1. Strategies ​to lift the Indian Tilapia industry.
Kevin Fitzsimmons, Ph.D.
University of Arizona, Professor of Environmental Science
World Aquaculture Society, Past-President
Aquaculture without Frontiers, Past-Chairman
Chennai
India
August 21, 2017

2. Strategies Where and how will you market your tilapia?
Which production system will you use?
Will you buy fingerlings or try to operate your own hatchery?
Which diet(s) will you use to feed your tilapia?
How will you harvest and process your fish?
How will you address environmental aspects?

3. Strategies for tilapia farming in India
Determine market plan. A. Sell live to local markets B. Sell fresh whole or gutted to local restaurant or grocery C. Sell to established seafood wholesaler (fish monger) D. Sell into general Indian domestic markets E. Sell to international markets

4. Top prize for local marketing !!!

5. Tilapia production systems
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)

6. Semi-intensive ponds

7. Fiberglass or concrete tanks?

8. Large concrete tanks?

9. Semi-intensive Raceway Systems
Raceways in Arizona
Raceways in Mexico

10. Intensive Raceway Systems (Brasil)

11. Intensive RAS farms in buildings in cool climates (USA)

12. Intensive farms with recirculation in greenhouses (USA)

13. Multiple small cages Irrigation Reservoir, Arizona
Taal Lake, Philippines
Paulo Afonso Reservoir, Brasil

14. Scenario 1. Tamil Nadu area with existing farm and irrigation water
Integrate with existing infrastructure
Semi-intensive ponds or above ground tanks
Grow fingerlings with “greenwater” to supplement feed
Growout with complete formulated floating diet
May need greenhouse covers to maintain warm water and bird netting to protect fish
Select Nile tilapia fingerling source

15. Tilapia in ponds
Polyculture with carps

16. Tilapia monoculture

17. Scenario 2. Integration with existing shrimp farm
Use red tilapia
Rear in cages in the shrimp ponds, or move water from tilapia pond to shrimp pond
Use a complete tilapia diet
Check frequently for parasites, use freshwater dip to remove parasites
Market through channels developed for shrimp

18. Tilapia-shrimp polyculture farms Indonesia

19. Tilapia production in outside ponds with shrimp in covered ponds (Ecuador)

20. Tilapia cages in shrimp ponds
Shrimp Pond, Thailand
Shrimp Pond, Philippines

21. Scenario 3. Small farm, limited water supply or limited discharge capacity
Outdoor production systems
Stock with Nile or red tilapia
Small ponds or tank culture
Complete formulated diets
Discharge to crops or settling pond/wetland
Water supply to tanks is mix of new and recirculated water
May use greenhouse covers or bird netting

22. Small ponds or tanks
Discharge to settling ponds or crops

23. Tilapia in tanks irrigating vegetables
Building fish tanks
Building aquaponic beds

24. Tilapia in tanks irrigating vegetables
Planting peppers
Stocking fish

25. Tilapia effluents to crop irrigation

26. For India - 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.

27. Results - Integration of aquaculture and agriculture
Contributed 2.6 kg/ha P to crop.

28. Olives with aquaculture effluent
Olives with well water

29. Plant height with Fish Effluent, Standard Fertilizer and Well Water

30. Scenario 4. Access to large reservoir
Get permits from government authorities
Cage system
Stock with Nile or red tilapia
Complete floating diet
Move cages on regular basis and monitor impacts

31. Large cage farms

32. Tilapia breeds
Proper selection of fish for your type of production system is second most important decision (after marketing)
There are several species, hybrid strains, and breeding programs available
Goals are fast growth, good FCR and mostly male fish
Must determine if farm will buy fry or fingerlings or attempt to maintain own hatchery

33. Tilapia species and breeds
O. niloticus (Nile Tilapia) – Most commonly used tilapia 70-75% of global production
O. aureus (Blue Tilapia) about 5% of global production
O. mossambicus - (Mossambique or Java Tilapia) about 5% of global production
Red hybrid strains - O. mossambicus and/or O. urolepis-hornorum (Wami River Tilapia) crossed with O. aureus and/or O. niloticus) about 20% of global production

34. Tilapia species and breeds
Match fish to production system
Brackish water – Red hybrid strains
Pond systems – O. niloticus or red strains
Cage systems – O. niloticus or red strains
Intensive (tanks, raceways or recirculating systems) - O. niloticus or red strains
Cooler temperatures – O. aureus or hybrids
South Africa and California (only O. mossambicus and hybrids)

35. Genetic Improvements in Tilapia
(From: Mair, G., 2002)

36. O. niloticus strains and breeding programs
G.I.F.T. - Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia
Chitralada – From a strain kept at the Chitralada Royal Palace in Thailand
Genomar – A Norwegian-Brazilian breeding program
G.I.F.T.-EXCEL – Additional breeding program continued in the Philippines
At least 20 more family selection programs

37. Red Tilapia strains Red O. mossambicus mutants found in 1970’s
Backcrossings fixed the mutation
Taiwan, Florida, Israeli, and Stirling (Scotland) strains were developed
These were repeatedly out-crossed to other species (New strains in Jamaica, Arizona, Colombia, Ecuador, Thailand, China, Vietnam)
Many red strains now available, most with high salinity tolerance

38. Methyltestosterone technique
Feed fry with food containing MT (60mg 17α-MT/kg of feed) for 21 days
For product to be sold in US, MT feed should be purchased from approved supplier
Females develop as males, males unaffected
Isotope labeling studies demonstrate that MT in fish is below detectable limits 30 days after last feeding
90+ % develop as male fish

39. YY technique Treat fry with estrogen Males develop as females
These XY females are mated to normal males (XY)
¼ XX : ½ XY : ¼ YY
XY and YY males are progeny tested to XX
Fathers of all male fry (XY) must be YY
YY males can be sold and crossed to normal females (XX) to get almost all male progeny (XY)

40. The YY male technology
(GMT®)
(From: Mair, G., 2002)

41. YY technique
FishGen, is a UK based company which sells YY males and fry from YY male hatcheries in several countries
Genetically Male Tilapia (GMT) is their brand name
Food fish are two generations removed from being treated with hormone and can be considered organic.
Technique could be copied, but hatchery would need several years and many qualified biologists to develop a program

42. Hybrid crosses
Several inter-specific crosses yield high proportion of males (70-90%)
Requires maintenance of two pure species breeding lines
This technique was developed in Israel and Chinese claim to do this with GIFT niloticus crossed with O. aureus. However, use of MT is suspected.

43. Hatchery styles Normally stock 1♂ and 3♀ Eggs are incubated by female
Eggs can be collected and hatched in jars or trays
Or hatched by mother and fry collected when free swimming

44. Dr. Raul Ponzoni and World Fish Center program in Malaysia .

45. Typical spawning or fry rearing hapas

46. Pond spawning vs. tank spawning
Pond or hapa rearing for large numbers
Tank spawning for small numbers and directed rearing programs

47. Jar and tray egg hatching
Jar hatching better for large numbers with little supervision
Tray hatching better if labor is abundant and high survival is important

48. Technologies to reduce externalities (MT use and discharge)
Reduce or eliminate MT use (mixed sex, cages, YY, hybrids, salt-water culture)
Use phytochemicals to induce sex change (still experimental)
Remove effluent MT with carbon, UV, or ozone

49. Post hatch Swim-up fry allowed to leave hatching vessel
Usually collected in screened buckets or trays
Start sex reversal or start normal feeding in hapas

50. Feeding strategy
Juvenile fish are especially good at filter feeding phytoplankton.
Many hatcheries utilize greenwater culture
Juveniles also filter feed on small zooplankters (especially crustaceans)
Save money on juvenile feeds by partial nutrition from natural feed in juvenile ponds and tanks

51. Tilapia nutrition decisions
Natural herbivores and detritivores.
Opportunistic feeders grazing on algae and bacteria in production system.
Fry and fingerlings need high protein (50-40%) diet
Growout needs lower protein (32-28%) diet
“Organic” diets may be needed for “organic” buyers
Compare FCR to decide most efficient diet

52. Tilapia: Exotic species in India
Introduced many years ago across all of India
Became major biomass in some new reservoirs
Stocked into irrigation canals for weed control
Competes with some native species
For sustainable aquaculture we should strive to reduce impacts

53. Environmental concerns
Tilapia is an exotic species that has been widely introduced
Further introductions should be reduced
Effluents from cage farms may contribute to eutrophication
Methyltestosterone used in sex-reversal should not leave farm in effluents
Migratory and endangered birds are attracted to fish farms

54. Technologies to reduce externalities (escapees)
Further increase domestication
Reduce survival rate of escapees
More red skin varieties

55. Technologies to reduce externalities
Nutrient dense feeds, to reduce effluents
Improved feed systems, reduce waste
Recover water and wastes for aquaponics or other irrigation
Reduce or eliminate MT use (mixed sex, cages, YY, hybrids, salt-water culture)
Remove effluent MT with carbon, UV, or ozone

56. Decisions before harvest
Who will buy the fish?
Who will harvest the fish?
Is flavor of fish acceptable?
Testing by cooking fillet in paper bag in microwave oven. Trained taster needed.
Will depuration be needed? (at farm or processing plant)
How many days and who will test?
Fish should be transported live to processing site!

57. Transport to processing plant
Best to transport live
May want to add salt to reduce stress and maintain quality

58. Processing steps Processing line Bleeding / chilling stage
Scale removal
Deheading
Evisceration
Fillet
Skinning
Trimming

59. Processing steps Processing line Hand cutting, machine cutting, or mix
Most plants use a mixture of machine and hand
Need to make these basic decisions before starting plant.
Decide when and how to kill fish. (Chill, electric shock, bleeding or cutting head)
Before or after bleeding.
Bleed better before chilling.
Stay more fresh with faster chilling
Some prefer to kill before bleeding

60. Processing steps Scale removal Deheading
Most processors use rotating drum de-scalers
Deheading
Most use food grade band saw
Some still cut by hand
Handlers should use chain mail gloves

61. Evisceration, by hand or vacuum
Hand evisceration – less investment, no equipment to malfunction or maintain
Vacuum – less labor, waste is concentrated in collection tank, less mess on line

62. Removal of skin, by hand or machine

63. Skinners Most plants use automated skinning
Most markets are requiring deep skinning, leaving more flesh on the skin

64. Removal of pin bones and trimming
Fillets have small bones that must be removed for international markets
Buyers are requesting better trim of margins of fillets for more consistent appearance

65. Treatments, value-addition and packaging
Ozonated water baths
Carbon dioxide and Liquid Smoke
Freezing
Packaging
Multi-function machines
By-products

66. Processing - bacterial testing
Samples should be checked for bacterial contamination
Follow HACCP procedures and EU guidelines
Many plants are using ozone dips to reduce surface bacteria

67. Processing - fillet line
Blow drying fillets
Application of either:
“liquid smoke” or
some other kind of
preservative.

68. Carbon monoxide (also called liquid smoke)
CO infuses into fillet and reacts with myoglobin
Fillet maintains fresh appearance for longer period

69. Individual bags for frozen fillets

70. Vacuum sealing

71. Many forms of packaging

72. IQF Fillets in re-sealable packages

73. New product forms
Sashimi grade tilapia
Smoked tilapia
Hickory Smoked

75. Review-Rapid advances in processing and quality assurance steps
Depuration stage
Bleeding step
Deep skinning
Additional trimming
Ozone dips
Improved packaging
Value added product forms
Faster delivery

76. Advertising at all levels

77. Advertising

78. Cooking contests and gastronomic festivals

79. Future Indian tilapia production
Integration with existing agriculture and shrimp aquaculture
Mix of large and small farm scenarios
Much of the marketing will be local
Will develop as a sustainable (environmentally and economically) enterprise