Tilapia Aquaculture

1
Tilapia Aquaculture An Overview Selection of
systems Ponds, Tanks, Raceways, Cages

• Kevin Fitzsimmons University of Arizona,
  Professor
• World Aquaculture Society, Immediate
  Past-President
• American Tilapia Association, Sec./Tres.
• Pablo Gonzalez Alanis
• Universidad Autonoma de Tamaulipas, Professor
• World Aquaculture Society, Student Liaison
• Program Coordinator, Aquaculture TIES
• Hermosillo, Son. Mexico
• Dec. 2, 2005

2
Tilapia aquaculture

• Where will you grow your tilapia?
• Legal restrictions?
• Environmental restrictions? (cold, birds,
  discharge)
• Water source (volume, quality, temperature)
• Other uses of water (irrigation, hydroponics,
  recreation)

3
Tilapia in ponds

• Extensive ponds

4
Semi-intensive ponds
5
Pond culture to crop irrigation
6

• Tilapia production in outside ponds with shrimp
  in covered ponds

7
Fiberglass or concrete tanks?
8
Large concrete tanks?
9
Tilapia with hydroponics
10
Tilapia-shrimp polyculture farms (Eritrea)
11
Irrigation canals / extensive raceways
12
Semi-intensive Raceway Systems
Raceways in Arizona
Raceways in Mexico
13
Intensive Raceway Systems (Brasil)
14
Intensive RAS farms in buildings in cool climates
(USA)
15
Intensive farms with recirculation in greenhouses
(USA)
16
Multiple small cages
Irrigation Reservoir, Arizona
Taal Lake, Philippines
Paulo Afonso Reservoir, Brasil
17
Other small cages
Nile Delta, Egypt
Shrimp Pond, Thailand
All tilapia farms have dogs, even cage farms
Shrimp Pond, Philippines
18
Large cage farms
19
Impacts of tilapia aquaculture

• Exotic species that has been widely introduced
• Effluents from cage farms may contribute to
  eutrophication
• Methytestosterone used in sex-reversal
• Attracts birds
• Discharge from desert farms should be used for
  irrigation

20
For Sonora - Integration of aquaculture and
agriculture

• Water pH reduced from 8.3 to 8.0
• Added 19.7 kg/ha N to 45 kg/ha used in standard
  fertilization schedule.

21
Results - Integration of aquaculture and
agriculture

• Contributed 2.6 kg/ha P to crop.

22
Plant height with Fish Effluent, Standard
Fertilizer and Well Water
23
Technologies to reduce externalities(escapees)

• Further increase domestication
• Reduce survival rate of escapees
• More red skin varieties

24
Future global tilapia production