The World at WU

      Assoc.Prof.Dr. Suwit Wuthisuthimethawee together with his research team has been spearheading effort in shrimp breeding research under collaboration with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) yielding fruitful years of studies from Phase 1 to presently Phase 2 scheduled to be concluded in 2025. The project focused on development of Black tiger shrimp and plump shrimp breeds resistant to mortality induced by low-saline water, and elevation of the immune system. Throughout years of endeavor commencing with interest in shrimp breeding during his postgraduate years at Kasetsart University and his former position in the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Assoc.Prof.Dr. Suwit’s focus on development of shrimp breeding gradually expanded from a national to international level, altogether bolstering collaboration connecting laboratories in Thailand with other prestigious universities and institutes in Thailand and those in Japan. 

Starting small and getting bigger 
      “It all started with the JSPS scholarship that I received in 2006. I got to spend one month at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology (TMST)”, said Assoc.Prof.Dr. Suwit. This was followed by a series of collaboration with Japan through annual visits to gain deeper insight into cutting-edge technologies and getting connected with scholars sharing common interest including Asst.Prof.Dr. Sataporn Direkbusarakom, colleague at Walailak University, studying at Hokkaido university, and Okayama University investigating saline water production in an absence of natural sea water. 

      Even though the collaboration with Japan under the JICA project focusing on breeding on wide diversity and disease-free Black Tiger shrimp commenced in 2012, its path can in fact be dated to the previous project commissioned by the NSTDA from 2007 to 2011. During those years, Walailak University led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suwit joined hands in instituting a sustainable breeding process of Black Tiger Shrimp with a breeding center in Chaiya District, Suratthani province and a distributing center at Burapha University. Walailak University was a forefront ensuring the supply of Pathogen-free or completely healthy shrimp broodstock to the two institutes responsible for nursing and distributing them to agriculturists respectively. 

Assoc.  Prof. Dr. Suwit asserted, “As part of the production chain, we had to make sure that all the black tiger shrimps were 100 % pathogen free; otherwise, the entire nursing line would be as stake.” 

Five years of the rigorous process as a quarantine unit under the fund by NSTDA cultivated expertise resulting being entrusted by JICA to contribute to a broader marine science community in the research project “Development of Agriculture Technology for Food Security and Food Safety in the Next Generation” under a one hundred million research fund. At this point, the academic network to ensure food security has officially transcended a domestic scale. 

 Joining hands with JICA 
      Japan International Cooperation Agency or JICA has been known as an accredited cooperation agency serving a global need of human security and quality growth. The Agency has operated in consistency with the mission to provide advice and support for developing countries to enhance prosperity of multiple aspects of lives, one of which is agricultural development. Hands intertwined with that of JICA suggested trust testified by the university’s capability to fulfill its role as a part of the pathogen-free broodstalk production line. 

     “Paving our ways along our role as a shrimp quarantine center under NSTDA research fund, we were trusted by JICA.”

In this Development of Agriculture Technology for Food Security and Food Safety in the Next Generation project, Walailak University cooperated with three other universities namely Chulalongkorn University, Kasetsart University and Suranaree University of Technology with Department of Fishery heading the project. Earmarked a 30 million bath worth equipment and research fund, Walailak University undertook arduous responsibilities to ensure the growth, disease-free condition and diversity of plump shrimps, each of which came with unique challenges due to the novelty of this project. 

     “This is only our first phase and it has been an unprecedented attempt in this area, so I had to start everything from scratch from constructing a shrimp nursery, setting up all the equipment,” said Assoc.Prof.Dr. Suwit. 
Assoc.Prof.Dr. Suwit added, “More on technical aspects, regarding the disease-free plump shrimps, false test results mean disease-harboring shrimps being released to farmers and eventually in our food cycle, so we had to stay updated on constant of equipment upgrade so that precise test results were delivered. However, none of those is comparable to a shortage of qualified manpower,” added the professor.  

Fruits of the collaboration with JICA: Digging Deeper and Deeper 
       Besides academic publications and equipment for long-term use and development of the WU shrimp nursery center as an analysis service center helping interested shrimp farmers, Walailak University master’s degree and Ph.D. students on the research team were afforded opportunities to learn to conduct intensive research in laboratories in Japan introducing them to cutting-edge lab equipment, experienced professors, above all, intensive research culture valuing a thorough process and deep focus. 

      “My students sent on a one-month or even a year training in Japan said that the research routine there involving the juggling between doing research in a laboratory and reviewing academic papers. Every day, 20 lab members gathered in the morning to for daily cleaning and then literally alternate between those two activities. Nothing else,” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suwit reflected on what his students had experienced. 
In addition, Walailak University got to forge a bond for further research collaboration with other accredited agencies including Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), the Embassy of Japan in Thailand and scholars in both private and public sectors. 

Future Direction: What is the next step? 
        Success in the first phase results in continuity to the second phase spanning over a period of 7 years from 2019 to 2025. This time, the focus shifted to the shrimp species which can be found in Thai sea and can be referred to as domestic species. 

“But this time it was no longer about black tiger shrimp breeding. We focused on a domestic specie closer to our home, plump shrimp”, said Assoc.Prof.Dr. Suwit. The change in focus was centered upon the intent to not only increase plump shrimp population in Thailand’s marine time area but also to multiply the amount of healthy plump shrimp broodstalk farmed in captivity. Successfully conducted, abundant resources of plump shrimps local to Thai seas will prove to be a positive economic spinoff for Thailand’s fishery as a substitute for imported white shrimps. 

       In this second phase, Walailak University has been in charge of three major missions, namely development of plump shrimp breeds resistant to low-saline levels, shrimp vaccination and development of shrimp nursing system. For the first, DNA markers marking the low-saline resistance quality shall help researchers and also breeders to identify wild caught broodstalk possessing such predispositions and reproduce more plump shrimp with identical quality. The second was centered upon improving immunity of white plum shrimps conducted through either feeding of inactivated vaccine or injecting pathogen into shrimps and see how they reacted. The last mission addressed an application of Nano bubble technology maximizing and optimizing the levels of oxygen in the water. With more oxygen, both hygienic condition of the water and health of the plump broodstalk shall dramatically improve. 

     “We visited Japanese eel farming or “Unagi” and got acquainted with an oxygen-level optimizing innovation called Nano Bubble which operates by infusing a super small molecule of Oxygen with water keeping the water filled with the Oxygen it needs,” explained Assoc.Prof.Dr. Suwit about how the team acquired innovation knowledge from the partner university in Japan. The professor added that the current aim is to elevate the level of Oxygen to 12-15 ppm. using the Nano bubble technique and Oxygen generator. 

      “The process to get to 15 ppm. is in process. Currently, we are at a 12. If we succeed, we will be able to increase the amount of plump shrimp bred in captivity, five kilograms in one ton of water. That will maximize a production capacity and boost agricultural practice in a long run,” said Assoc.Prof.Dr. Suwit. 

News by Nootchanat Sukkaew

Division of Corporate Communication Walailak University