WEEKLY PERFORMANCE ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORT

REPORT NO. 1
INTRODUCTION TO BFAR AND CONDUCT OF WATER QUALITY ANALYSIS

NAME OF STUDENT TRAINEE: JANNA MAY S. ACIERTO, PATRICK JOHN A.

MARIÑAS
AGENCY: BUREAU OF FISHERIES AND AQUATIC RESOURCES
WEEK NO.: 1

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Region 2 (BFAR-RO2) is a government office located at
Tuguegarao City that is responsible for development, improvement, management, and conservation of the
country’s fisheries and aquatic resources. As it is named as a sector of the government that deals with important
aspects of fisheries and aquatic resources, it also plays an important role in food security. The trainees’ first week
in the agency was composed mainly of introductions to the different sectors, especially the laboratory.

First day of the OJT was started with introduction and orientation of the agency. Headed by OIC Finance
and Administrative Division Dr. Emma Ballad, she oriented all the student interns that will spend 200 hours in the
agency to fulfill the requirements of OJT. Together with Dr. Ballad, Administrative Officer Grace Uson also
discussed the organizational structure and office policies for guidance of the interns. Rules were set as to uphold
the regulations in accordance to the policies. It is important to follow these policies to avoid inconveniences both
from the students and the employees. Student interns from BS Chemistry at Cagayan State University were
assigned to work closely with Dr. Jefferson Soriano, OIC of Regional Fisheries Laboratory Division (RFLD)
together with BS Biology and BS Chemical Engineering interns. Laboratory works are being done at the RFLD,
hence the assignment of the students.

To further introduce the workplace, RFLD was toured by the interns. As it is the laboratory, it is very
related to interns who are science majors as it has scopes that will guide them on their future career. RFLD key
testing functions include PCR Testing, Water Quality Analysis, Microbiology Laboratory, and Cyanide Detection
Test Room. The different activities in the laboratory were discussed by Ma’am Jericha Sebua, chemist of the
RFLD. Each activity has specific functions regarding of what test to be done. PCR Testing is for molecular
diagnosis which can identify the presence of virus in shrimps; water quality analysis test physico-chemical
parameters of different type of water (fresh/brackish water) to identify whether it is suitable for culturing species;
and cyanide detection test room to conduct analysis that involves the detection of cyanide in fish samples. Aside
from the analyses, they also have the Hot Room where the autoclave and hotplate were situated which are used for
heating and sterilization and Wet Laboratory that contains the refrigerator and freezer to store samples. In addition
to the laboratory introductions, Dr. Soriano assigned the interns in their respective BFAR stations to distribute the
activities and gain more experiences. Some BS Biology students were assigned at San Mateo, Isabela and Iguig,
Cagayan. The remaining interns, two BS Chemistry and BS Biology and one BS Chemical Engineering were
assigned to remain in the RFLD.

Prepared by: Checked by: Noted by:

JEFFERSON SOARIANO YVONNE GRACE BESINGA Page 1 of

Signature over Printed Name Signature over Printed Name BS Chemistry OJT 3
of Trainee of Agency Supervisor Faculty-In-Charge
 Additional activities on first week also include Fish Health Laboratory Orientation and Fish Health
Management discussed by Ma’am Jackielyn Carpio and Ma’am Jericha Sebua respectively. The first topic was
discussed to further elaborate the services offered by BFAR. Primary services are the laboratory works
mentioned. Farm registration is also included. Fish Health Management discussed the practice to prevent,
manage, diagnose, and treat fish disease and how can it occur through the relationship of environment, host, and
pathogen. Ma’am Jericha also added the importance of proper stocking density needed so that the cultured species
can thrive well.

Within the first week, Water Quality Analysis was extensively discussed, especially to BS Chemistry
interns. Interns learned how to use the fresh water and brackish water aquaculture test kit. The process of the test
kit is through Titration and Colorimetric Method. There are similarities and differences in terms of
physicochemical parameter of water quality between fresh water and brackish water. The similarities are pH,
ammonia nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen, alkalinity, carbon dioxide, and dissolve oxygen. The differences, on the other
hand, are inclusion of chloride and hardness in fresh water while in brackish water there are nitrate nitrogen and
salinity. The most important of all is the relationship of physicochemical parameter in the aquaculture. If the
temperature is outside the recommended levels, it causes poor growth of the fish and other aquatic organism.
Aquatic organism will have poor response to supplement feed and natural food. It will also affect the reproduction
of the fish. On the other hand, if dissolved oxygen is less than the recommended levels, it causes poor growth of
fish and other aquatic organism. There will be a chance of outbreak of diseases and worst fish mortalities. If pH
of the water is outside the recommended levels, it causes irritations, ulcers, and impaired gill functioning in fish
and worst of all, fish mortality. In some cases where the physicochemical parameter did not meet the general
water quality standard, several interventions will result that may prevent the water to grow aquacultures. At the
end of the day, the interns were allowed to conduct water quality analysis of sea water sample submitted by a
client. The parameters were tested and the result gathered in the sample concluded that it met the general water
quality standard for marine water.

In addition to Water Quality Analysis, RFLD staff also introduced and briefly discussed PCR and
Cyanide Detection Test. They only discussed the basic principles. PCR testing, again, is a molecular diagnosis
that detects the presence of virus in shrimps. There are kits inside the PCR Laboratory that are used to conduct
it. Meanwhile, the Cyanide Detection Test is a crucial procedure that involves the distillation method and the use
of Ion-Selective Electrode (ISE) Analysis. Total Bacterial Count (TBC) was also conducted in Microbial Analysis
of water samples and oysters. Microbial analysis is the use of biological, biochemical, molecular, or chemical
methods for the detection, identification, or enumeration of microorganism in a sample. In conducting microbial
analysis, all equipment and location should be sanitized. Ma’am Jericha discussed about the serial dilution in
sample. It is the stepwise dilution of a substance in solution. A tenfold dilution could be 1M, 0.1M 0.01M and so
on. Serial dilution is used in microbial analysis to reduce the bacterial concentration to the required concentration
to an easier concentration to count when plated to an agar. She also discussed how to obtain the total bacterial
count by using the method bacterial count times the total dilution factor over volume of the culture plate. After
the discussion, interns performed TBC and E.coli/Coliform Test from the water sample prepared from serial
dilution.

Prepared by: Checked by: Noted by:

YVONNE GRACE BESINGA Page 2 of

Signature over Printed Signature over Printed Name BS Chemistry OJT 3
Name of Trainee of Agency Supervisor Faculty-In-Charge
 Lastly, inventory of the chemical supplies and re-encoding the GHS pictograms of each chemical were
also done within the week. Inventory keeps track of the supplies of chemicals, reagents, and consumables inside
the laboratory. The list was sorted, following their arrangement in the cabinet. It is important to note that some
chemicals should not be put together. For example, oxidizing agents should not be stored with flammable solvents
or reducing agents because fire may occur when there is spillage. Doing the inventory emphasizes the importance
of labels and proper storage. The Hazard Information on Chemicals at the Regional Fishes Laboratory was also
re-encoded to ensure clarity, especially the GHS pictograms. It is important to learn and familiarize the symbols
because laboratories are full of hazards that can bring danger to people. To sum up our first week, it is a bit
hectic and challenging, but because of the patience of the BFAR staffs, we were able to learn what we have
right now.

Prepared by: Checked by: Noted by:

YVONNE GRACE BESINGA Page 3 of

Signature over Printed Signature over Printed Name BS Chemistry OJT 3
Name of Trainee of Agency Supervisor Faculty-In-Charge

DOCUMENTATIONS

July 4, 2022 – General orientation and tour on BFAR and in RFLD.

July 5, 2022 – Microbial analysis on water samples.

July 6, 2022 – Inventory on chemical supplies.

July 7, 2022 – Re-organizing the chemical supply inventory, encoding of GHS Pictograms, and
Water Quality Analysis.