Dr. Herminio R. Rabanal: Filipino Fisheries Scientist at the Forefront

By

Melchor F. Cichon
August 23, 2006

The pamphlet prepared by the SEAFDEC-AQD Library in 1999 lists 208 publications authored and co-authored by Dr. Herminio R. Rabanal. It includes technical, semi-technical and popular papers on aquaculture, fisheries biology and related subjects.

This reflects his varied talents, expertise, and exposures to various activities as a fisheries scientist and administrator

Dr. Rabanal was born on September 20, 1917 in Alaminos, Pangasinan to Vicente Rabanal and Elena Ranit.

In 1948, he married Eufronia A. Durvin and they were blessed with two children: Mario and Andrea.

He finished his Bachelor of Fisheries (Fish Culture) at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City in 1940; his Master in Science (Marine Biology) at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA in 1948; and his Ph. D. (Fisheries Management) at Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA in 1960.

He had a special training on personnel management at the U.P. Institute of Public Administration, in 1954.

After graduation from college and from post-graduate studies, he worked in several agencies, both in the Philippines and abroad. From the pamphlet prepared by SEAFDEC-AQD and from his bio-data, we got this information about his work experiences:

1941-1942--Assistant Curator of the Fish Collection, Natural History, Museum Division, Department of Commerce.

1943-1944--Fish Culturist, Dagat-Dagatan Experimental Station, Bureau of Fisheries

1945-1946--Junior Scientist at the National Museum

1946-1967—from Fishery Officer to Chief of the Fish Culture Section of the Philippine Institute of Fisheries Technology

1967-1972—Fishery Officer (Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture), fisheries Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, Italy.

1968-1973—Co-editor, FAO Aquaculture Bulletin, Rome, Italy

1972-1974—Regional Aquaculture Adviser, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAPA), Bangkok, Thailand

1984-1980—Senior Aquaculture Development Officer, FAO/UNDP South China Sea Fisheries Development and Coordinating Programme (SCS), Manila, Philippines

1981-1985—Free-lance Consultant in Aquaculture performing short-term and medium consultancy to FAO, UNDP, world Bank, Asian Development Bank, USAID and Philippine government agencies and private companies. Based in Quezon City, Metro manila, Philippines

1985-1989—Senior Aquaculture Consultant, International Aquaculture Consultants, Inc., Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines.

1985- 1991—Member, External Evaluation Panel of an internationally conducted aquaculture research, USAID Pond Dynamics Aquaculture

1989-1992—Member, Governing Council of the Philippine Council for Aquatic Marine Research and Development (PCMRD), Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines

1990-1993—President and concurrent Chairman, Aquafarming Development Foundations, Inc., White Plains, Quezon City, Philippines

1985-?—Founding Member and Member, Board of Directors, Society of Aquaculture Engineers of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines

1986--?—Member, Board of Editors, Journal of Aquaculture in the Tropics, Oxford & IBH Publishing Co., Calcutta, India

1903-?—Member, Board of Editors, Aquaculture International, Journal of the European Aquaculture Society, Oostende, Belgium

1994-?—Chairman Emeritus and Senior Technical Adviser, Aquafarming Development Foundation, Inc., White Plains, Quezon City, Philippines

Dr. Rabanal has participated in numerous conferences, symposia, meetings and workshops worldwide.

In 1952, he attended the Fourth Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council Conference, Quezon City. He also participated in the 8th Pacific Science Congress (Member, Pondfish Culture Sub-Committee Oceanography Section), Quezon City, 1958.

The following year, he attended the 89th Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society, Clearwater, Florida.

Dr. Rabanal also attended the Asia Productivity Conference, Bureau of Fisheries, Manila in 1960 and the Agro-Industrial Conference of the National Science Development Board, Manila.

In 1961, he attended the Pacific Science Congress in Honolulu, Hawaii.

As mentioned above, Dr. Rabanal’s technical, semi-technical and popular papers on aquaculture, fisheries biology and related subjects are enormous.

Here are some of them:

Rabanal, H. R. 1940. A preliminary study of the composition of lab-lab or plant complex raised in bangos fishpond nurseries. B.S. Thesis, University of the Philippines. 48p.

Delmendo, M. N., Rabanal, H.R. 1956. Cultivation of ‘sugpo’ (jumbo tiger shrimp) Penaeus monodon fabricius, in the Philippines. Proc. IPFC 6(3):424-431 (Also in Phil .J. Fish 8(2):159-175 (1973)

Rabanal, H. R. and Hosillos, L. V. 1958. Control of less desirable exotic species of fish competing with or harmful to desirable indigenous species in inland waters in the Philippines. Phil J. Fish. 6(1):49-70.

Rabanal, H. R., Acosta, P.A., Delmendo, M. N. 1960. Limnological survey of Laguna de Bay—a pilot study on aquatic productivity. Phil. J. Fish. 8(1):101-111.

Juliano, R. O. Rabanal, H. R. 1963. The tolerance of milkfish fingerlings and fry, Chanos chanos (Forskal), to decreases in salinity. Copeia (1):180-181.

Yap, W. G. Rabanal, H. R., Llobrera, J. a. 1996. Winning the future in fisheries. Sampaloc, Manila, Philippines: Mary Jo Educational Supply. 132p.

Rabanal, H. R. 1999. The social responsibility of a scientist to transfer technology to end users. (8th Dean D. K. Villaluz Memorial Lecture delivered on the occasion of the 26th anniversary celebration of SEAFDEC-Aquaculture Department, Tigbauan, Iloilo, 8 July 1999.

Because of his expertise in fisheries, Dr. Rabanal became a member of several scientific societies and organizations:

American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Ecological Society
American Society of Limnology and Oceanography
Indian Academy of Zoology
National Geographic Society
National Research Council of the Philippines
Phi Sigma biological honor Society
Philippine Association for the Advancement of Science
Phycological Society of the Philippines
Soil Science Society of the Philippines;

For his distinguished contributions to the development of fisheries in the region, Dr. Rabanal was given various awards which includes the following:

1958-1961--John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Science Fellowship Award

September 24, 1965--Certificate of Merit for valuable contribution towards the development and improvement of agriculture and conservation of natural resources, by the Philippine Fisheries Commission, Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Manila, Philippines

January 19, 1987--Honorary Life Membership award to the World Aquaculture Society, WAS 18th Annual Convention, Guayaquil, Ecuador

October 23, 1997--Educator Awardee in Fish for Every Filipino Award sponsored by the Marine Fisheries Technology Foundation, Inc, DA-BFAR and the Fishing Industry in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines

In 1999, Dr. Rabanal donated his collection of books, pamphlets, leaflets, journals, reprints, and papers authored or edited by him to the SEAFDEC-AQD Library for he believes in the saying: "information should not be kept rotting in a cabinet but rather, it should be made accessible and utilized."

That is Dr. Herminio Rabanal, the Filipino fisheries scientist and administrator, who was in the forefront in shaping the development of Philippine fisheries.

Sources:

His Curriculum Vitae, no date. Typewritten. 5 leaves.
The Library. SEAFDEC-AQD. Dr. Herminio R. Rabanal: Chronological List of Publications. Tigbauan, Iloilo: the Library, 1999. 27 p.