Flawless Market Plan and Regulatory Framework Vital for Tilapia Aquaculture: Experts

HYDERABAD:
India could be in line to become the next big player in tilapia fish as a major product of its aquaculture ecosystem but the country needs an aggressive, but sustainable and ecofriendly market plan and regulatory framework for its sustainable growth, experts told an international conference on aquaculture here.

Bringing in safe and affordable tilapia to the Indian plate will also contribute to nourishing many more consumers and the overall transformation and resilience of Indian food systems, they said, adding that the country feasibly targeted production of one million tons in next ten years.

“Water, labour, land and feed for tilapia are available in plenty in India, and some government regulations are also in place. But the country has to improve harvesting, marketing and production system, taking into account the environmental aspects,” observed Dr. Kevin Fitzsimmons, Professor, Department of Soil Water and Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, USA.

He was speaking at a session on “Production of tilapia as a sustainable and diversified crop to India’s aquaculture community” on the sidelines of Aqua Aquaria India (AAI) 2019, a showpiece event of Asia’s aquaculture sector, at Hitex Exhibition Centre here on Friday. The three-day event is an initiative of Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) under the Commerce Ministry.

“First, we have to determine a market plan that includes selling of live fish to local markets, established seafood wholesalers and general Indian domestic and international markets. After marketing, the second most important decision is about proper selection of fish for production to meet individual requirements. There are several species, hybrid strains, and breeding programmes available for tilapia,” he said.

All kinds of byproducts like caps, belt and wallets can be made from tilapia leather. The global tilapia aquaculture production is expected to touch 9 million metric tons by 2029 from the current estimated 7 million metric tons. The global aquaculture tilapia sales stand at 13 billion USD in 2019 and it will reach 25 billion USD in 2029, Dr Fitzsimmons said.

Describing Tilapia as the ‘future fish’, Dr C V Mohan, a Principal Scientist at WorldFish in Penang (Malaysia), said, “India could be in line to become the next big player in tilapia if growth in countries like Bangladesh and Egypt in the past decade is taken into account. Farming of Tilapia has opened up recently in India with Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture (RGCA) conducting the breeding programmes for GIFT (Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia) mono-sex seed to farmers and private hatcheries. Initial farm performance and consumer acceptance results from states like Kerala, West Bengal and Odisha are driving demand for mono-sex seed.

“Tilapia provides an acceptable opportunity for India to rapidly accelerate affordable fish for consumers while creating opportunities for SMEs and employment across the value chain. Within 10 years, it can feasibly target production of one million tons,” he said.

This can be done through investments in developing and sustaining GIFT core genetics, accelerating dissemination of GIFT through establishment of bio-secure satellite hatcheries, and a network of certified multiplication centres. Also of paramount importance are integrated R&D investments with private sector in sustainable seeds, health solutions, digitally enabled finance, quality assurance and traceability, he noted.

“Tilapia has the potential to address the country’s nutritional problem,” he said. India is the world’s second largest fish-producing country, but low consumption of healthy and nutritious fishes is a key factor in the country’s high rates of malnutrition. Tilapia consumption is still less than one fish per capita per year, and provide lots of opportunities to replace one carp or one chicken dish per year with Tilapia.

The top three producers of Tilapia globally are China, Indonesia and Egypt. The other leading producers are Bangladesh, Vietnam and the Philippines. GIFT and GIFT-derived improved strains contribute to nearly 50 per cent of present global tilapia production.

Dr Mohan said until recently, no major disease outbreaks were reported among farmed tilapia. With farming intensification, new tilapia pathogens are emerging that risk serious production losses. The recent emergence of TiLV in particular has stimulated more global attention on tilapia health and bio-security, he pointed out.