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Background history on introduced Tilapia 

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Background history on introduced Tilapia 

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Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus ) was introduced into the Philippines from Thailand in 1950. It was not well accepted by consumers in the 1950s and 1960s due to its dark colour, small size and poor image. (Guerrero, 1994). In the early 1970s the introduction of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus ), a species light in colour, enhanced the image of tilapia and boosted commercial production. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, commercial tilapia production was advanced by the development of technologies for the breeding of Nile tilapia in floating net enclosures and the production of Nile tilapia in floating cages with feeding.

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Ways to practice for responsible use of introduced Tilapia

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Ways to practice for responsible use of introduced Tilapia

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Information here shows the detailed practical guidance on how to care for the Tilapia while complying with legal obligations.

- International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES)

- European Inland Fishery Advisory Commission (EIFAC)
- CITES

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Assess risk of Tilapia before introducing it to the pond.

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Assess risk of Tilapia before introducing it to the pond.

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- Gather information on biology, ecology, genetics of introduced Tilapia.
- Tilapia's potential impacts and benefits that it can bring to the biological resources.
- These information and data can be derived from DIAS.

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- Treatment of waste water to remove suspended solids and remaining water known as effluent

- flushed back into environment after being treated

- treating waste water allows to remove solids which use up oxygen to decay so by removing it, the environment it is released into is not affected

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The feed such as zooplankton would require a tank in order to be culutred as feed for the tilapia which would cost more at the start.
Using fishmeals to feed fish such as bone meal which although is a cheap source of protein that contains lysine which plant feed lacks, it can cause insufficient conversion of fish bio mass.

Ways to tackle this issues
If there is not enough money to set up zooplankton cultures, it can be replaced with powdered feed to feed fry
In order to prevent insufficient conversion of fish bio mass, you can minimize the use of fishmeal as feed for the tilapia.

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Under the department of fisheries and aquatic resources (BFAR) in the Philippines
- Tilapia is currently not listed in CITES because it is not endangered and is widely farmed and produced worldwide

https://cites.org/eng/parties/country-profiles/ph

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National legislation CITES 'Non-detriment findings' Export quotas CITES Permit system Exemptions and special procedures Compliance CITES National Ivory Action Plans Introduction from the sea Transport of live specimens Disposal of confiscated specimens Appropriate and acceptable destinations Review of Significant Trade Introduction RST Management System

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Genetic impacts
Escapees from the cultured stocks can risk inbreeding with the natural fish population and can affect the natural population in such a way that receiving population may experience a reduction in genetically effective population size aka the Ryman-Laikre effect. Escapees interbreeding with wild populations may result in offspring that exhibit low fitness, posing a risk of outbreeding depression. The survivability of the natural population would decline over time. Can also lead to homogenization which leads to lower fitness overall and possibly local extinction of the natural population.

Ecological impacts
- risk exposing diseases or parasites into the natural population
- outcompete with other fishes for resources
- Predation of smaller fishes
- loss of species in the natural ecosystem
- Breakdown of community structure

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- faster growth rate compared to normal tilapia (85% faster)

- More cost-effective since lower expenses are required for feed since they have a much faster growth rate

- Higher profitability due to lower expense and high demand

- More disease resistant

- widely accepted in the world including various countries in Africa and Southeast Asia

- Have helped improve food and nutrition security in the developing world

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- Reduce stocking density
The lower amount of fish> lower use of electricity

- Aerator placements
> create a more friendly water environment, with advantageous temperature, conditions as well as the amount of oxygen, allowing the tilapias to breathe more properly for better health.  Better health > Lowly susceptibility to pathogens
For example, shown in the picture is a paddle-wheel aerator.

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How can farmers in the PH be more efficient? 

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How can farmers in the PH be more efficient? 

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- Well planned and managed
For example, while having the electricity switched on, they can ensure that once ay equipments are not in use, it would be good to have them switched off > save electricity. This require some planning and calculations for a more efficient and innovative way of using electricity

- Changes in water exchange practices
> zero discharge techniques as well as bioremediation to treat the water

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Main aim > Keep usage low> Keep costs low
Thus, it can be sensitive when there are changes the expense on energy.
The situation gets harder for intensive and RAS systems as there are much more pumps, water circulation mechanics, aeration and lighting as well as lighting and refrigeration in these systems.
For example, as seen in the picture, it shows the number of pumps and mechanics that goes into an RAS system

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water treatment will mean, we need extra filtration system so additional costs

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- Fossil fuels ( coal, petroleum, and natural gas, which humans extract through mining and drilling)

- Electricity
(Not preferred as the Philippines is a developing country. Electricity bills might be too high for the farmers)

-Bioenergy (any organic material which has absorbed sunlight and stored it in the form of chemical energy)
e.g waste from forests

- Clean energy
(Solar energy and wind energy)
*expensive at the start but saves on bills in the long run
> Suits the weather in the Philippines as well as it is characterized with high temperatures and high humidity all year round.
*More sustainable for the environment

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- Buy water from local water company

- pump water from nearby river (treat water before using)

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- Competes with agriculture, hydropower, urban and coastal developments and capture fisheries for space

- direct competition for agriculture and seen as a threat to agriculture

- Priority given to agriculture as government sees crops as more important than fish

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-  Deterioration of genetic quality of farmed tilapia stocks.
- Change in abundance of preferred prey for predators which causes a change in terrestrial fauna.

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- RAS system
- buy land to build pond
- non coastal area
- earthen pond lined with tarp to prevent seepage

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Tilapia is a herbivorous fish when it is not in its early life stages as it is an omnivore when it is young.
Tilapia fry feed
-fish meal(soy meal) and (bone meal)
-live feeds(zooplankton and polyplankton)
Sustainabilty of fry feed
Soy meal and bone meal is widely available with and is not an expensive type of feed. Live feeds such as zooplankton can be cultured making sure that there is easy acess to the cultured zooplankton from the cultured tilapia which would save costs in the long run.
Juvenile to adult tilapia feed
-Amphibious plant feed
-cereal feed
-fish meal(soy meal)
Sustainabilty of feed
Adult tilapia are mainly herbivorous, thus cheaper feed that are plant based can be used to feed the tilapia.
Since phillipines is a country that depends on agriculture for 40 percent of its economy, plant based meals are cheaper and widely available locally.

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- Improved food security
- Alleviate food poverty
- Offer job opportunities to the low - middle socioeconomic status people

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Above picture is an example of a tilapia farm located in the philippines

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- Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia(GIFT)

- Using selective breeding to obtain the most favorable traits

- Developed by a research institution known as WorldFish and partners from the Philippines and Norway

- The GIFT project started in 1988 and produced 6 generations of GIFT through selective breeding

- An improved strain of tilapia grew up to 85% faster than the fish used at the beginning of the breeding program

- GIFT and GIFT-derived strains account for 68% of the total tilapia production in the Philippines in 2003