Where is tilapia fish

Examples of non-sustainable sources of tilapia include pond farms in China and Taiwan and open-net pen farms in Colombia. When farms rear the tilapia in good conditions, the fish are safe to eat. The U. Food and Drug Administration FDA list tilapia as one of the best choices for pregnant or breast-feeding women and children over the age of 2 years.

This is due to its low mercury and contaminant content. Selective breeding has led to changes in the genes of most farmed animals and fish over time. The species in farms often look different to those in the wild. Selective breeding can increase the amount of meat from an animal, or make a species easier to farm.

This usually has no adverse effects for people eating the meat or fish. These terms mean that scientists have altered the DNA of an animal or plant in the laboratory. This is a common way to make plants resistant to disease, pests, or chemicals, such as glyphosate. This fish grows more quickly than it would in the wild as a result of higher levels of growth hormone.

These GE salmon may also have more antibiotics and food dyes in their feed. After an investigation, the FDA decided that the AquAdvantage salmon was safe to eat and did not pose a threat to the environment, despite many organizations and experts raising concerns. This will make it easier for consumers to know which foods are GM.

Dioxins are toxic chemicals that pollute the environment and are harmful to health. They can be present in the tissue of animals, fish, and shellfish, which people might eat. Most countries check food for dioxin contamination.

Contaminated animal feed is a common source of dioxins. As long as farms use feed that meets safety standards, it is unlikely to contain harmful levels of dioxins. Tilapia is a source of protein and is relatively low in fat.

Eating fish is generally a more healthful way to consume protein than fried, processed, or red meat. Tilapia is also lower in sodium, calories , and total fat than bacon and other processed meats, and, unlike them, it does not contain nitrates that can potentially cause cancer. Tilapia contains the essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega Omega-3 fatty acids contribute to heart health, vision, and joint strength.

Omega-6 fatty acids can be less beneficial to health if people consume them in excess, as they may cause or worsen inflammation. There are more omega-6 fatty acids in tilapia than omega-3 fatty acids. However, the total fat content in a tilapia fillet is low, so a person will only consume a small quantity of omega-6 when they eat the fish.

Due to its higher ratio of omega-6 to omega-3, tilapia is less healthful than salmon. However, it still provides more omega-3 than most meats. Today, all commercially important tilapia outside of Africa belong to the genus Oreochromis, and more than 90 percent of all commercially farmed tilapia outside of Africa are Nile tilapia.

Less commonly farmed species are Blue tilapia O. Mossambicus and the Zanzibar tilapia O. The scientific names of tilapia species have been revised a lot in the last 30 years, creating some confusion. The scientific name of the Nile tilapia has been given as Tilapia nilotica , Sarotherodon niloticus , and currently as Oreochromis niloticus.

Tilapia are shaped much like sunfish or crappie but can be easily identified by an interrupted lateral line characteristic of the Cichlid family of fishes. They are laterally compressed and deep-bodied with long dorsal fins.

The forward portion of the dorsal fin is heavily spined. Spines are also found in the pelvis and anal fins. There are usually wide vertical bars down the sides of fry, fingerlings, and sometimes adults.

The main cultured species of tilapia usually can be distinguished by different banding patterns on the caudal fin. Nile tilapia have strong vertical bands, Blue tilapia have interrupted bands, and Mozambique tilapia have weak or no bands on the caudal fin. Male Mozambique tilapia also have upturned snouts.

Colour patterns on the body and fins also may distinguish species. Mature male Nile tilapia have gray or pink pigmentation in the throat region, while Mozambique tilapia have a more yellow colouration.

However, colouration is often an unreliable method of distinguishing tilapia species because environment, state of sexual maturity, and food source greatly influence colour intensity. The red tilapia has become increasingly popular because its similar appearance to the marine red snapper gives it higher market value. The original red tilapias were genetic mutants. The first red tilapia, produced in Taiwan in the late s, was a cross between a mutant reddish- orange female Mozambique tilapia and a normal male Nile tilapia.

It was called the Taiwanese red tilapia. Another red strain of tilapia was developed in Florida in the s by crossing a normal coloured female Zanzibar tilapia with a red-gold Mozambique tilapia.

A third strain of red tilapia was developed in Israel from a mutant pink Nile tilapia crossed with wild Blue tilapia. All three original strains have been crossed with other red tilapia of unreported origin or with wild Oreochromis species. Consequently, most red tilapia in the Americas are mosaics of uncertain origin. The confused and rapidly changing genetic composition of red tilapia, as well as the lack of head-to-head growth comparisons between the different lines, make it difficult for a producer to identify a best red strain.

Other strains of tilapia selected for colour include true breeding gold and yellow Mozambique lines and a Rocky Mountain white tilapia a true breeding line originating from an aberrant Blue tilapia, subsequently crossed with Nile tilapia. Most strains selected for colour do not grow well enough for food fish culture.

Identifying the species of an individual fish is further complicated by natural crossbreeding that has occurred between species. Electrophoresis is often used to determine the species composition of a group of tilapia.

Reproduction In all Oreochromis species the male excavates a nest in the pond bottom generally in water shallower than 3 feet and mates with several females. After a short mating ritual the female spawns in the nest about two to four eggs per gram of brood female , the male fertilises the eggs, and she then holds and incubates the eggs in her mouth buccal cavity until they hatch.

Fry remain in the females mouth through yolk sac absorption and often seek refuge in her mouth for several days after they begin to feed. Sexual maturity in tilapia is a function of age, size and environmental conditions. The Mozambique tilapia reaches sexual maturity at a smaller size and younger age than the Nile and Blue tilapias. Tilapia populations in large lakes mature at a later age and larger size than the same species raised in small farm ponds.

Under good growth conditions this same species will reach sexual maturity in farm ponds at an age of 5 to 6 months and 5 to 7 ounces to grams. When growth is slow, sexual maturity in Nile tilapia is delayed a month or two but stunted fish may spawn at a weight of less than 1 ounce 20 grams. Under good growing conditions in ponds, the Mozambique tilapia may reach sexual maturity in as little as 3 months of age, when they seldom weigh more than 2 to 4 ounces 60 to grams.

Fish farming strategies that prevent overcrowding and stunting include: Cage farming where eggs fall through the mesh to the pond bottom before the female can collect them for brooding Polyculture with a predator fish, such as fingerling largemouth bass, at per acre Culture of only males monosex.

All-male culture is desirable in ponds not only to prevent overpopulation and stunting but also because males grow about twice as fast as females. Methods of obtaining predominately male fish include: Sponsor message. Aquaculture is an increasingly important source of safe, nutritious, and sustainable seafood for people worldwide.

Globally, aquaculture production must double by to keep pace with demand. These increases in demand for aquaculture products, food security considerations, and job creation have generated an increased need for skilled workers.

Discover how you can be part of this rapidly expanding industry. The sex of a 1-ounce gram tilapia fingerling can be determined by examining the genital papilla located immediately behind the anus Fig 1. In males the genital papilla has only one opening the urinary pore of the ureter through which both milt and urine pass.

In females the eggs exit through a separate oviduct and only urine passes through the urinary pore. Placing a drop of dye methylene blue or food colouring on the genital region helps to highlight the papilla and its openings. Feeding behaviour and nutrition requirements Tilapia ingest a wide variety of natural food organisms, including plankton, some aquatic macrophytes, planktonic and benthic aquatic invertebrates, larval fish, detritus, and decomposing organic matter.

With heavy supplemental feeding, natural food organisms typically account for 30 to 50 percent of tilapia growth. In supplementally fed channel catfish only 5 to 10 percent of growth can be traced to ingestion of natural food organisms. Truth: While you may think that fish farming and aquaculture are new ways to raise Tilapia, Tilapia is actually the oldest farm-raised fish in the world.

Tilapia farming was so important to the ancient Egyptians that a bas-relief depicting pictures of Tilapia being farmed in ponds was found in a 4, year old Egyptian tomb. Although it took thousands of years before Tilapia started being farmed outside of Africa, Tilapia farming is by no means a new practice. Truth: Tilapia has always been and still is a versatile and healthy source of important nutrients for people of all backgrounds. Tilapia is a source of lean protein, omega-3 fatty acids, potassium and iron, which are nutrients that all types of people need to eat as part of a healthy diet.

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