Around The World
Apart from the very few species found in the Levant, such as the Middle Eastern mango tilapia, there are no tilapiine cichlids endemic to Asia. However, species originally from Africa have been widely introduced and have become economically important as food fish in many countries. China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand 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.
| Production of farmed tilapea from the top 20 countries in 2010 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Country | tonnes | Notes |
| China | 1,331,890 | |
| Egypt | 557,049 | |
| Indonesia | 458,752 | In 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. |
| Philippines | 258,839 | In the 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, Taal Lake and Lake Buhi.
Locally, tilapia are also known as pla-pla. Tilapiine cichlids have many culinary uses, including fried, grilled, sinigang (a sour soup using tamarind, guava, 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 is now the 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 (in Diadi town). |
| Thailand | 179,355 | Known in Thai language as pla taptim (Thai: ปลาทับทิม), the tilapia O. niloticus is very popular in Thai cuisine.
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. The cause for this was determined to be oxygen deprivation on a massive scale, one of the causes for fish kills. |
| Brazil | 155,451 | |
| Viet Nam | 76,000 | |
| Taiwan | 74,888 | In Taiwan, tilapiine cichlids are also known as the "South Pacific crucian 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 and the United States. Indeed, tilapiine cichlids have become an important farmed fish in Taiwan for both export and domestic consumption.
The Chinese 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. The Taiwan tilapia is a hybrid of Oreochromis mossambicus and O. niloticus niloticus. In mainland China, it is called luofei fish (罗非鱼), named after the origin of this fish: the Nile and Africa (niLUO and FEIzhou in Chinese respectively). |
| Colombia | 49,893 | |
| Ecuador | 47,733 | |
| Myanmar | 40,583 | |
| Malaysia | 38,886 | |
| Uganda | 31,670 | |
| Bangladesh | 24,823 | |
| Costa Rica | 23,034 | |
| Lao People's Dem. Rep. | 20,580 | |
| Honduras | 16,455 | In Spanish, tilapia are simply known as tilapia. Formal tilapia farming is relatively new to Honduras but the commercial export market is expanding rapidly. The first audit of a Honduran tilapia fishery was conducted in 2010 and the facility was found to be compliant with international standards. Honduran aquafarmers are now exporting nearly 20 million pounds of the fish every year, leading tilapia to become viewed as a promising commodity for the developing nation. Joint efforts among community farm training centers, a nonprofit Honduran microfinance group, FEHMISSE, and foreign investors are assisting local entrepreneurs as they establish and maintain environmentally sound tilapia farms. |
| Nigeria | 11,989 | |
| Zambia | 10,208 | |
| United States | 9,979 | 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 countries | 79,335 | |
| TOTAL PRODUCTION | 3,497,391 | |
Read more about this topic: Aquaculture Of Tilapia
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