Tilapia farming grows quickly in Pacific region 

Global representatives from the Pacific last week heard from international experts that fish farming of tilapia has reached incredible levels approaching three million tonnes and US$5 billion in sales annually worldwide.

At a meeting in Noumea, organised by the Secreatriat of the Pacific Community's (SPC) Aquaculture Programme, attendees heard that tilapia is among the top five seafood sold in the US.

Although all tilapia species originate from Africa, most farmed tilapia are produced in China and other Asian countries along with Egypt and the US. Despite its increasing popularity, however, the price paid to farmers has stayed the same while production costs, such as feed, have risen. This is a worrying trend, warned Professor Sena De Silva, director general of the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific.

In comparison, tilapia output from the Pacific region is negligible. In 2007, the region harvested only around 300 tonnes of farmed Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), mostly from Fiji.

The most dramatic trend is seen in Papua New Guinea with its large inland population. According to Peter Minimulu of the National Fisheries Authority, there are around 20,000 fish farmers now estimated to be producing 10,000 tonnes of fish annually.

Unfortunately for aquaculture prospects, the main species of tilapia found in the Pacific region is the mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus).

The stock originating from the small handful of adult fish introduced 60 years ago ''has lost most of its exploitable levels of genetic variation and so is unlikely to respond positively to any stock improvement program,'' according to Professor Mather, a geneticist based at Queensland University of Technology.