July | August 2012 EXPERT TOPIC - Tilapia

International Aquafeed is published five times a year by Perendale Publishers Ltd of the United Kingdom. All data is published in good faith, based on information received, and while every care is taken to prevent inaccuracies, the publishers accept no liability for any errors or omissions or for the consequences of action taken on the basis of information published. Copyright 2012 Perendale Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owner. Printed by Perendale Publishers Ltd. ISSN: 1464-0058

The International magazine for the aquaculture feed industry

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TILAPIA
EXPERT TOPIC
Welcome to Expert Topic, a new feature for International Aquafeed. Each issue will take an in-depth look at a particular species and how it's feed is managed.
14 | InternAtIonAl AquAFeed | July-August 2012

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Effects of dietary potassium diformate on juvenile tilapia

a performance analysis
by Christian Lckstdt, Animal Nutritionist, ADDCON, Germany

lobal production of farmed tilapia in at least 85 countries exceeded 3 million t in 2009 and requires high-quality fish feeds. In such intensive aquaculture production, bacterial diseases have been identified as a major cause of economic loss to producers. Feeding antibiotic-medicated feeds is a common practice to treat bacterial infections. Prophylactic use of antibiotics as growth promoters in aquaculture production has also occurred widely. However, growing awareness from consumers and producers of aquaculture species has resulted in a demand for responsible and sustainable aquaculture. Regulatory authorities in most exporting countries now focus on the misuse of antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) in aquaculture, while public attention has shifted towards sustainable production methods. Thus, alternative additives to replace AGPs, which have been banned in EU animal feeds since 2006, have had to be tested. Dietary organic acids, and especially potassium diformate the most widely tested organic acid salt in aquaculture, are among the vari-

ous alternatives spearheading environmental friendly and nutritive-sustainable aquaculture approaches. Dietary potassium diformate (KDF) has been tested in tilapia aquaculture since 2005 and since then numerous publications and conference contributions on the use of KDF in juvenile tilapia have been published from Europe, America and Asia. This study analysed the average impact of the additive from all published studies on its effect on performance parameters such as weight gain, feed efficiency and mortality. The final data-set contained the results of eight published studies, comprising 18 trials with KDF-inclusion, which ranged from 0.2% to 0.75% and covered 3,040 fish. Data were subjected to statistical analysis and a significance level of 0.05 was used in all tests. Results are expressed as percentage difference from the negatively controlled fish.
table 1: effects of potassium diformate in tilapia diets against negative control performance (responses as per cent of negative control) data-set consists of eight published studies covering 3,040 fish Dosage (%) Feed intake Weight gain 0.41 P.level +2.05 0.162 +5.59 0.009 FCr -4.46 0.012

The average level of dietary potassium diformate from the data-set in all treated fish was 0.41percent. Only a numerical increase of feed intake (2.1%) could be monitored (P=0.16) compared to fish without the additive. However, the performance of tilapia, based on final weight was significantly increased by 5.6 percent (P=0.009). Furthermore, the feed
July-August 2012 | InternAtIonAl AquAFeed | 15

conversion ratio of fish fed KDF was also significantly improved (P=0.012): this time the improvement was 4.5 percent. Data on mortality were inconclusive, since some of the trials were carried out under clean laboratory conditions, while others employed a challenge with potentially pathogenic bacteria, such as Vibrio anguillarum, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus iniae and Aeromonas hydrophila. In these cases, dietary KDF, ranging from 0.2 percent till 0.5 percent reduced mortality (P<0.05) when employed against V. anguillarum; it tended to reduce (dosages between 0.20.6%) mortality caused by S. agalactiae and A. hydrophila, while it had no effect (KDF ranging from 0.25-0.75%) on mortality caused by S. iniae. In general, results show significantly improved growth and FCR in tilapia fed with dietary potassium diformate, while its beneficial impact against pathogenic bacteria seem to be bacterial-challenge dependent. If calculated as fish productivity index, which is a function of weight gain, survival and FCR (Lckstdt & Khlmann, 2011), the improvement extended to almost 17 percent (P=0.020). The use of KDF in tilapia feeding is therefore supported as a promising alternative in the contemporary aqua-feed industry in order to contribute to an ecologically sustainable tilapia production. This paper was presented at the XV International Symposium on Fish Nutrition and Feeding Molde, Norway June 4-7, 2012. Originally published on www.engormix.com More InforMatIon:
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Tilapia cage farm management in Brazil

Cage characteristics
Brazil holds about 10 million ha of freshwater in dams, rivers, lakes and man-made reservoirs. Floating cages have become the most popular system for rearing tilapia in Brazil in areas with suitable water quality, flushing rates and water depth. Tilapia cages are simple to build, inexpensive (US $400 for a 6-m3 cage) and easy to manage. Cages are usually constructed with rigid or flexible nets made from plastic-coated galvanized steel, stainless steel or synthetic fibers such as polypropylene. Steel nets are more widespread, as they better resist predatory fish such as the piranhas found in some inland areas in the country. Cage frames are made from stainless steel or galvanized steel. Strong, longlife, high-density polyethylene frames are less widely available and more costly, but have become the choice of farms that operate with medium-volume cages. In sites close to shore, stationary cages are spaced two to four metres apart in groups and docked with anchoring poles fixed inshore. Otherwise, submerged chains and ropes attached to concrete bottom weights are used as mooring systems. To facilitate daily management, many farms now adopt walkways made from wood attached to empty barrels or plastic containers. Most cages used for tilapia rearing have small volumes of four to 20 m3. These can be round or square in shape with heights not greater than two metres. The cages can

of capital investment and cash flow, and scale harvests for consistent sales and production flow. Tilapia farms that operate with cages beyond 300 m3 in volume are sometimes vertically integrated from fingerling production to fish distribution. They operate with processing plants and sales contracts that require the harvest of large volumes of tilapia at a time. In larger-volume cages, final stocking densities are reduced to 60 kg of fish/m3. They have the disadvantage of poor flexibility and maneuverability, but on the other hand, can represent significant savings in labor force.

Nursery
Sex-reversed tilapia are usually sold to grow out farms as fry with wet body weights between 0.2 and 0.5 g. A thousand tilapia fry cost US $30 to $45, depending on quality, location and availability. When available at short distances, some farmers prefer acquiring juvenile fish of 10- to 30g weight, although their prices may exceed $80/1,000 fish. At this stage, fish mortality can be significantly reduced and the growout cycle shortened. Earthen ponds may be used for the nursery of Chitralada fry prior to stocking in cages. However, cages equipped internally with flexible 5mm mesh nets are usually more common, as

by Alberto J. P. Nunes, from the Instituto de Cincias do Mar Labomar, tilpia cage farm management specialist. Originally published in Global Aquaculture Advocate

uch of Brazils expanding tilapia aquaculture takes place in floating cages with sturdy frames and nets made from plastic-coated steel or polypropylene. Although larger cages are also used, most cages have small volumes up to 20 m3 that support high stocking densities and intermittent harvesting without overstressing the fish. Earthen ponds may be used for the nursery of fry, but compartments in cages are more common. Size grading is a major management component. Tilapia were first brought to Brazil in 1953, but only over the past decade has tilapia farming grown to commercial scale. Since 1999, the industry has expanded at an average annual growth rate of 18 percent. In 2009, the Brazilian Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture reported the tilapia harvest was 133,000 metric tonnes. Over the years, Brazilian farmers have used a number of tilapia strains, starting with the Florida red and more recently the genetically male tilapia. Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, Chitralada strain, brought from Thailand in 1995, has established itself as the main strain farmed in the country. Much of the tilapia aquaculture takes place in floating cages near many of Brazils coastal areas.

safely operate with high stocking densities (starting at 120 kg tilapia/m3) due to rapid water exchange. Since much of Brazils tilapia sales are domestic and retail, small-volume cages allow the harvest of fewer quantities of fish without imposing stress on the greater stocked population. As cages move beyond 10 m3 in volume with monthly harvests exceeding 10 metric tonnes, farms require a moderate level
16 | InternAtIonAl AquAFeed | July-August 2012

they facilitate fish handling and transfer to grow out cages. In cages, it takes five to eight weeks to grow 0.5g fry to 30g juveniles, depending on stocking density, feed and water quality.

Size Grading
Tilapia growth can vary widely within the same stock, especially when the fish are subjected to high density. This is in part due to genetic differences, but also because of competitive interactions among fish. Some fish outcompete others for feed and consequently grow faster. As

EXPERT TPIC a result, size grading becomes a major management component of tilapia cage farming. When tilapia are transferred to different cages, it also allows moving the stock to clean units with larger mesh sizes, which promotes greater water exchange within the rearing unit. From 5mm mesh sizes, 10g fish are usually moved to cages with mesh sizes of up to 15 mm. Then 30 to 200g tilapia are held within nets of 15 to 25mm mesh. The mesh on nets for fish larger than 200g is 25mm or wider. Grading frequency depends on a number of variables, including the targeted fish size at harvest, number of cages available on site, stock size variation, degree of prevalent stress and health status of the stocked population. Many farmers target tilapia above 900g in weight to achieve premium prices. For this fish weight, grading can be carried out two to three times in a production cycle (Figure 1). During the rainy season, when fish become more susceptible to disease outbreaks, there is a reduction in tilapia stocking density as well as grading frequency. When size grading is adopted, final tilapia body weight variation can be reduced from 40 percent at initial stages to about 15 percent at harvest time. Tilapia are often sorted into four size categories, with the smallest, most challenged fish removed as early as possible since their delay in growth cannot be recovered during the production cycle. Fish are usually sorted manually by eye, but in large operations, this procedure can be mechanised. Cage operations equipped with walkways allow more detailed inspections of feed consumption. They facilitate feed handling and storage, and promote feed delivery to as often as eight times a day during grow out compared to three times when distributed from feed boats. Walkways also allow the collection of fish debris and more frequent clean up of feeding rings or net curtains.

Feeds, feeding
Cage-farmed tilapia in Brazil received only extruded diets. Feed protein content, pellet size and suggested feeding rates may vary according to the feed manufacturer. Fish feeds tend to be high in protein content at initial stages and drop as fish attain larger sizes (Table 1). Growout and finishing feeds are usually 32 percent in protein content and may represent up to 80 percent of all feeding costs at a cage farm. Feed costs to produce a one kilo tilapia can range US $1.10-1.30/kg of fish harvested. As such, feed management is critical to the economics of a cage operation. To determine maximum ration sizes, farmers usually follow suggested rates from commercial feeding tables. However, rations are adjusted on a daily basis depending on fish appetite. In small-volume cages, rations are never delivered in full amounts. Initially, fish can be fed only half of the calculated ration. The remainder is offered if the first ration is fully consumed within 30 minutes after distribution. After this period, uneaten feed can be oversaturated with water, and the heavier pellets exit the confined feed area, leading to feed loss.

Perspectives
Tilapia cage farming will continue to grow quickly in the years to come in Brazil to reduce the increasing domestic deficit of fisheries products in the country. Tilapia are mostly marketed fresh and degutted at weights of 700 to 900g. Farm gate prices range US $2.00-2.80/kg. Today a great proportion of Brazils tilapia production is consumed in the countryside, but the fish are also now found in large supermarket chains, restaurants and fish markets all over the country. As capture fisheries continue to decline in Brazil and more city residents learn to appreciate tilapia, increasing demand will further drive new entrepreneurs into tilapia aquaculture. In this new scenario, medium-size cages and more mechanised practices will emerge to keep pace with largescale production and more-efficient operations.

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Tilapia genetic strains and hatchery technology

by Eric Roderick
ilapia is a diverse group of over 100 species, but surprisingly only a handful of species are cultured commercially and only one species, the Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus accounts for 95 percent of global production. Culture systems range from small backyard operations producing a few fish to sustain a small family, to huge agro-industrial units producing

inconsistent, and wasteful. It was then found that certain hybrids between different tilapia species (O.niloticus and O.aureus) gave very high percent male progeny. The downside with this technique was that it required hatcheries to hold two separate stocks of tilapia species, and as the purity of tilapia stocks deteriorated, the technique became unviable. Researchers then discovered that tilapia fry, when fed male sex hormones for the first month after hatching, were able to change sex, from 50- 50 male to female ratio, to ratios of almost 100 percent male fry. This is a highly variable technique due to hormone purity and operator experience. One of the major challenges facing the industry is that use of Methyl Testosterone will be phased out. This is overcome by the latest technology to effectively provide all male fry - the YY Male Technology developed by Fishgen. After many years of research in the UK and in the Philippines, Fishgen produced supermale tilapia which had two Y chromosomes instead of the usual Y and X chromosome. Females have two X chromosomes. These supermales produce only male fry addressing the problems of a future ban on hormonal sex reversal.

Which strain

over 20,000 metric tonnes annually. With the rapid growth of the global tilapia industry over the past 25 years, genetic improvement programmes enable a more profitable industry to benefit from the increased popularity of tilapia as a global food commodity. From humble beginnings being farmed for the Pharaohs in Ancient Egypt 4,000 years ago, the Aquatic chicken is now a very important globally traded commodity with production worldwide of 3.23 million metric tonnes in 2011 and still growing.

3
Supermales

Deciding on which commercial strain of tilapia to use in a new tilapia project can be daunting, and there are many commercial stocks available globally. The farms location can have a deciding influence as there are restrictions on importation of some strains from some countries, to minimise disease and biodiversity issues particularly in Africa where there are many unique endemic strains of tilapia, requiring protection from contamination by the careless introduction of new genetic lines, where escapees could interbreed or outcompete with the pure endemic species.

pany) a few years ago and is now marketed globally as Genomar Supreme tilapia (GST) and the processed fish as TRAPIA (traceable tilapia) ensuring full genetic traceability of their products to the food industry. Trapia is produced in Genomars cage farms in lakes in Malaysia and mainly exported to the USA. Since the sale of the GIFT latest genetic lines to Genomar, the Philippines have carried on with their own Genetic Improvements of the GIFT line and market the GIFT Excel line now. These lines are all based on the original genetic stocks collected in Africa in the 1980s. Another well-known stock is the Chitrilada strain which is farmed extensively in Thailand. It originated as a gift to the King of Thailand by the Emperor of Japan in 1965, and was maintained as a pure line in the Royal Jitralada Palace in Bangkok for many years before being distributed throughout Thailand by the Thai Department of Fisheries in 1967. Since then it has been improved by selective breeding programmes and is now widely farmed in South and Central America, particularly Mexico and Brazil. This stock also originated from Egypt. The only other tilapia genetic line commercially used extensively around the world is the YY Supermale strain, developed by Fishgen in the UK. This stock is also based on the Nile Tilapia from Egypt, but the main difference between this line and all the others available, is that no hormones are required to sex reverse the fry for growout, as the YY supermale has been specifically bred to sire only male offspring.

Hatchery systems
Tilapia hatchery systems are diverse with cost of construction and production of tilapia fry varying enormously, from basic pond hatcheries in tropical countries costing almost nothing, to expensive high-tech bio-secure indoor recirculation systems. The low-cost breeding systems utilise simple earth broodstock ponds, with a shallow area around the edge where the fry once released from the females mouth, tend to congregate in tight shoals and are collected with large dip nets or small seine nets, on a daily basis. Larger hatcheries use lined ponds in poly-tunnels which give better temperature control, biosecurity and predator protection. The fry are incubated by the female which is less efficient than removing the fertilised eggs from the females mouth and using artificial incubators to hatch the fry. Many of the worlds largest tilapia hatcheries are in Asia, where 75 percent of global tilapia production takes place. They utilise Hapa-based production systems, where the broodstock are bred in long hapas (net pens) and the eggs are harvested from the females mouth every five days. This is done by opening the buccal cavity of the female and gently rinsing the eggs out of the mouth into a bucket.

The big four

There are currently four main genetically improved commercial lines that are globally distributed and proven to be fast growing. The biggest genetic improvement programme was the GIFT project (Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia) and the current stock was originally produced from eight strains of the Nile Tilapia collected from Africa in the 1980s. After extensive selective breeding programmes carried out in the Philippines between 1988 and 1997 by ICLARM (Now WorldFish Center) in collaboration with AKVAFORSK (The Institute of Aquaculture Research in Norway) a new strain was produced and distributed globally. World Fish Center has moved to Penang, Malaysia now and the breeding programme is still carried on scientifically and commercially in both Malaysia and the Philippines. The commercial rights to a recent GIFT genetic line was sold to Genomar (a Norweigian Venture Capital Genetic Improvement com18 | InternAtIonAl AquAFeed | July-August 2012

Most commercial farms only grow male tilapia, which grow much larger and faster than females. This was initially achieved through manual hand-sexing of the fingerlings, and discarding the females, which was labour intensive,

Global perspective
With global tilapia production still grow-

EXPERT TPIC ing steadily, hatcheries are also expanding to provide fry for the grow-out farms and some of the biggest hatcheries now have the capability to produce one million fry per day. At present the main tilapia producing countries are China, Egypt, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico and Honduras. There are large hatcheries in all these countries but the biggest farms are vertically integrated units which produce their own fry to minimise biosecurity issues and ensure supply of fry. Regal Springs is one of the worlds largest tilapia businesses, producing over 70,000 metric tonnes in 2010 in several countries around the world. ACI in Costa Rica is one of the largest individual farms. Both companies export all their production as fresh fillets to the USA. Biomar is just completing its brand new high tech feedmill very close to the ACI farm to meet the growing demand for tilapia feed in Central America. tilapia producers will be to find new markets and to overcome stiff competition from Pangasius species (Basa and Tra) imported from Vietnam. This is especially true in European markets which is still seen as a new high value market for tilapia producers around the world. Spain imports 20 percent of the EU total and Poland 33 percent but these are mainly frozen tilapia from China with demand fuelled by the low prices reflecting the current economic downturn throughout the EU. Rapidly expanding importers of tilapia are Russia and the Middle East, but as China becomes far wealthier, consuming more of its own tilapia domestically, price increases and possible shortages of tilapia as an export commodity are possible. Many countries are ramping up production to fill this perceived new demand. These are Vietnam, Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt and Malaysia, where government support is helping to drive this new wave of expansions. The main growth areas are in value added products particularly in the producing countries so increasing profitability, and filling new and growing markets. Tilapias future is rosy. More InforMatIon:
Eric Roderick, FishGen Tel: +44 7973 135609 Email: sales@fishgen.com Website: www.fishgen.com

Future markets
With the tilapia market firmly established and growing in the USA and globally, future challenges for

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EXPERT TPIC most herbivores such as tilapia are fed feeds containing only 25 to 30 percent protein. This gives the impression that herbivores are more efficient converters of protein into growth. However, expressing protein requirement based solely on dietary inclusion levels is incomplete if feed intake is not considered. Protein intake is the product of the protein content of the feed and the total amount of feed consumed. As such the protein demand per kilo of fish produced will give a clearer picture of the overall efficiency of the species in question. Generally speaking, in order to formulate feeds for fish two main issues have to be addressed: a) what are the requirements and b) how can we cost-effectively meet those requirements. First, tilapia - like all animals - need energy and protein. This seems trivial, but the challenge is to determine how much energy and protein has to be supplied to guarantee optimal growth and most efficient feed utilisation. Second, what are the sources of energy and protein? Various potential feed ingredients have to be evaluated for their nutritional value, chemical composition and their availability to the fish.

Feed formulation and feeding strategies for tilapia

by Ingrid Lupatsch, Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture, Swansea University, UK

Figure 1: Energy requirements of tilapia for maintenance and growth (at 27C)

Figure 2: Protein requirements of tilapia for maintenance and growth (at 27C)

Calculating requirements
Nutrient requirements are generally defined for animals of a given age and for a specific physiological function, such as maintenance, growth or reproduction. In fish farming growth is one of the major goals. Growth means deposition of new body components, which in fish consist mainly of protein and lipid besides water. The feed has to supply the material for building new tissue, but also the energy needed to deposit the new growth. In addition to these, energy and protein for maintenance have to be supplied as well. Therefore, this basic calculation dictates that the energy and protein requirement of a growing fish is the sum of its needs for maintenance plus growth. The energy and protein requirement for maintenance at a constant temperature is primarily dependent on body size. It is proportional to the metabolic body weight in the form of the equation, a x BW (kg)b, where a is a constant, characteristic of a certain fish species at a set temperature and b is the exponent of the metabolic weight which in fish has been determined as b = 0.80 (Lupatsch et al. 2003). The requirement for growth is dependent on the amount and the composition of the weight gain including the metabolic costs to deposit new growth. Daily energy requirements per fish in units of digestible energy can therefore be expressed as:
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Digestible energy needs (kJ) = a body weight (kg)0.80 + c energy gain (kJ) Where c = cost of production in units of dietary energy to deposit energy as growth. The same approach is used for the quantification of protein, except for the use of a different exponent of b = 0.70 for body weight as determined for several fish species (Lupatsch et al. 2003, Lupatsch and Kissil, 2005). Digestible protein needs (g) = a body weight (kg)0.70 + c protein gain (g) Where c = cost of production in units of dietary protein to deposit protein as growth. Using this approach energy and protein requirements are quantified as absolute requirements per fish body mass and anticipated daily weight gain and only then expressed as an inclusion level in the feed. The necessary parameters to obtain are thus the following:

ilapia are now the worlds second most popular group of farmed fish after carp. Worldwide production exceeded 2.5 million tons in 2007 according to FAO and demand continues at a steady pace.

Tilapia are farmed worldwide in inland aquaculture in various kinds of facilities and production strategies. The majority is still grown extensively in polyculture but more and more intensive monoculture systems are being used where the manufactured feed is the only source of energy and protein. Tilapia are often called the aquatic chicken. Their success is attributed to a tolerance to wide ranges of temperature and salinity, resistance to disease, their ability to reproduce in captivity, and their capacity to grow well at high stocking densities, which make them feasible for farming under various culture systems. Tilapia as herbivores are perceived to be more sustainable and whilst feeding on a low trophic level, are able to convert low cost feed into high quality protein. There is continued criticism that carnivorous fish are thought to require high levels of protein in their feeds (that are mostly supplied by fishmeal) while

Growth data and feed intake

A prerequisite for estimating feed requirements of tilapia is to define its maximal potential for growth. This modelling requires growth data from trials, where feed supply in terms of energy and nutrients is not limiting and optimal growing conditions are met. It is though necessary to define these parameters for different stocks or strains as different selection programs result in faster growing strains of all male Oreochromis niloticus such as for example the GIFT strain.

EXPERT TPIC

table 1: Protein and energy requirements of tilapia grown at 27C Body weight, per fish Weight gain1, g / day energy requirement Demaint2, kJ /fish /day Degrowth3, kJ/fish / day Dem+g4, kJ /fish /day Protein requirement DPmaint5, g /fish /day DPgrowth6, g/fish /day DPm+g7, g /fish /day DP/De ratio g/MJ8 0.048 0.238 0.286 27.7 0.170 0.634 0.803 23.6 0.276 0.926 1.202 22.1 2.90 7.42 10.32 12.17 21.81 33.98 21.18 33.11 54.29 25g 0.70 150g 1.86 300g 2.72

take your production to the

1Predicted weight gain for tilapia at 27C 2DE required for maintenance: 55.5 x BW (kg) 0.80 3DE required for growth: (weight gain x body energy) x 1.61 (cost of production) 4DE required for maintenance and growth 5DP required for maintenance: 0.64g x BW (kg) 0.70 6DP required for growth: (weight gain x body protein) x 2.13 (cost of production) 7DP required for maintenance and growth 8Dietary DP/DE ratio for optimal protein utilisation

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The following equations are all based on trials carried out in Israel using male hybrid of O. niloticus x O. aureus at a water temperature of 27C. The equation defining the relationship between daily weight gain and fish size appears below: Weight gain (g / fish / day) = 0.12 Body weight (g) 0.547 Another prerequisite is an assessment of the maximum voluntary feed intake, the amount or bulk that the fish is physically able to consume, this is needed to adjust the energy density and nutrient density of a potential feed. The following relationship between voluntary feed intake and fish size was found: Feed intake (g / fish / day) = 0.15 Body weight (g) 0.600

each gram weight gain is assumed to equal the body composition at a certain size. There is an increase in energy content with fish size, whereas the protein content remains quite constant at 160 mg/g fish Energy (kJ / g fish ) = 5.53 BW (g)
0.055

Protein (mg / g fish = 160.2) The fact that protein content remains quite stable and energy content is increasing with increasing fish size is typical for most fish (Lupatsch 2009). However, compared to species such as salmon or gilthead sea
July-August 2012 | InternAtIonAl AquAFeed | 21
ET-221A.indd 1

Composition of weight gain

As a large proportion of the energy and protein consumed by the fish is retained as growth, the composition of the gain is a main factor determining the subsequent energy and protein requirement. When measuring whole body composition of fish at increasing sizes,

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EXPERT TPIC
table 2: nutrient composition of selected ingredients used in practical feed formulations (per kg as fed) Crude protein, g Fish meal Corn gluten meal Soybean meal rapeseed meal Sunflower meal Wheat meal Corn 635 604 441 366 378 118 79 Digestible protein, g 573 559 398 311 336 94 59 Gross energy, MJ 19.91 21.65 17.68 19.49 17.87 17.69 17.52 Digestible energy, MJ 17.76 18.06 14.94 11.17

bream, tilapia can be categorised as a lean fish, a fact which in the end will affect the dietary protein to energy ratio.

Ingredient evaluation and feed formulation

As mentioned before, once the requirements are known, various potential feed ingredients have to be evaluated for their nutritional value, chemical composition and their availability to the fish. Table 2 provides nutrient composition including digestibility data of several ingredients that are commonly used in aqua-feeds (Sklan et al. 2004). Table 3 describes two potential feeds that could be formulated from commercially available ingredients. The feeds describe a 30 percent protein feed, commonly used in tilapia farming and a 40 percent protein feed. The full amount of protein consumed by tilapia is a function of the quantity of feed and the protein content of that feed. As the daily requirements for protein do not change, the feed amount fed has to be higher when offering the low protein feed (Table 4), which will result in an increased FCR. In this case one has to consider the cost of growing one kg of fish and not just the cost per 1 kg of feed. The results presented here indicate, that herbivores such as tilapia do not utilise protein more efficiently than other fish species (Lupatsch, 2009), but their advantage might be, that they could be fed lower protein diets as they are able to consume higher amounts of feed compared to carnivores. This fact has been highlighted by Lupatsch and Kissil, 2005 whilst comparing white grouper to gilthead seabream. However, it is important to recognize that even tilapia might reach their physical limits to consume all the feed to acquire the protein needed for maximum growth especially at the juvenile stages (Table 4). Using this approach to quantifying energy and protein demands in tilapia, it is possible to estimate the biological and economical efficiency of different feeds and culture systems.

Maintenance requirements and efficiency

table 3: Proposed feed formulations for two sets of commercial feeds low protein and high protein (for ease of presentation vitamins, minerals and other supplements are considered under others). Feed Ingredients (g kg-1) Fish meal Corn-gluten Soybean meal rapeseed meal Sunflower meal Wheat meal Corn meal Plant oil others Dry matter (DM), g Crude protein, g Gross energy, MJ Crude lipid, g ash, g Carbohydrates, g Digestible energy (De), MJ Digestible protein (DP), g 100 100 120 120 120 180 140 120 920 298 16.9 29 72 521 11.9 263 200 160 160 130 130 70 70 50 30 920 405 19.7 87 77 351 15.3 363 low protein High protein

To determine the maintenance requirement as well 11.70 as the relationship between 12.72 weight gain and feed intake, groups of tilapia are fed 10.76 increasing levels of feeds with a known digestible energy (DE) and digestible protein (DP) content. Feeding levels included a zero group (no feed) up to maximum voluntary intake at a point when the fish refused to eat more. Figure 1 demonstrates that the relationship between daily DE consumed (x) and energy retained (y) is linear and can be described by the following equation: y = - 34.4 + 0.62 x The DE (kJ) requirement for maintenance (no energy gain or loss) can be found where the y-axis is zero. According to the equation above, the maintenance requirement per day would amount to 34.4/0.62 = DEmaint = 55.5 kJ (kg)0.80. The slope of the line in Fig. 1 is a measure for the efficiency of energy utilization for growth. For tilapia this amounts to 0.62, or in other words, 62 percent efficiency. The reciprocal value 1/0.62 = 1.61 is a measure for the cost of production in units of DE (kJ) to deposit one unit of energy (kJ) as growth. Requirement for protein can be obtained in a similar manner (Fig 2). The relationship between protein intake (x) and protein gain (y) referring to a metabolic body weight of kg0.70 is as follows: y = - 0.30 + 0.47x

estimated composition ( per kg as fed)

References
Lupatsch, I., Kissil, G. Wm. and Sklan, D. (2003). Defining energy and protein requirements of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) to optimize feeds and feeding regimes. The Israeli Journal of Aquaculture - Bamidgeh, 55 (4), 243-257. Sklan, D., Prag, T. and Lupatsch, I. (2004). Apparent digestibility coefficients of feed ingredients and their prediction in diets for tilapia Oreochromis niloticus Oreochromis aureus (Teleostei, Cichlidae). Aquaculture Research, 35, 358-364 Lupatsch, I. and Kissil, G. Wm. (2005). Feed formulations based on energy and protein demands in white grouper (Epinephelus aeneus). Aquaculture, 248, 83-95. Lupatsch, I. (2009) Quantifying nutritional requirements in aquaculture the factorial approach. In: New technologies in aquaculture: improving production efficiency, quality and environmental management. Burnell G. and Allan G. (Eds). Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge, p 417-439.

Maintenance requirement DPmaint (g) = 0.64 DP / De ratio, g / MJ 22.1 23.7 BW (kg)0.70 and additionally 2.13 units of DP (g) are needed to deposit one unit table 4: Proposed feeding table for tilapia and expected FCr whilst feeding a of protein (g) as high or low protein feed. growth . Body weight, per fish 25g 150g 300g
0.70 1.0 10.3 0.29 low High low 1.86 3.0 34.0 0.80 High low 2.72 4.6 54.3 1.20 High

Weight gain1, g / day/ fish Voluntary feed intake, g/day/fish De requirements, kJ / day/ fish DP requirements, g / day/ fish Feed selection (protein) required feed intake , g/day/fish required feed intake, % biomass / day FCr

Practical application
Hence, with the parameters obtained energy and protein requirements for tilapia can be calculated and adapted to changing conditions for the duration of a growth period (Table 1).

1.1 4.4 1.56

0.8 3.2 1.13

3.0 2.0 1.64

2.2 1.5 1.19

4.5 1.5 1.68

3.3 1.1 1.22

22 | InternAtIonAl AquAFeed | July-August 2012

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Sustaining the supply of Chinese tilapia

by Han Han, Program Manager, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership ilapia, the third most internationally traded aquaculture product after salmon and shrimp, has been widely farmed in China since the 1950s. With strong governmental support for the research and development of hybrids and culture technology, Chinese tilapia aquaculture has grown rapidly from the initial stages in the 1960s, to expansion in the early 1980s, and then to large-scale farming and processing in the 2000s. Recent years have witnessed a stable annual production of 1.1 or 1.2 million mt, about half of the world total. Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi and Fujian provinces in South China have become the world hub of farmed tilapia that has been mainly supplied to North American and European markets for the past decade. Tilapia was ranked Americans fourth favorite seafood in 2011. The so-called aquatic chicken is popular in different forms, including live, fresh, frozen as whole, frozen fillets, gutted, gutted and scaled, fillets, skin-less, and boneless. In 2010, US imports of tilapia from China totaled 139,863 mt at a value of $555 million, and increased 22 percent in volume and 36 percent in value over the previous year. According to the FAO, EU imports of frozen tilapia fillet during the first quarter of 2011 posted a marginal growth of 3.2% from the same period in 2010 with China supplying nearly 90 percent of the share to market. Meanwhile, China has seen its export of tilapia making new path into countries like Cameroon, Ghana, Congo and United Arab Emirates.

and unsustainable use of water and feeds invariably lead to contamination in receiving water bodies, disease outbreaks, crop failure, and excessive use of antibiotics. Reflecting the issues surrounding the growth of the tilapia industry worldwide, China stands on the frontline facing the challenge of maintaining a steady yield while minimising environmental and social impacts of aquaculture. The risks of environmental degradation and disease associated with the rapid intensification of aquaculture have resulted in unfavorable assessments of Chinese tilapia in a number of seafood guides published by NGOs. Chinese tilapia farming has been challenged mainly on the following issues: The impact on public health from the use of artificial hormones and antibiotics Farm effluents and wastes discharged without proper treatment The impact on biodiversity from escaped tilapia given that tilapia is not an indigenous species to China The use of fishmeal in compound feeds and its traceability Potential conflicts with other land and water users More complicated and problematic scenarios might appear, as global warming will probably expand the geographic range for some farmed tilapia and enhance the survival of escapees, as well as increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events (i.e. floods and droughts). The current challenges in accessing sufficient amounts of clean water will be aggravated as Chinas industrial development continues its rapid growth. The problems facing tilapia aquaculture in China are attributed to a lack of scientific zoning and regional planning, poor farm-level management, farmers insufficient knowledge of sustainable practices, and inefficient regulatory enforcement. The Chinese government has established regional and national technology support teams with a series of standards to regulate antibiotics usage and effluent discharge, as well as investing in research and development regarding tilapia breeding, feeding, and processing in recent years. However, the improvements have been limited.

would examine direct pollution and disease risk as well as the biodiversity impact of tilapia on indigenous species (a particular concern in warm areas like Hainan Island, the only tropical province in China, where wild tilapia can easily survive through winter). Some of the existing Chinese tilapia farming regulations and practices do not match international standards, which is critical in meeting the growing demand for eco-label certification in export markets. This could be improved through building a multi-stakeholder dialogue with effective knowledge-sharing and information-exchange. Buyers and retailers need to be informed about progress on sustainability issues through both written information and face-to-face communication with producers and suppliers. Guided trips to farms and plants will not only bring more attention and acknowledgement to the issues, but also help buyers understand the specific support needs of individual aquaculture operations. Their face-toface communication with the policy-makers who regulate Chinese tilapia aquaculture on the ground will also enhance awareness of sustainability issues, thus facilitating the adoption of improved policies. Buyers can also encourage the sustainable sourcing of feeds by asking their suppliers to find out the ingredients of feed and where it is coming from (i.e. the traceability and transparency of raw materials such as fishmeal). Given the large number of buyers and suppliers it is also essential that stakeholders participate in policy roundtables both within and across regions to effectively build consensus around policies and practices and to develop consistency in procurement standards.

Where SFPs Aquaculture Improvement Projects can help

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is an independent NGO that promotes sustainable fisheries and aquaculture by engaging stakeholders in effective dialogues to mobilise the supply chain towards sustainability. The organisation provides strategic and technical guidance to seafood suppliers and producers, helps convene them with other like-minded companies in fishery improvement projects (FIPs) and aquaculture improvement projects (AIPs), and builds consensus around specific improvements in policies, marine conservation measures, and fishing and fish-farming practices. SFP involvement in China started in 2007, when the organisation began to advise key corporate partners on their tilapia procurement policies and sourcing, evaluating sources in Hainan and Guangxi provinces. From 2008 to 2010, SFP conducted audits on 10 tilapia farms in six countries, comparing the three main international standards: GLOBALG.A.P, Global Agriculture Alliances Best Aquaculture Practices (GAA/BAP), and the International Standard for Responsible Tilapia Aquaculture developed by the World Wildlife Fund (ASC/ISRTA). The objective of these audits was to identify similarities in criteria and areas where the standards differed. The benchmarking

Exploring solutions
To identify solutions, we first need to both quantitatively and qualitatively identify the problems. Unfortunately, when assessing Chinese tilapias environmental impact, very limited data is available to the public. Neither short-term farmlevel data, nor long-term regional-scale information is easily accessible and the environmental impact of tilapia farming has never been systematically assessed in China. Although farm-level certification guarantees compliance with specific standards at an individual farm this does not provide information about environmental impacts and risks at a regional level. Given the large number of farms concentrated in areas where both agricultural and industrial sectors share water resources it is clear that regional assessments are highly desirable. Such studies
26 | InternAtIonAl AquAFeed | July-August 2012

Problematic growth
Such phenomenal growth in both supply and demand across the world inevitably faces sustainability challenges. Over the past 20 years, a general trend towards intensification in tilapia farming has led to an increasing dependence on formulated feeds and freshwater supply. Poor management

EXPERT TPIC project included four tilapia farms in China. These farms represented both small- and commercialscale production facilities utilising two different production systems (pond and cages). Aside from identifying similarities and differences among criteria and requirements used by the three standards, this project also identified outstanding issues in the farms, which most producers were able to address as a result of the trial audit. To date, all four farms are now certified under one or more of the commercial aquaculture standards. SFP is widely acknowledged for its expertise by stakeholders in Chinese tilapia, including key US and European buyers and retailers, as well as producers and processors in China, aquaculture institutes, industry associations, and local Chinese governments. Given the high level of trust that SFP enjoys with the tilapia supply chain it was appropriate that a tilapia Aquaculture Improvement Project (AIP) was officially launched in 2011. SFP has now initiated two research projects to assess the impact of tilapia farming on the external environment. The first project, started in April 2011, involves monitoring water quality on selected farms in Hainan province, and was undertaken by the Hainan Institute of Aquaculture. Dozens of water quality parameters such as chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrogen and phosphorus content, and heavy metals were analysed for five farms over two croppings (10 months). The study helped identify the key problems and causes related to water management. The second project is an assessment of the regional environmental impacts of fish farm clusters, which will be jointly conducted by SFP and Hainan Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, the leading environmental research institute in Hainan. The study will examine the potential for regional scale improvement by looking at carrying capacity and the potential for zoning in a specific area. As more first-hand data becomes available (along with a more in-depth understanding of existing policies and management measures), the AIP will establish a working group that convenes the key buyers, suppliers and producers along the Chinese tilapia supply-chain to share the scientific findings. The AIP will then form a multi-stakeholder policy roundtable to further discuss the problems and solutions. The AIP participants will eventually agree on the actions and timetables necessary to achieve the sustainability objectives defined by the group. SFP will play a leading role in engaging stakeholders, providing scientific advice and facilitating communication. in April, 2011. Over 40 farmers, processors, technicians and government officers attended the workshop. Participants found the workshop very informative and helpful. This enhanced the producers awareness of increasing demands for certified sustainable seafood from overseas markets, thus further facilitating the engagement of Chinese stakeholders into a supply-chain dialogue around sustainability. SFP is currently working with local institutes of aquaculture and environmental sciences to identify and evaluate both qualitatively and quantitatively the environmental impacts of tilapia farming in Hainan. This includes an ecological study as well as socio-political analysis to advise local governments and industrial associations about how to efficiently address the environmental issues associated with tilapia farming in Hainan. The preliminary results will be shared with key stakeholders at the Aquaculture Policy Roundtable this fall in China. SFP is also developing partnerships with Chinese universities and large feed manufacturers to improve feed sourcing for tilapia farming in China. This work is to be undertaken through research projects on improving feeding efficiency and developing alternative feeds with fewer impacts on wild fisheries. More InforMatIon:
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Website: www.sustainablefish.org

Up-to-date progress
SFP has worked closely with local tilapia associations to assess different tilapia standards that are available in the market. A workshop introducing three international standards for tilapia farming, i.e. BAP, GlobalGAP, and ASC, was held in Haikou

July-August 2012 | InternAtIonAl AquAFeed | 27

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