Sustainable Tilapia farming in the Philippines | Tilapia Culture

Tilapias are originally from Africa, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. The first species of tilapia brought into the Philippines in 1950 was the Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) and this was introduced by way of a few pieces brought in by the Bureau of Fisheries Aquatic Resources from Java, Indonesia. Hence the common name Java tilapia was also meant to refer to the Mozambique tilapia. The Java tilapia is quite prolific as it can breed even at a small size provided that it has reached the mature age of 3 to 4 months. Farming the tilapia was shown to be relatively easy since it is a hardy fish that could grow in diverse types of environments. Although tilapia farming, particularly that of the Mozambique tilapia, have elicited some interest among fish culturists, early efforts to promote Mozambique tilapia culture in the Philippines was not as successful because this particular tilapia species does not grow to the preferred local market size. It was only in the early 1970’s when another tilapia species (Nile tilapia or Oreochromis niloticus), was introduced, that tilapia farming in ponds and cages became popular among fish farmers. Tilapia culture then flourished through the 1980’s with the introduction of a hybrid species called the red tilapia (Oreochromis spp.). This species was known for its red-orange to pale red (pink) color which was more appealing to the local Filipino-Chinese market. Compared to the Nile tilapia, the red tilapias are more saline-tolerant and can therefore be farmed in rearing enclosures with varying water salinities, from brackish water to full strength seawater. At present, most of the commercially valuable tilapias are grown in brackishwater ponds or in freshwater tanks, ponds and cages in many countries outside of its origin. Some of them now thrive in natural waters such as lakes and rivers where they were either unintentionally and/or purposely stocked. Tilapias once harvested, are marketed in many forms -- live, fresh, frozen, dried or processed. Since the tilapias are readily available, flavorful, not as bony as other fish species (e.g. milkfish), and inexpensive, it can be traded easily both locally and internationally. Music: Itro & Tobu - Cloud 9 [NCS Release] NCS ➞ Spotify http://spoti.fi/NCS ➞ SoundCloud   / nocopyrightsounds   ➞ Facebook   / nocopyrightsounds   ➞ Twitter   / ncsounds   ➞ Google+ http://google.com/+nocopyrightsounds Tobu: ➞ Spotify http://smarturl.it/Tobu_Spotify ➞ SoundCloud   / 7obu   ➞ Facebook   / tobuofficial   ➞ Twitter   / tobuofficial   ➞ YouTube    / tobuoffi.  . Itro: ➞ Spotify http://open.spotify.com/artist/6fEZjg... ➞ Facebook   / officialitro   ➞ Twitter   / itromsc   ➞ YouTube    / official.  . ➞ SoundCloud   / itro   background music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free...