January-March 2004 (Vol. IX No. 1) 7

A review of global tilapia farming practicesModadugu V. Gupta and Belen O. Acosta

WorldFish CenterP.O. Box 500 GPO, 10670, Penang, Malaysia

Tilapia, that is native to Africa andMiddle East, has emerged from mereobscurity to one of the mostproductive and internationally tradedfood fish in the world. The farming oftilapias in its crudest form is believedto have originated more than 4,000years ago from Egypt. The firstrecorded scientifically oriented cultureof tilapia was conducted in Kenya in1924 and soon spread throughoutAfrica. Tilapia was later transplantedand became established as a potentialfarmed species by the late 1940s in theFar East and a decade later spread inthe Americas.

The last three decades have seensignificant developments in farming oftilapias worldwide. In view of theincreasing commercialization andcontinuing growth of tilapia industry,the commodity is not only the secondmost important farmed fish globally,next to carps but is also described asthe most important aquaculture speciesof the 21st century (Shelton 2002). Thefish is being farmed in about 85countries worldwide (FAO 2002) andabout 98% of tilapia produced in thesecountries is grown outside theiroriginal habitats (Shelton 2002). Themain culture industries are in the FarEast but they are increasingly beingfarmed in Caribbean, Latin America andrecently, in temperate countries wherewarm water through artificial means(thermal effluents or geothermalsprings) are also available.

Development oftechnologies that are

significant to tilapia farming

Tilapias are known to have been animportant component of subsistencefisheries for thousand of years withintheir native range but this commodityhas gained prominence in farming andfood status not within their endemicareas but elsewhere as an exoticspecies. The farming of tilapia outside

Africa began in Asia with theintroduction of Mozambique tilapia(Oreochromis mossambicus) but earlyexperience in culture of the species wasmet with failure due to its undesirablecharacteristics and production of small,low value fish at harvest. Success intilapia farming began in the latter halfof 20th century after introductions ofbetter performing tilapia species fromAfrica and development of techniquesto manage unwanted reproduction.

In populations of tilapia, males growfaster and are more uniform in size thanfemales. For this reason, the farming ofmonosex populations of tilapias, whichis achieved either by manual sexing,direct hormonal sex reversal,hybridization or genetic manipulation,has been reported as a solution to theproblem of early sexual maturation andunwanted reproduction.

Manual sexing, which entailselimination of females based on sexualdimorphism observed in the urogenitalpapilla, is simple but is time consuming,requires qualified personnel andusually results in 3-10% errors.

Hybridization has been studiedextensively mainly to improvecommercial traits and to controlunwanted reproduction in ponds. Earlyresearch work of Hicking (1960) onhybridization between various speciesof Oreochromis (O. urolepis, O.hornorum and O. mossambicus)resulting in all male hybrids was pivotalin subsequent investigations that ledto important milestones in tilapiafarming (Lazard 1996; Shelton 2002).Subsequent interspecific crossing andvarious culture methods for commercialapplication were tried and it was foundthat crossing male O. hornorum or O.aureus with O. mossambicus or O.niloticus also produced all male ornearly all-male progeny (Shelton 2002).Despite these developments,hybridization did not effectively solvethe problem of unwanted reproductionmainly due to difficulty in sustaining

production of all-male hybrids. This ismost likely caused by insufficient carein keeping the broodstock segregatedby sex and species and in preventingintroduction of hybrids into thebroodstock ponds.

In view of limitations describedabove in hybridization, masculinizationof the entire tilapia populationsthrough hormonal sex reversal wassought. The technique, which involvesthe addition of steroids in feeds for ashort period during the fry stage,proved to be easily applied, relativelyconsistent in producing nearly all malepopulations and could be repeated invarious country situations by farmers.The use of this technique however hasnot been fully accepted in somecountries due to environmental andsocial constraints; for example, themetabolism and the effects on theenvironment of the degradationproducts of synthetic androgen are notyet fully understood in fish (Baroiller1996). In the United States, the use ofhormones in sex reversal is currentlyunder evaluation by the Food and DrugAdministration (Chapman 2003).

The recently developed techniquefor obtaining monosex population is byproducing ‘supermales’ throughgenetic manipulation. Based on thetheory of predominantly monofactorialsex determination, it has provedpossible to manipulate sex ratio using acombination of sex reversal andprogeny testing to identify sexgenotypes. In a breeding program in O.niloticus, Mair et al (1997) developed atechnology that produces geneticallymale tilapia (GMT) with an average sexratio of >95% male and 40% increase inyield.

The development of GeneticallyImproved Tilapia (GIFT) technologythat is based on traditional selectivebreeding and is meant to improvecommercially important traits of tropicalfarmed fish is a major milestone in thehistory of tilapia aquaculture. Through

aquaculture Asiaaquaculture Asiaaquaculture Asiaaquaculture Asiaaquaculture Asia8

combined selection technology, theGIFT program achieved 12-17%average genetic gain per generationover five generations and cumulativeincrease in growth rate of 85%. in O.niloticus (Eknath and Acosta 1998).

Species and strains forculture

There are about 70 species of tilapias,most of them native to Western riversof Africa (Anon 1984). Of these, ninespecies are used in aquacultureworldwide (FAO 2002) (Table 1).However, tilapia production isconcentrated mainly on Nile tilapia (O.niloticus), Mozambique tilapia (O.mossambicus) and Blue tilapia (O.aureus). Of these three species O.niloticus has for many decades beenresponsible for the significant increasein global tilapia production fromfreshwater aquaculture and accountedfor about 83% of total tilapiasproduced worldwide (FAO 2002) (Fig.1). Mair (2002) however argued that

production data on O. niloticus maynot accurately represent the correctfigure. In China, for example, it isestimated that as much as 60% of thespecies produced is in fact productionof an O. niloticus x O. aureus F1hybrid. Although most of its reportedproductions are from feral populations,O. mossambicus is the nextpredominant tilapia species,contributing about 4% of the world’stotal tilapia aquaculture production.

Pullin (1983) compared varioustilapia species with culture potentialand suggested that research efforts beconcentrated on O. niloticus and O.aureus. Shelton (2002) claimed thatwhile the latter is still used to producethe hybrids, it has been effectively leftbehind as O. niloticus has taken thelead as the principal species for culturein many parts of the world. Thisspecies is the most favored by farmersdue to its suitability for farming in awide array of culture environments/systems, ranging from extensive, low-input pond culture to intensive

recirculating systems. The otherspecies that are gaining recognitionbecause of their adaptability to certainconditions are O. aureus for colderwaters and O. spilurus for salinewaters.

The Red tilapia hybrids, producedfirst time in Taiwan through theinterspecific cross of O. mossambicusalbino and O. niloticus, are providingthe ‘3rd generation of tilapias’combining favored colors with otherdesirable features of tilapias (Anon.1984). This fish has gained increasingpreference of commercial farmers insome countries because of theirreddish color liked by consumers andtheir resemblance to premium marinespecies such as sea bream(Chrysophrys major) and red snapper(Lutjanus campechanus). In terms ofperformance, Alceste (2000) claimedthat Red tilapias are suitable forbrackishwater and seawater culturebecause of salinity tolerance of theparental species, known to bemoderately (O. niloticus and O.

Species Common name Characteristics Oreochromis niloticus Nile tilapia Performs well in tropical/subtropical areas; sexual maturity in

ponds reach only at age of 5-6 months; suitable for culture in wide range of farming system (extensive to highly intensive system; monoculture and polyculture); high consumer and producer acceptance; least tolerant to cold water

O. aureus Blue tilapia Most cold resistant species (can tolerate low temperature of 8-9 oC); suitable for culture in countries with seasonal changes in temperature; sexual maturity in ponds reach at age of 5-6 months; commonly used in hybridization for production of monosex tilapias

O. mossambicus Mozambique tilapia

High saline tolerance (grows well up to 20ppt); early reproduction (attains sexual maturity at 8-9 cm) and high fecundity; poor aquaculture potential except when used for hybridization

O. spilurus None Saline tolerant; used in seawater cage culture O. hornorum (Tilapia urolepis) Zanzibar tilapia Can tolerate brackishwater Sarotherodon galilaeus Gallilee tilapia Saline tolerant; slow growth S.melanotheron Black-chinned

tilapia Wide salinity tolerance (0-45 ppt but prefers 10-15 ppt; of interest for brackishwater aquaculture; used for extensive aquaculture in some parts of Africa

Tilapia rendalii Redbreast tilapia Feeds on macrophytes T. zillii Redbelly tilapia Grows well in full strength seawater Red tilapia hybrids1 Hybrid origins Suitable for brackishwater and seawater because of salinity

tolerance of parental species; commonly used for intensive culture (cages, tanks, raceways) but also reported to be suitable for farming under low-input conditions; initial high consumer acceptance due to color; sometimes exhibit low fecundity

Table 1. Commercially important tilapias and their characteristics (modified from Mair 2001)

1produced through crossbreeding of albino or mutant-reddish orange O. mossambicus (a normally black species) with other species,including O. niloticus, O. aureus and O. hornorum)

January-March 2004 (Vol. IX No. 1) 9

aureus) to highly euryhaline (O.mossambicus and O. hornorum). Redtilapia hybrids are most commonly usedin intensive aquaculture operations butrecent reports indicate that they alsohave potential for culture under low-input farming.

While tilapias in general are knownfor their relative ease of cultivation andother attributes, their growth and otherproduction traits are largely influencedby genetics. Popma and Lovshin (1996)reported that males of pure strains ofO. niloticus and hybrids with O.niloticus as a parent, especially O.niloticus x O. aureus hybrids, areconsidered the fastest growers. MaleO. mossambicus has much lowergrowth than other species.

Oreochromis spp. hybridize readilyin fishponds. Contamination with lessdesirable species, such as O.mossambicus, and years of inbreedingamong pure strains can lead to slowergrowth (Popma and Lovshin 1996). Theuse of the recently developed improvedtilapia strains (GIFT, GMT) represents ameans by which the fish yields inponds and other culture systems canbe increased.

Global productions fromaquaculture

The world’s total tilapia aquacultureproduction in 2000 was 1.27 million mtand contributed about 3.6% of globaltotal aquaculture production. The topfive producing countries during 2000are China, Egypt, Thailand, Philippinesand Indonesia, each accounting for49.7, 12.4, 7.8, 7.3 and 6.7%,respectively, of world’s totalaquaculture production of tilapia (FAO2002).

Fig. 2 shows the tilapia aquacultureproductions by major countries overthe past 10 years. FAO (2002) statisticsindicate that China has remained thenumber one producer both within Asiaand globally; it produced 629 182 mt in2000 which is more than 6 times the1990 production. Egypt also made animpressive increase in tilapiaproduction, from 24 916 mt in 1990 to157 425 mt in 2000. On the other hand,production in Thailand only slightlyincreased while those in Philippinesand Indonesia have almost remainedstable during the period.

In 2000, of the 1.27 million mt oftilapia produced from aquaculture, 85%was grown in freshwater environment,while 14.1% in brackishwater (FAO2002).

Review on culture systemsaround the globe

Tilapia farming ranges from a ruralsubsistence (extensive, low inputpractices, non-commercial and forhousehold consumption) to a large-scale (capital intensive, commercialpurpose and market driven) level,depending on the intensity ofmanagement employed. The followingprovide the details of the culturepractices used globally.

Water-based systems

Cages

In Asia, the Philippines was the pioneerfor cage culture in lakes and reservoirsin the region and practices semi-intensive and intensive farming(Guerrero 2002). It was reported that in2000, the country’s cages in 2000 ha ofwater produced a total of 33,067mt of O.niloticus. The average yield of 540 kg/100m2 cage is attained with O. niloticus(mean weight of 175g each) after 5months of rearing fingerlings. Unlike inPhilippines where most cage farmersuse Nile tilapia, farmers in China,Malaysia and Singapore prefer to growRed tilapia hybrids in cages in formermining pools, rivers, irrigation canalsand lakes/reservoirs using the semi-intensive and intensive method(Orachunwong et al 2001; Guerrero

13%4%

0%

83%

O. niloticusO. aureusO. mossambicusOther tilapia species

Fig. 1. Percent share of global tilapia aquaculture production according tospecies (Data source: FAO 2002)

0

100000

200000

300000

400000

500000

600000

700000

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

Year

MTChinaEgyptThailandPhilippinesIndonesiaTaiwanMexicoSri LankaTanzaniaUganda

Fig. 2. Tilapia aquaculture production by top ten producing countries (Datasource: FAO 2002)

aquaculture Asiaaquaculture Asiaaquaculture Asiaaquaculture Asiaaquaculture Asia10

2001). In Indonesia and Thailand, cageculture of O. niloticus and Red tilapiasin rivers, irrigation canals and lakes/reservoirs and using the semi-intensiveand intensive methods are practiced.Tilapia cage culture in Indonesia ismostly found in West Java, Jambi,South Sumatra and Kalimantan(Guerrero 2002).

Unlike in Asia, little information isavailable on cage culture in Africa.Jamu (2001) reported that cage culturesystems which exist as pilot or fullyoperational especially in Southern andWest Africa have not significantlycontributed to actual tilapiaproduction. However, a few havebecome successful in their cage cultureoperations and the largest is found inNorthern Zimbabwe.

In America, Brazil dominates thetilapia cage culture industry andcommercial cage culture operations arethe major suppliers of the fish soldwithin and outside Brazil (Costa et. Al2000). Five varieties of red tilapia arebeing cultivated with an annualestimated production of 80,000mt peryear. Semi-intensive culture of Redtilapias in 6-18m3 cages has allowedBrazilian producers to reach aproductivity levels of 100 to 305 kg perm3 per cycle (Alceste and Jory 2002,Costa et al 2000). Tilapia cage ranchingin large lakes has also becomeprevalent in Mexico and Colombiawhere fisheries has been established innew reservoirs that were repeatedlystocked with tilapia fingerlings(Fitzsimmons 2000).

Land-based systems

Ponds

Most of the pond-based tilapia farmersin Bangladesh, China, Taiwan, Thailandand Vietnam use the polyculturesystem while in the Philippines, mostfarmers grow tilapias under themonoculture system. Culture methodsfollowed in these countries varydepending on nature of farmland andfarmers’ capacity to invest. Forexample, in Bangladesh most farmersdo not use commercial feeds and inVietnam, farmers use only a smallquantity of commercial feeds. On theother hand, in China, Taiwan, Thailandand the Philippines most farmers

fertilize their ponds and feed the fishwith formulated pellet feeds and usethe semi-intensive to intensivesystems.

In terms of pond yields, Dey (2001)reported that overall, the average yieldof pond farming in Taiwan is very high(12 to 17mt/ha) while ponds inBangladesh, China, the Philippines,Thailand and Vietnam produce around1.7, 6.6., 3.0, 6.3 and 3.0mt/ha,respectively. Guerrero (2001) howeverclaimed that in Philippines, the semi-intensive culture of O. niloticus inearthen ponds (0.25-1 ha, 1 meterdepth) yields 4-8 mt (average size of150-250g) per crop in 3-4 months with80-90% survival.

Polyculture of tilapia with othernative fishes in freshwater ponds isalso widely integrated with agricultureand animal farming in Southeast Asia;particularly in Indonesia, Thailand,Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. InThailand, integrated livestock-fishsystems have been the commonpractice in the Central region especiallyin relatively large farms since 1980s(Little 2000). About 60% of the totalrevenue from the integrated system iscash costs leaving 40% net income forthe farmers. Similar success has beenreported on polyculture of fishintegrated with duck in NortheastThailand. In Lao PDR, polyculture of O.niloticus in freshwater ponds isusually integrated with rice, vegetablesor livestock while in Vietnam, tilapiasare farmed mostly with pig or poultry.

In Israel, sex-reversed male O.niloticus and O. aureus hybrids arepolycultured in earthen ponds withcarp or monocultured in plastic-linedponds at a high stocking density.Pelleted feeds and aeration are widelyused and most tilapias produced arelarger than 400g at harvest (Popma andLovshin 1996). In Egypt, earthen pondaquaculture is the major type of culturesystem where only wastelands areallowed to be used for fish mainlybecause of their salt and alkali contentand poor drainage. Semi-intensiveaquaculture, which is done mostly inponds, provides about 75% of thecountry’s total aquaculture production(about 64,000 mt) and most farms are innorthern or eastern part of Nile Delta(Alceste and Jory 2002).

In Africa, earthen ponds are themost important small-scale,

monoculture at household level oftilapias, contributing about 38-93% oftotal tilapia production. Productivityvaries from 0.5mt/ha/yr in extensivesmall-scale fishponds to 16 mt/ha/yr incommercial ponds (Jamu 2001). Thespecies used is mostly O. niloticus.Apart from O. niloticus, other speciessuch as T. zillii and O. rendalli arealso cultured. Small-scale pond cultureof tilapias are usually integrated withother agricultural enterprises such asvegetables, rice and other field crops.These systems produce twice as muchincome as non-integrated ponds andare reportedly more sustainable (Jamu2001). Farming tilapias in ponds on alarge scale on a semi-intensive basisalso exist in some countries of Africasuch as Zambia and Cote d’Ivoire.

Culture in freshwater ponds usingthe semi-intensive system is thepractice of most commercial farmers inBrazil, Colombia, Costa Rica andMexico. Polyculture of tilapias withshrimps is another trend in LatinAmerica, especially in Ecuador andPeru where there were outbreaks ofwhite spot disease in shrimps. Redtilapia hybrids which are known to bemoderately (O. niloticus and O.aureus) to highly euryhaline (O.mossambicus and O. hornorum) areused for culture in brackishwater pondstraditionally used only for shrimpfarming. With a crop rotation of shrimpand tilapias, tilapia production grewfrom 18 mt in 1990 to 15,000 mt in 2000(Alceste et al 2001). It was reportedthat at an average salinity of 17ppt anda stocking density of 0.2fish/m2, thefarmers have increased the grossprofitability of each production unit byover US$ 6.00 per day per hectare, in a120 day-cycle (Fitzsimmons 2001;Alceste and Jory 2002).

Raceways and tanks

In Asia, intensive culture of tilapias inconcrete tanks is practiced in Taiwan,Malaysia and Philippines. Taiwan is thepioneer in the region for the intensiveculture of tilapia in concrete tanks andproduces over 50,000 tons annually,most operations being small to mediumlevel operations (Liao and Chin-Wei2001). Red tilapias are cultured in 100-m2 octagonal tanks with water changeand aeration, and with fish weighing100-200g and densities of 50-100/m2.

January-March 2004 (Vol. IX No. 1) 11

With 3-4 times of feeding per day usingcommercial feeds and automaticfeeders, yields of 3-4mt/tank/cycle of 3-4 months are obtained with fishweighing 600g on the average, survivalof 90% or higher and feed conversionsof 1.2-1.4 (Guerrero 2002). Althoughraceways/tank culture of tilapias is nota common practice in Africa, it is alsoused in some areas.

Intensive culture in raceways andround tanks with recirculating systemsinside green houses or insulatedbuildings in order to maintain warmthhas been developed in the US, Canada,Brazil and Mexico. Mexico is thebiggest producer of tilapia in theWestern Hemisphere (6,726 mt in 2000)and with the highly developed internalmarket, culture methods have becomemore intensive using raceway andimproved technologies (Fitzsimmons,2001). In Canada and the United States,the rearing of tilapias in racewaysusing aquaponics system has beenshown to be technically feasible andeconomically possible where fresh fishand vegetables receive a premium price(Fitzsimmons 2000).

Comparative assessment ofculture systems and

management strategies

Culture systems

The choice of the culture system ismainly influenced by the objective ofthe farmer or as determined by thecircumstances/conditions whichinclude culture sites, infrastructure,environmental conditions (especiallyclimate), socio-economic factors,technological know-how and marketingpotential.

Among the culture systems, earthenpond is the most versatile forextensive, semi-intensive and intensivetilapia production. Use of earthenponds is economically viable onlywhen warm year-round climate, suitableland and relatively large quantities ofwater are available. The major drawbackof pond culture is the greater risk ofuncontrolled reproduction if certainmeasures are not taken to minimize thispossibility.

Cage culture of tilapias is practicedin countries where lakes, largereservoirs, rivers, estuaries are

available. Compared to ponds andraceways, the use of cages requirerelatively low capital investment andoffers flexibility of management.Another advantage is that breedingcycle of tilapia is disrupted in cages,and therefore mixed sex population canbe reared without the problems ofrecruitment and stunting, which aremajor constraints in pond culture.

Tanks and raceways can only be agood alternative to pond or cageculture if sufficient water or land is notavailable and economics are favorable.Unlike ponds, it is easier to manage thestocks and exert a relatively highdegree of environmental control overwater quality parameters. However,tank and raceway culture requireshigher investment due to increasedconstruction and production costs(complete commercial diet, aeration,recirculating system). The farming oftilapias in tanks/raceways also needsclose and constant attention due tohigher risk of major fish mortalitycaused by disease outbreak andmechanical or electrical failure.

Economics of commercialproduction

Overall, tilapia farming is profitable butthe costs of production and profitsvary considerably across countries,production environments and culturesystems. Dey and Paraguas (2001)reported that cage operations inIndonesia cost an average US$ 0.43 toproduce 1 kilogram of tilapia while inChina, the average cost is higher (US$1.30). In the case of ponds, farmers inthe Philippines spend an averageUS$0.99 to produce one kilogram oftilapia while farmers in Bangladeshspend only an average of US$ 0.16. Inthese culture systems, feed accountsfor most of the total production costsranging from 34% (ponds) to 87%(cages). Although production costsmay vary from country to countrydepending on the level of managementused, tilapia cage culture requires muchlower capital investment and operatingcost than in pond and tank culture orraceway (Orachunwong et al 2001).Among the culture systems, the cost ofgrowing tilapias in tanks and racewaysis highest. Published estimates ingrowing tilapias in tanks/raceways withintensive flow-through system range

from US$ 2.12 to US$ 2.80/kg(Hargreaves and Behrends 1997).

Irz (2002) compared the profitabilityand technical efficiency of intensivemonoculture of tilapia in freshwaterponds and the extensive polyculture ofprawns, tilapia and milkfish in brackishwater ponds in the Philippines. Hefound that both production systemsare lucrative, with brackish waterpolyculture achieving the higher levelof profit per farm. With a productioncost of P417,075/ha (Philippine Peso 53= 1 US dollar) the freshwatermonoculture of tilapia obtained a netincome of P226,778/ha or a profitmargin of 35%. On the other hand, theproduction cost of the extensivepolyculture of tilapia in brackish waterwas P71,246/ha produced a net incomeof P51,361/ha or a profit margin of 42%.In China, where both monoculture andpolyculture are practiced in ponds, thelatter was also found more productivethan the former both in terms ofproduction value and quantity (Deyand Paraguas 2001). Similarly inPanama, it was found that polyculturewas more profitable than monoculturesystems for commercial productiontargeting domestic market. Net returnsto monoculture of tilapia were US$ 645/ha and net returns to polyculture oftilapia, grass carp and freshwaterprawns were US$ 3,291/ha (Engle 1997).

In Puerto Rico, the imported feed,processing and distribution and sex-reversed fry were the greatestoperating cost in commercial salt-waterpond culture systems. The breakevenprice was US$ 3.86/kg and the systemgenerated internal rate of return of 18%(Watanabe et al 1997).

Constraints to tilapia farming

The shortage of fry production is stillone of the factors limiting theexpansion of tilapia culture. Poorbroodstock productivity owing to lowfecundity and asynchronous spawningcycles, remains one of the mostsignificant outstanding constraints tocommercial tilapia production and itsfuture expansion.

Deterioration in genetic quality hascome to be a major constraint in tilapiafarming, even among small-scaleproducers. For example, in sewage-fedfarms near Hanoi, Vietnam low valuetilapias were produced before the

aquaculture Asiaaquaculture Asiaaquaculture Asiaaquaculture Asiaaquaculture Asia12

recent introduction of new strains. Thecharacteristics of ‘improved’ tilapiaseed have generally been related tofaster, more efficient production, betterappearance, tolerance to certainenvironmental conditions, andespecially, control of breeding.

Substantial benefits in terms ofgrowth rates and improved yieldsunder culture have been demonstratedfrom breeding programs for selectionand sex control. The results of thesuccessful application of thesebreeding programs need to beintroduced to aquaculture throughtechnically and economicallysustainable dissemination programs(Mair 2002).

The lack of attention given tomarketing and other business aspectshas also been identified as one of theconstraints to success of commercialtilapia farming. Market evaluations areseldom undertaken by aquaculturistsbecause of time and expense anddifficulties in obtaining the cooperationof wholesalers and retailers (Watanabeet al 1997). They claimed that a culturebias against freshwater fish andagainst fish with a silver-blackappearance of most common varietiesof tilapias (primarily O. mossambicus)has limited the market demand andcommercial production of tilapias inmany areas.

Conclusion

A few years ago, a greater part oftilapia production was consumedlocally, with Africa and Asia astraditional countries. In recent yearshowever, there has been a growingacceptance and consumption of tilapiasin non-traditional countries such asUSA, Canada, Europe, Central andSouth America. In US alone it wasreported that importation increased toabout 75,000mt (whole fish equivalent),supplying nearly 90% of the country’sdemand. In view of the escalatingdemand of this commodity, tilapiafarming will continue to be animportant source of animal protein,foreign exchange and employmentopportunities in several countries.

Ferdouse (2001) indicated thatwhether the tilapias that are beingproduced are for export or for domesticconsumption, the quality of the fishand convenience are important factors

that will influence the consumerdemand, particularly in urban market inSoutheast Asia. She claimed that in theaffluent urban markets in this region(Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore andThailand), good quality fish (withoutany foul or muddy odour) andconvenience food (e.g. fish preparedinto skinless fillets) will continue tohelp in tilapia sales for householdconsumption through retail outletssuch as supermarkets.

References

Alceste-Oliviero, C. 2000. Regional review ofaquaculture status and development trends in theLatin America and Caribbean. Book of Synopses.NACA and FAO International Conference onAquaculture in the Third Millenium, 20-25 February2000, Bangkok, Thailand.

Alceste, C.C., J.A. Illingworth and D.E, Jory. 2001.Tilapia farming industry in Ecuador. AquacultureMagazine. 27(3):77-82. May-June 2001.

Alceste, C.C. and D.E. Jory. 2002. World tilapia farming.Available at: http://www.aquaculturemag./com/siteenglish/printed/buyers/web.tilapia.html

Anon. 1984. Introducing the tilapias. ICLARMNewsletter. January 1984. 7(1):3.

Anon. 2000. Peru: disease-hit farms turn to tilapia.INFOFISH International. 3/2000. May/June issue.

Baroiller, J.F. 1996. Significant proportions of unexpectedmales in progenies from single pair matings withsibling sex reversed males of Oreochromis niloticus,p. 229-237. In R.S.V. Pullin, J. Lazard, M. Legendre,J.B. Kothias and D. pauly (eds.). The ThirdInternational Symposium on Tilapia in Aquaculture.ICLARM Conf. Proc. 41, 575p.

Blow, P. 2001. Handling and processing for export. p.123-127. In Subasinghe, S. and S. Tarlochan. 2001.Tilapia: production, marketing and technologicaldevelopments. Proceedings of the Tilapia 2001International Technical and Trade Conference onTilapia, 28-30 May 2001, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Chapman, F.A. 2003. Culture of hybrid tilapia: A referenceprofile. Available at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/body_FAO12.

Costa, F.H.., Sampajo, A.H., Saker-Sampajo, S., Lima, F.M,Matias, J.F.N., Rocha, I.R.C.B, Santos, J.A.R. andRochas, P.J.C. 2000. In K. Fitzsimmons and J.C. Filho.Tilapia cage culture in reservoir in Cear State, Brazil.Tilapia Aquaculture in the 21st Century.Proceedings from the Fifth International Symposiumon Tilapia Aquaculture, 3-7 September 2000, Brazil.Vol.2.

Dey, M. 2001. Tilapia production in South Asia and theFar East. p. 17-27. In Subasinghe, S. and S. Tarlochan.2001. Tilapia: production, marketing andtechnological developments. Proceedings of theTilapia 2001 International Technical and TradeConference on Tilapia, 28-30 May 2001, KualaLumpur, Malaysia

Dey, M.M. and F.J. Paraguas. 2001. Economics of tilapiafarming in Asia. p. 33-46. In Subasinghe, S. and S.Tarlochan. 2001. Tilapia: production, marketing andtechnological developments. Proceedings of theTilapia 2001. International Technical and TradeConference on Tilapia, 28-30 May 2001, KualaLumpur, Malaysia.

Dey, M.M, A.E. Eknath, Li Sifa, M.G. Hussain, T.M. Tran,V.H. Nguyen, S. Aypa and N. Pongthana. 2000a.Performance and nature of genetically improvedfarmed tilapias: a bio-economic analysis.Aquaculture Economics and Management. 4(1/2):83-106.

Eknath, A.E. and B.O. Acosta. 1998. Geneticimprovement of farmed tilapia project final report(1988-1997). ICLARM, Manila, Philippines. 75pp.

Engle. C. 1997. Economics of tilapia aquaculture. p. 229-243. In B.A. Costa-Pierce and J.E. Rakocy, eds.

Tilapia Aquaculture in the Americas. Vol. 1. WorldAquaculture Society, Baton Rouge, Lousiana,United States.

FAO. 2002. Fishery Statistics. Aquaculture production.90(2).

Ferdouse, F. 2001. Tilapia in Asian markets… can wesell more?.p. 71-71. In Subasinghe, S. and S.Tarlochan (eds.). Tilapia: production, marketing andtechnological developments. Proceedings of theTilapia 2001 International Technical and TradeConference on Tilapia, 28-30 May 2001, KualaLumpur, Malaysia.

Fitzsimmons, K. 2000. Tilapia: the most importantaquaculture species in the 21st century. InFitzsimmons, K. and J.C. Filho (eds.) TilapiaAquaculture in the 21st century. Proceedings fromthe Fifth International Symposium on TilapiaAquaculture. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Vol. 1.

Fitzsimmons, K. 2001. Tilapia production in theAmericas. p. 7-16. In Subasinghe, S. and S. Tarlochan(eds.). Tilapia: production, marketing andtechnological developments. Proceedings of theTilapia 2001 International Technical and TradeConference on Tilapia, 28-30 May 2001, KualaLumpur, Malaysia.

Guerrero, R.D. III. 2001. Tilapia culture in SoutheastAsia. p. 97-103. In Subasinghe, S. and S. Tarlochan(eds.). Tilapia: production, marketing andtechnological developments. Proceedings of theTilapia 2001 International Technical and TradeConference on Tilapia, 28-30 May 2001, KualaLumpur, Malaysia.

Guerrero, R.D. 2002. Tilapia farming in the Asia-PacificRegion. p. 42-49. In Guerrero, R.D. III and M.R.Guerrero del-Castillo (eds.). Tilapia Farming in the21st century. Proceedings of the International Forumon Tilapia Framing in the 21st Century (TilapiaForum 2002), Laguna, Philippines.

Hargreaves, J.A. and L.L. Behrends. 1997. Improving theeconomics of intensive tilapia aquaculture in theSoutheastern United States through integration: aconceptual assessment. p. 642-649. In: Fitzsimmons,K (ed.). Tilapia Aquaculture – Proceedings from theFourth International Symposium on Tilapia inAquaculture. Florida, USA, 9-12 November 1997.Vol. 2.

Irz, X. 2002. Profitability and technical efficiency ofaquaculture: a comparison of intensive and extensiveproduction systems in the Philippines. p. 87-99. InGuerrero, R.D. and M.R. Guerrero del-Castillo.Tilapia Farming in the 21st Century.

Jamu, D. Tilapia culture in Africa: Opportunities andchallenges. 2001. p. 105-112. In Subasinghe, S. andS. Tarlochan. Tilapia: production, marketing andtechnological developments. Proceedings of theTilapia 2001 International Technical and TradeConference on Tilapia, 28-30 May 2001, KualaLumpur, Malaysia.

Lazard, J.P. 1996. Which research for development oftilapia aquaculture in subSaharan Africa? p. 515-524. In: R.S.V. Pullin, J. Lazard, M. Legendre, J.B.Amon Kothias and D. Pauly (eds.). The ThirdInternational Symposium on Tilapia in Aquaculture.ICLARM Conf. Proc. 41, 575p.

Liao, D.S. and Chin-Wei Chen. 2001. Socio-economicsand technical efficiency of tilapia production inTaiwan. 6th Asian Fisheries Forum Book ofAbstracts, p. 147.

Little, D. 2000. Meeting the needs of the poor in Asia-tilapia in the new millennium. p.641-650. In: K.Fitzsimmon and J.C. Filho (eds.). Proceedings fromthe Fifth International Symposium on TilapiaAquaculture, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 3-7 September2000.

Mair, G. 2001. Genetics in tilapia aquaculture. Tilapiaproduction in the Americas. p. 136-148. In:Subasinghe, S. and S. Tarlochan (eds.). Tilapia:production, marketing and technologicaldevelopments. Proceedings of the Tilapia 2001International Technical and Trade Conference onTilapia, 28-30 May 2001, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Continued on page 16

aquaculture Asiaaquaculture Asiaaquaculture Asiaaquaculture Asiaaquaculture Asia16

most famous being in the town ofXochimilco, south of Mexico City.Xochimilco is a tourist area withbrightly painted flat-bottomed boatsplying the canals propelled by boatmenusing long poles, some with mariachibands to entertain the tourists. Most ofthe produce is now flowers andornamental plants for the markets ofMexico City.

The chinampas were reclaimed fromthe marshy shallows along the shoresof lakes and around the island city ofTenochtitan. Long and narrowrectangular enclosures were staked outin the swampy lakebed. The stakeswere joined with fences of wovenbranches and filled with mud anddecaying vegetation with narrowcanals left in between. Tall slenderwillow trees were planted around theperimeter, which developed a denseroot system that anchored the retainingwalls. As well as being fertilizedperiodically with mud scooped up fromthe bottom of the canals, which wasspread on the plot before planting anew crop, the Aztecs used nightsoiltransported from the city in canoes.

Fish abounded in the canals asrecently as 40 years ago (Coe, M.D.1964. The chinampas of Mexico.Scientific American 211:90-98) and werenetted or speared by the chinamperos,the chinampa farmers. The axolotl, alarge aquatic salamander was alsoprized for its tender meat. It is knownthat the Aztecs caught fish with bagshaped nets woven from cactus fibreand also with hooks, lines andharpoons. There does not appear to bedocumentary evidence for the Aztecsfarming fish but the ruling class hadpleasure gardens with pondscontaining fish.

Chaya leaves being consumed by tilapia.

Transporting ornamental plants along a chinampa canal in Xochimilco.

Mair, G. 2002. Tilapia genetics and breeding in Asia. p.100-123. In: Guerrero, R.D. III and M.R. Guerrero-del Castillo (eds.). Proceedings of the InternationalForum on Tilapia Farming in the 21st Century(Tilapia Forum 2002), 184p. Philippine FisheriesAssociation Inc. Los, Banos, Laguna, Philippines.

Mair, G.C., J.S. Abucay, D.O.F. Skibinski, T.A. Abella andJ.A. Beardmore. 1997. Genetic manipulation of sexratio for the large-scale production of all-male tilapia,Oreochromis niloticus. Canadian Journal ofFisheries and Aquatic Science, 54: 396-404.

Orachunwong, C., S. Thammasart, and C. Lohawatanakul.2001. Recent developments in tilapia feeds. p. 113-122. In Subasinghe, S. and S. Tarlochan. 2001.Tilapia: production, marketing and technological

developments. Proceedings of the Tilapia 2001International Technical and Trade Conference onTilapia, 28-30 May 2001, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Popma, T.J. and L.L. Lovshin. 1996. Worldwide prospectsfor commercial production. Research andDevelopment Series No. 41. Department of Fisheriesand Allied Aquaculture, Auburn University,Alabama, USA. 23p.

Pullin, R.S.V. 1983. Choice of tilapia species foraquaculture. p. 64-76. In: L. Fishelson and Z. Yaron(eds.). International Symposium on Tilapia inAquaculture. Tel Aviv University, Israel.

Shelton, W.L. 2002. Tilapia culture in the 21st century.p.1-20. In: Guerrero, R.D. III and M.R. Guerrero-delCastillo (eds.). Proceedings of the InternationalForum on Tilapia Farming in the 21st Century(Tilapia Forum 2002), 184p. Philippine FisheriesAssociation Inc. Los, Banos, Laguna, Philippines.

Watanabe, W.O., B.L. Olla, R.L. Wicklund and W.D. Head.1997. Saltwater culture of Florida red tilapia andother saline-tolerant tilapias: a review. p. 54-141.In: B.A. Costa-Pierce and J.E. Rakocy (eds.) Tilapiain the Americas, Vol. 1. World Aquaculture Society,Baton Rouge, Lousiana, United States.

Commission Working Party of Experts on InlandFisheries, Bogor, Indonesia, 24-29 June 1991. FAOFisheries Report No. 458 Supplement

Yap, S.Y. 2002. Fish production in integrated farmingsystems. Available at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/ac155e13htm

Zohar, G. and U. Rappaport. 1985. Intensive culture oftilapia in concrete tanks. Bamidgeh. 37(4).

Continued from page 12