Tilapia in aquaculture - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Tilapia
Tilapia
Tilapia , is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the tilapiine cichlid tribe. Tilapia inhabit a variety of fresh water habitats, including shallow streams, ponds, rivers and lakes. Historically, they have been of major importance in artisan fishing in Africa and the...

has become the third most important fish in aquaculture

Aquaculture

Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...

after carp

Carp

Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...

s and salmonid

Salmonidae

Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish, the only living family currently placed in the order Salmoniformes. It includes salmon, trout, chars, freshwater whitefishes and graylings...

s, with production reaching 1,505,804 metric tons in 2002. Because of their large size, rapid growth (six to seven months to grow to harvest size,) and palatability, a number of tilapiine cichlid

Tilapiine cichlid

The Tilapiini is a tribe within the family Cichlidae commonly known as tilapiine cichlids. Most of the taxa herein are called "tilapias", a diverse and economically important group containing the genera Oreochromis, Sarotherodon and Tilapia. A number of smaller genera, such as Alcolapia, Danakilia,...

s are at the focus of major aquaculture

Aquaculture

efforts, specifically various species of Oreochromis
Oreochromis
Oreochromis is a large genus of tilapiine cichlids, fishes endemic to Africa and the Middle East. Several species from this genus have been introduced far outside their native range, and are important in aquaculture...

, Sarotherodon
Sarotherodon
Sarotherodon is a genus of tilapiine cichlids, fishes endemic to Africa and the Middle East. A few species from this genus have been introduced far outside their native range, and are important in aquaculture. They mainly inhabit fresh and brackish water, but a few can live in salt water...

, and Tilapia
Tilapia
Tilapia , is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the tilapiine cichlid tribe. Tilapia inhabit a variety of fresh water habitats, including shallow streams, ponds, rivers and lakes. Historically, they have been of major importance in artisan fishing in Africa and the...

, collectively known colloquially as tilapia

Tilapia

Tilapia , is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the tilapiine cichlid tribe. Tilapia inhabit a variety of fresh water habitats, including shallow streams, ponds, rivers and lakes. Historically, they have been of major importance in artisan fishing in Africa and the...

s. Like other large fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

, they are a good source of protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

and a popular target for artisanal

Artisan fishing

Artisan fishing is a term used to describe small scale low-technology commercial or subsistence fishing practices. The term particularly applies to coastal or island ethnic groups using traditional techniques such as rod and tackle, arrows and harpoons, throw nets and drag nets, and traditional...

and commercial fisheries

Fishery

Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...

. Originally, the majority of such fisheries were in Africa, but accidental and deliberate introductions of tilapia into freshwater lakes in Asia have led to outdoor aquaculturing projects in countries with a tropical climate, such as Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Indonesia.http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/docrep/007/y5728e/y5728e05.htm In temperate zone localities, tilapiine farming operations require energy to warm the water to the tropical temperatures these fish require. One method involves warming the water using waste heat from factories and power station

Power station

A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....

s.

Tilapiines are also among the easiest and most profitable fish to farm due to their omnivorous diet, mode of reproduction (the fry do not pass through a planktonic phase), tolerance of high stocking density, and rapid growth. In some regions, the fish can be put out in the rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

fields when rice is planted, and will have grown to edible size (12–15 cm, 5–6 inches) when the rice is ready for harvest. One recent estimate for the FAO

Fão

Fão is a town in Esposende Municipality in Portugal....

puts annual production of tilapia at about 1.5 million tonnes, a quantity comparable to the annual production of farmed salmon and trout.http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/docrep/007/y5728e/y5728e00.HTM Unlike salmon, which rely on high-protein feeds based on fish or meat, commercially important tilapiine species eat a vegetable or cereal-based diet. Tilapias raised in inland tanks or channels are considered safe for the environment, since their waste and disease should be contained and not spread to the wild.

Set against their value as food, tilapiines have acquired notoriety as being among the most serious invasive species

Invasive species

"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....

in many subtropical and tropical parts of the world. For example Oreochromis aureus, O. mossambicus, Sarotherodon melanotheron melanotheron, Tilapia mariae, and T. zilli have all become established in the southern United States

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

, particularly in Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

and Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

.

Commercially grown tilapia are almost exclusively male. Being prolific breeders, female tilapia in the ponds or tanks will result in large populations of small fish. Whole tilapia can be processed into skinless, boneless (PBO) fillets: the yield is from 30% to 37%, depending on fillet size and final trim.

Nutritional value

Tilapia have very low levels of mercury, as they are fast-growing and short-lived, with a primarily vegetarian diet, so do not accumulate mercury found in prey. Tilapia is low in saturated fat, calories, carbohydrates and sodium, and is a good protein source. It also contains the micronutrients phosphorus

Phosphorus

Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...

, niacin

Niacin

"Niacin" redirects here. For the neo-fusion band, see Niacin .Niacin is an organic compound with the formula and, depending on the definition used, one of the forty to eighty essential human nutrients.Niacin is one of five vitamins associated with a pandemic deficiency disease: niacin deficiency...

, selenium

Selenium

Selenium is a chemical element with atomic number 34, chemical symbol Se, and an atomic mass of 78.96. It is a nonmetal, whose properties are intermediate between those of adjacent chalcogen elements sulfur and tellurium...

, vitamin B₁₂

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12, vitamin B12 or vitamin B-12, also called cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin with a key role in the normal functioning of the brain and nervous system, and for the formation of blood. It is one of the eight B vitamins...

and potassium

Potassium

Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K and atomic number 19. Elemental potassium is a soft silvery-white alkali metal that oxidizes rapidly in air and is very reactive with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite the hydrogen emitted in the reaction.Potassium and sodium are...

.

However, farm-raised tilapia

Tilapia in aquaculture

Tilapia has become the third most important fish in aquaculture after carps and salmonids, with production reaching 1,505,804 metric tons in 2002...

(the least expensive and most popular) has a high fat content (though low in saturated fats). According to research published in July 2008, farm-raised tilapia may be worse for the heart than eating bacon or a hamburger. The research suggests the nutritional value of farm-raised tilapia may be compromised by the amount of corn

Corn

Corn is the name used in the United States, Canada, and Australia for the grain maize.In much of the English-speaking world, the term "corn" is a generic term for cereal crops, such as* Barley* Oats* Wheat* Rye- Places :...

included in the feed. The corn contains short-chain omega-6s that contribute to the buildup of these materials in the fish. "Ratios of long-chain omega-6 to long-chain omega-3, AA to EPA, respectively, in tilapia averaged about 11:1, compared to much less than 1:1 (indicating more EPA than AA) in both salmon and trout." Widespread publicity encouraging people to eat more fish has seen tilapia being purchased by those with lower incomes who are trying to eat a well-balanced diet. The lower amounts of omega-3 and the higher ratios of omega-6 fats in US-farmed tilapia raise questions of the health benefits of consuming this fish.

Adequate diets for salmon and other carnivorous fish can alternatively be formulated from protein sources such as soy, although soy-based diets may also change in the balance between omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids.

Around the world

Apart from the very few species found in the Levant

Levant

The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...

, such as the Middle Eastern mango tilapia

Mango tilapia

The mango tilapia is a species of fish from the cichlid family. The nominate subspecies is a relatively large cichlid at up to in length and about in weight, but its remaining subspecies are not known to surpass in length.The widespread nominate subspecies is found in lakes, rivers and other...

, there are no tilapiine cichlids endemic to Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

. However, species originally from Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

have been widely introduced and have become economically important as food fish in many countries. China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

and Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

are the leading suppliers, and these countries altogether produced about 1.1 million metric tonnes of fish in 2001, constituting about 76% of the total aquaculture production of tilapia worldwide.

Taiwan

In Taiwan

Taiwan

, tilapiine cichlids are also known as the "South Pacific crucian carp

Carp

", and since their introduction, have spread across aquatic environments all over the island. Introduced in 1946, tilapiine cichlids made a considerable economic contribution, not only by providing the Taiwanese people with food, but also by allowing the island's fish farmers to break into key markets, such as Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

and the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Indeed, tilapiine cichlids have become an important farmed fish in Taiwan for both export and domestic consumption.

The Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

name for the fish in Taiwan is wu-kuo (吳郭), and was created from the surnames of Wu Chen-hui (吳振輝) and Kuo Chi-chang (郭啟彰), who introduced the fish into Taiwan from Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

. The Taiwan tilapia is a hybrid of Oreochromis mossambicus and O. niloticus niloticus. In mainland China

Mainland China

Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...

, it is called luofei fish (罗非鱼), named after the origin of this fish: the Nile

Nile

The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...

and Africa

Africa

(niLUO and FEIzhou in Chinese respectively).

Thailand

Known in Thai language

Thai language

Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...

as pla taptim , the tilapia O. niloticus is very popular in Thai cuisine.

Thailand

Thailand

has its share of fish farms and fish pens devoted to the culture of tilapia species. In March 2007, millions of caged tilapia in the Chao Praya river died as the result of a massive fish kill

Fish kill

The term fish kill, known also as fish die-off and as fish mortality, is a localized die-off of fish populations which may also be associated with more generalised mortality of aquatic life...

. The cause for this was determined to be oxygen deprivation on a massive scale, one of the causes for fish kills.

Philippines

In the Philippines

Philippines

, several species of tilapia have been introduced into local waterways and are farmed for food. Tilapia fish pens are a common sight in almost all the major rivers and lakes in the country, including Laguna de Bay

Laguna de Bay

Laguna de Bay is the largest lake in the Philippines and the third largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia after Tonle Sap in Cambodia and Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia. It is on the island of Luzon between the provinces of Laguna to the south and Rizal to the north...

, Taal Lake

Taal Lake

Taal Lake is a freshwater lake in the province of Batangas, on the island of Luzon, Philippines. The lake is situated within a caldera formed by very large eruptions between 500,000 and 100,000 years ago. It is the country's third largest lake...

and Lake Buhi

Lake Buhi

Lake Buhi is a lake found in Buhi, Camarines Sur, Philippines.It has an area of 18 square kilometres and has an average depth of 8 meters. The lake lies in the valley formed by two ancient volcanoes, Mt. Asog and Mt. Malinao. It was created in 1641, when an earthquake caused a side of Mt. Asog to...

.

Locally, tilapia are also known as pla-pla. Tilapiine cichlids have many culinary uses, including fried

Fried

-People:* Avraham Fried, a popular musical entertainer in the Orthodox Jewish community* Charles Fried, a prominent conservative American jurist and lawyer* Daisy Fried American poet* Daniel Fried, a United States career diplomat, Ambassador and Special Envoy...

, grilled, sinigang
Sinigang
Sinigang is a Filipino soup or stew characterized by its sour flavor most often associated with tamarind .- Ingredients :Sinigang is traditionally tamarind based. Other versions of the dish derive their sourness from ingredients such as guava, calamansi, bilimbi, or raw mango among others...

(a sour soup using tamarind

Tamarind

Tamarind is a tree in the family Fabaceae. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic .-Origin:...

, guava

Guava

Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...

, calamansi or other natural ingredients as a base), paksiw (similar to sinigang, only it uses vinegar) and many more recipes.

On January 11, 2008, the Cagayan Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) stated that tilapia production grew and Cagayan Valley

Cagayan Valley

Cagayan Valley is a region of the Philippines, also designated as Region II or Region 02. It is composed of five provinces, namely: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino...

is now the Philippines

Philippines

’ tilapia capital. Production supply grew 37.25% since 2003, with 14,000 metric tons (MT) in 2007. The recent aquaculture congress found the growth of tilapia production was due to government interventions: provision of fast-growing species, accreditation of private hatcheries to ensure supply of quality fingerlings, establishment of demonstration farms, providing free fingerlings to newly constructed fishponds, and the dissemination of tilapia to Nueva Vizcaya

Nueva Vizcaya

Nueva Vizcaya is a province of the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region in Luzon. Its capital is Bayombong. It is bordered by, clockwise from the north, Ifugao, Isabela, Quirino, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, and Benguet.-History, people and culture:The name was derived from the...

(in Diadi town). Former cycling champion Lupo Alava has received multiple awards as a tilapia raiser in Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya

Nueva Vizcaya

. Chairman Thompson Lantion of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, a retired two-star police general, has fishpond

Fishpond

Fishpond was the code name given to an extension to the British H2S airborne radar system fitted to Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster and Handley Page Halifax heavy bombers during World War II...

s in La Torre

La Torre

La Torre is a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 357 inhabitants....

, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya. Also, Nueva Vizcaya Gov. Luisa Lloren Cuaresma also entered into similar aquaculture endeavors in addition to tilapia production.

Indonesia

In Indonesia

Indonesia

, tilapia are known as ikan nila. Tilapia were introduced to Indonesia in 1969 from Taiwan. Later, several species also introduced from Thailand (Nila Chitralada),Philippines (Nila GIFT) and Japan (Nila JICA). Tilapia has become popular with local fish farmers because they are easy to farm and grow fast. Major tilapia production areas are in West Java and North Sumatra. In 2006, Badan Pengkajian dan Penerapan Teknologi (Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology) and Balai Besar Pengembangan Budidaya Air Tawar (Main Center for Freshwater Aquaculture Development - MCFAD), Indonesian government research, development and introduced a new species named "genetically supermale Indonesian tilapia" (GESIT). GESIT fish are genetically engineered to hatch eggs that will produce 98% - 100% male tilapia. Monosex culture (all male) is more productive and will benefit the farmers. Now, around 14 strains of ikan nila have been developed by contributions from research institutes including MCFAD.

United States

In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the geographic range for tilapia culture is limited by their temperature-sensitivity. For optimal growth, the ideal water temperature range is 82 to 86°F, and growth is reduced greatly below 68°F. Death occurs below 50°F. Therefore, only the southernmost states are suitable for tilapia production. In the southern region, tilapia can be held in cages from five to 12 months per year, depending on location. About 1.5 million tons of tilapia were produced in the US in 2005, with 2.5 million tons projected by 2010.

Other references

External links

American Tilapia Association
Taiwan Tilapia Alliance
Tilapia project at Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research, James Cook University
James Cook University
James Cook University is a public university based in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The university has two Australian campuses, located in Townsville and Cairns respectively, and an international campus in Singapore. JCU is the second oldest university in Queensland—proclaimed in 1970—and the...

http://www.actfr.jcu.edu.au/projects/JCUDEV_015467.html
Information on two tilapia pest species from the Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research as PDF downloads: http://www.actfr.jcu.edu.au/Projects/Pestfish/Profile.htm
Farmed Salmon & Tilapia Cautions
Start Up & Success Tips For Tilapia Fish Farming Owners
Aquaculture tilapia fish farm You Tube.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Nutritional value

Around the world

Taiwan

Thailand

Philippines

Indonesia

United States

See also

Other references

External links