Vale Dr. Joebert D. Toledo

It is with great sadness that we share the news that Dr. Joebert D. Toledo, who led the SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department (AQD) for six years, passed away on 19 July 2026.

Dr Toledo represented AQD, a NACA Regional Lead Centre, at several of NACA's Governing Council and Technical Advisory Committee meetings. More recently, he participated in NACA's High Level Meeting on Aquaculture Transformation in the Asia-Pacific.

Dr Toledo studied fisheries at the University of the Philippines Diliman and took his master's and doctorate in marine fish seed production at Hiroshima University on scholarship. He joined AQD as a research assistant, rose through the ranks, and served three consecutive terms as Chief from April 2006 to April 2012, followed by a short period as Executive Adviser in the Office of the Chief. In 2009 the Professional Regulation Commission named him Outstanding Professional of the Year for Fisheries Technologist.

His research was wide and varied, and included substantial work on the breeding and larval rearing of marine finfish, chiefly grouper and milkfish. He worked on the spawning of grouper in tanks and floating net cages, on the environmental factors affecting embryonic development, hatching and early larval survival, on food selection and the use of copepod nauplii in the early feeding of grouper larvae, and on the handling, transport and hatching survival of milkfish eggs and larvae. He also worked as a consultant on international development projects concerning aquaculture.

After leaving AQD he worked briefly with Pacific Rim Innovation and Management Exponents on project monitoring protocols for an ADB-funded aquaculture development project in Indonesia. From January 2013 he was marine finfish seed production specialist at Feedmix Specialists in Pulilan, Bulacan, responsible for developing and starting up a seed production complex for milkfish, seabass, snapper, pompano, cobia and grouper. He also served on the Philippine Professional Regulatory Board of Fisheries.

After a long and successful career, Dr Toledo retired in 2024. On behalf of the network, the NACA Secretariat wishes to express our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.