7/25/2019 Tilapia the Aquatic Chicken at Last 2332 2608.1000120

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Volume 2 Issue 2 1000120J Fisheries Livest Prod

ISSN: 2332-2608 JFLP, an open access journal

Perschbacher, J Fisheries Livest Prod 2014, 2:2

http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2332-2608.1000120

Opinion Open Access

Journal of Fisheries &

Livestock Production

Tilapia: The Aquatic Chicken - At LastPeter W Perschbacher*

Department of Aquaculture & Fisheries, Univeristy of Arkansas, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, USA

*Corresponding author:Peter W. Perschbacher, Department of Aquaculture &

Fisheries, Univeristy of Arkansas, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, USA, Tel: 870-329-0513;

E-mail: pwpersch@gmail.com

ReceivedOctober 01, 2014; AcceptedOctober 07, 2014; PublishedOctober 15,

2014

Citation:Perschbacher PW (2014) Tilapia: The Aquatic Chicken - At Last. J

Fisheries Livest Prod 2: 120. doi: 10.4172/2332-2608.1000120

Copyright: 2014 Perschbacher PW. This is an open-access article distributedunder the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits

unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the

original author and source are credited.

For almost a century, tilapia has ailed to live up to its promise asthe aquatic chicken. ilapia is not the one who has not lived up to itspromise, it was the experts who were over optimistic. As Bardach, Rytherand McLarney decried in 1972 in their seminal book Aquaculture, wehave more questions than acts regarding tilapia culture. Beginningin the 1920s, colonial Britain and Japan tried to apply tilapia cultureor the benefit o the poor and to end hunger. But without a stake inthe end result, tilapia extensive pond systems were recommended andspread worldwide in the tropics. In 2014, afer almost a century, theWorld Resources Institute working paper 5, Creating a SustainableFood Future, in 2014 concluded that afer hundreds o millions spent,aquaculture production as a percentage o world aquaculture (

7/25/2019 Tilapia the Aquatic Chicken at Last 2332 2608.1000120

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Volume 2 Issue 2 1000120J Fisheries Livest Prod

ISSN: 2332-2608 JFLP, an open access journal

Citation:Perschbacher PW (2014) Tilapia: The Aquatic Chicken - At Last. J Fisheries Livest Prod 2: 120. doi: 10.4172/2332-2608.1000120

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inested waters, whether or drinking or recreation, placing large cagesor net pens o tilapia could help. From the authors research, levels o5000 fish/ha would shif the algae to smaller more desirable speciesin a months time. I one wanted to control these algae and off-flavorsin aquaculture systems and improve water quality (dissolved oxygen,ammonia and pH levels), reduce effluent strength, and improveproduction, one would stock again at 5000 tilapia/ha in cages or netpens with no or limited eeding. Te projected tilapia production ina season in the catfish ponds o the U.S. in 2003 (beore tilapia andcatfish imports rom Asia cut the industry in two) would be on theorder o 0.12 mmt, along with the 0.27 mmt o catfish. Admittedly, thislevel would be dwared by the 0.61 mmt o equivalent whole tilapiacurrently imported. Te still substantial quantity o marketable tilapiawould be traceable and subject to U.S. standards, as well as able to bemarketed live or resh to local markets. Te cost o fingerlings, cagesand labor would have to be subtracted, but would add to the bottomline and sustainability. In all likelihood and in need o verification,

tilapia grown on natural eeds would also be healthier or humanconsumption.

It must be noted that algal levels would not be reduced by tilapia,

however altered in composition and converted into valuable fish flesh.Another, little understood, tilapia-induced ecological change would berom pathogenic gram-negative to beneficial gram-positive bacteria.Tis is beginning to be realized by shrimp armers devastated by earlymortality syndrome (EMS).

Te appreciation o tilapias role in algal control and utilizationcould provide a counterpart to cattle-cum-chicken litter pastures.Litter spread on fields has resulted in lush pastures and large cattleproduction. Greater harmony with the environment o mans activitiesand increased sustainability being the greatest benefit1.

1The author with noted tilapia researcher Robert Stickney are editing a book

covering these aspects and more in: Tilapia in Intensive Co-culture. Contributors

are from 8 countries and discuss tilapia co-culture in 15 systems.

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Citation:Perschbacher PW (2014) Tilapia: The Aquatic Chicken - A t Last. J

Fisheries Livest Prod 2: 120. doi: 10.4172/2332-2608.1000120

http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2332-2608.1000120http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2332-2608.1000120http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2332-2608.1000120http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2332-2608.1000120