomy Workshop
University of the Philippines in Visayas, Iloilo City, Panay Island
4-8December 2006
Keiichi Matsuura
National Science Museum
matsuura@kahaku.go.jp
The Fish Team of the Coastal Marine Science held the Fish Taxonomy Workshop from 4
to 8 December 2006 at the University of the Philippines in Visayas (UPV) located in Iloilo City
in Panay Island. The purpose of the workshop was to report research activities of the fish
scientists of Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, and to provide
training for fish identifications to young students and fish scientists of the Philippines.
The workshop started with an opening address of the Vice Chancellor of the UPV, Dr.
Luisa E. Mabunay followed by a brief address of the Leader of the JSPS Fish Team, Dr. Keiichi
Matsuura. After the addresses Dr. Campos provided the participants of the workshop with the
schedule of the workshop and information on facilities of the UPV. There were 12 presentations
of fish diversity studies in the 6 countries as follows:
Aziz Arshad (Universiti Putra Malaysia)and Mazlan Abd. Ghafar:Feeding (Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia): Feeding guilds of some selected seagrass fish species
Hisashi Imamura (Hokkaido University): Taxonomic revision of the the genus Inegocia Jordan
and Thompson, 1913 (Teleostei: Platycephalidae)
Seishi Kimura (Mie University): Revision of the Leiognathus gerreoides complex (Perciformes:
Leiognathidae)
Keiichi Matsuura (National Science Museum): An overview of ocean sunfishes
(Tetraodontiformes: Molidae)
Mazlan Abd. Ghafar:Feeding (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) and Aziz Arshad (Universiti
Putra Malaysia): Amphibious adaptation of oxudercine mudskippers species
Periophthalmus chrysospilos (Bleeker 1852)
Hiroyuki Motomura (Kagosima Universeity Museum): Review of threadfins (Perciformes:
Polynemidae) in the Philippines
Nguyen Van Quan (Institute of Marine Environment and Resources): Biodiversity, conservation
values and management issues of the seagrass fish in Phu Quoc Island, Kien Giang
Province, Vietnam
Sasanti R. Suharti (Indonesian Institute of Sciences: LIPI): Preliminary study on napoleon
wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus in Indonesian waters
Teguh Peristiwady (Indonesian Institute of Sciences: LIPI): Fishes in LIPI-Bitung reference
collection
Ukkrit Satapoomin & Suree Satapoomin (Phuket Marine Biological Center): Food and feeding
habits of fishes in the seagrass bed on the east coast of Phuket Island
Wilfredo L. Campos (University of the Philippines in Visayas): A comparison of reef fish
diversity in three geographically separate regions of the Philippines
Tetsuo Yoshino (Universeity of the Ryukyus): Taxonomic review of the eel-tail catfish genus
Plotosus with notes on one undescribed species from the Western North-Pacific
On the day 2, the fish scientists from the participant countries went on an excursion visiting the
Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) and the main campus of the UPV
at Miago. On the way back to Iloilo, they made brief stops at beaches where fishes were landed
by local fishermen.
On the day 3, Dr. Matsuura gave a lecture on basic ichthyology followed by a fish identification
training course. Fresh fish samples collected by local fishermen were brought into the venue site
as well as specimens obtained before the workshop and preserved in formalin. Trainees were
divided into 3 groups and given fish specimens to learn about identifications. They tried to
identify the fishes by using FAO identification guides and the fish scientists of the participant
countries helped trainees upon request. The trainees were also given lectures and exercise about
technique to take photographs of fish specimens.
On the day 4, the three groups of trainees gave short presentations about their identification
results and what they learned from the workshop. After the presentations, the fish scientists had
a meeting to discuss about the next workshop in Malaysia in 2007. Drs. Aziz and Mazlan
proposed the Marine Science Research Centre (Department of Biology, UPM) as the venue for
the next workshop where the plankton team already held the workshop this year. The next fish
workshop will probably be held in the marine institution late November 2007. The fish scientists
agreed with each other to have future workshops in Thailand (Gulf side in 2008), Vietnam
(Halong Bay in 2009) and Indonesia (Lombok in 2010).