Aquaculture is the practice of raising aquatic species like fish, crayfish and prawns in a closed water environment as a food source. Internationally, humans consume over 130 tons of fish annually which can supply between 15% - 20% of the worlds intake of animal protein. Aquaculture, often referred to as aqua farming, produces about 45% of that total. So aquaculture provides a significant part of the planet's diet that is enlarging as local fish stocks decline and the worlds populations grows.
Tilapia, a spiny-finned freshwater fish that are native mostly to Africa and the Middle East, are one of the highest volume fish produced in aquaculture. Suitably, they are known as St. Peter's fish based on the popular bible story about Jesus feeding a huge crowd from 2 fishes and 5 loaves of bread.
Tilapia have a few advantages that aid them to be grown successfully as the focus of an aquaculture farm. First, they grow swiftly and progress from fingerling to market size in 6 to 7 months which enables 2 crops per year. They also can prosper in a tank with a particularly high stocking density. So when measured as lbs of fish annually that will be produced from a specified space they are highly effective. They also are essentially herbivorous and consume edible plant life in the tank which decreases the amount of supplemental food that a fish farmer has to provide. This makes them efficient to grow to mature size. Ultimately, they are a comparatively big fish with a "non-fishy" taste that makes them a favored choice with diners.
Effective tilapia farming specifies that water temperatures are maintained across the year. The optimum temperature for growth ranges between 82-86 degrees F. Growth drops off seriously below 68 degrees and the fish will start to die as the temperature approaches 50 degrees. In chillier geographical regions a tilapia farm must assembled inside or needs to use a heater to maintain the tropical temperature. Both these options, add expenses to the operation and commercial Tilapia farms in good weather locales have a significant cost advantage.
There exists a fair volume of controversy about the tilapi aqua farming industry with environmentalists anxious that if members of this aggressive species of fish is released into the local habitat, it may destroy the locale aquatic population. Scientists have also expressed concern over the absence of sanitary standards in the aquaculture business and the low level of fish oils contained in farm raised tilapia. If you're eating tilapia, the widely held consensus is to only consume fish raised in the United States.
Bob Long is a system engineer who likes fishing, sports and water gardening. If you want to learn about an expanded version of aquaculture called aquaponics, visit his website by clicking on the following links Aquaponics Fish and Aquaponics Plans.
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