Before we move further to the economic importance of tilapia fishes, tilapia is the common name broadly applied to a group of cichlid fishes native to Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. Tilapia are some of the oldest cultured fishes, as depicted in line drawings found in Egyptian tombs that date back to 2000 BC.
This group consists of three economically important genera, which are taxonomically distinguished according to their reproductive behaviors: Tilapia, Oreochromis, and Sarotherodon, all commonly known as “tilapia”.
Tilapia are biparental caring-substrate spawners; Oreochromis are generally maternal mouth brooders, and Sarotherodon is generally paternal or biparental mouth brooders.
Currently, Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and various hybrids are the most commonly produced tilapine species. Other less commonly cultured species include Blue tilapia (O. aureus), Mozambique tilapia (O. mossambicus), Zanzibar tilapia (O. urolepis hornorum), and red tilapia (T. rendalli and T. zilli).
11 Uses and Economic Importance of Tilapia Fishes
Regarding their uses and economic importance to man, here are the 11 unique uses and economic importance of tilapia fishes to man;
1. Tilapia is good quality food and has firm and delicious flesh. Unlike milkfish (“bangus”), it has few fine bones.
2. Tilapia is suitable also for processing into dried, salted dried, smoked, or pickled products. It is a good insect and worm predator and is known to help clean many injurious insects from ponds.
To a certain extent, tilapia can help in keeping down the number of mosquito larvae, thus preventing them from developing into troublesome and harmful mosquitoes.
3. Tilapia fish farming is a very profitable business and popular throughout the world. It is a very common fish species throughout the world, and it is economically the most important species.
4. Tilapia is actually the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes.
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5. Tilapia fish generally have laterally compressed, deep bodies. Like other cichlids, their lower pharyngeal bones are fused into a single tooth-bearing structure.
A complex set of muscles allows the upper and lower pharyngeal bones to be used as a second set of jaws for processing food, allowing a division of labor between the “true jaws” (mandibles) and the “pharyngeal jaws”.
This means they are efficient feeders that can capture and process a wide variety of food items.
6. Mouth of the tilapia fish is protrusible, usually bordered with wide and often swollen lips. The jaws have conical teeth.
7. Generally, the tilapia fishes have a long dorsal fin and a lateral line which often breaks towards the end of the dorsal fin, and starts again two or three rows of scales below. Some Nile Tilapia fish can grow as long as 2 feet.
8. Currently, tilapia fish is available throughout the world. They can adapt themselves to a very wide range of conditions.
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9. In the year 2002, tilapia fish was the fourth-most consumed fish in the United States. The main reasons for such popularity of this fish include; its low price, easy preparation, and a mild taste.
10. And the tilapia fish has become the third most economically important fish in aquaculture after carp and salmon. Worldwide production exceeded 1.5 million metric tons in the year 2002 and increases annually.
11. Because of the high protein content, large size, rapid growth rate, and palatability of tilapia fish, they are the focus of major aquaculture efforts. Currently, commercial tilapia fish farming is a very popular business in most areas around the world.
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