Tilapia culture : the basics

Abstract

The fast-growing and prolific tilapia is among the most important aquaculture commodities in the world. It grows fast, easily breeds in captivity, and is tolerant of various environments and culture systems. Propagating and farming this fish requires little input and the technology can be simple and easily adaptable by small-scale fish farmers. Investors also find tilapia farming to be profitable because of its fairly low investment cost and good feeding efficiency in lakes and ponds where natural food are available. In the Philippines, tilapia is second only to milkfish in terms of fish production volume from aquaculture. Based on data from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), the country produced a total of 277,006 metric tons of tilapia in 2018. In that year, this comprised 33.5% of the volume of all non-seaweed production in Philippine aquaculture. Realizing the potential of tilapia culture in achieving food security, SEAFDEC/AQD has been doing research on tilapia since the 1980s. The research center has published several papers on tilapia including the development of feed for Nile tilapia breeders and fry. It has also worked on a farm-based genetic selection scheme to give tilapia farmers a scientific guide in selecting and managing breeders. SEAFDEC/AQD has also been disseminating science-based tilapia hatchery and growout technologies to its stakeholders through regular training courses on tilapia culture, extension work, and publication of manuals on tilapia culture. To date, SEAFDEC/AQD has published three manuals in Filipino on tilapia hatchery (1996, with revised editions in 2001 and 2007), grow-out (1996, with revised editions in 2001 and 2007), and modular cage culture (2011). Three manuals in English on tilapia broodstock and hatchery management (2007), grow-out (2004), and net cage culture in dams and small farm reservoir (2000) were also published. SEAFDEC/AQD experts also contributed to the 2018 Philippines Recommends for Tilapia, a valuable resource published by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD). This new aquaculture extension manual revisits the b basics of tilapia culture with updated information on the grow-out technology in cages and ponds. Updated cost and return analyses were also included to guide farmers regarding the profitability of farming tilapia. A fresh chapter on tilapia health management is also included to promote the prevention of tilapia diseases. We hope that this user-friendly manual can be a useful guide to fish farmers and to other stakeholders such as the academe and extension workers