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Aquaculture
Tilapia
Tilapia Standards Finalized
Global standards for the tilapia aquaculture industry are complete. The standards are the product of almost five years of work by the 200-plus participants of the Tilapia Aquaculture Dialogue (TAD). Click here to download the standards, read the press release, and watch a video about the standards. We thank the TAD Steering Committee for its commitment to managing this process.
TAD Training
GlobalG.A.P. has kicked off a new program to train auditors how to certify farms that adopt the TAD standards. Click here for more information about the program.
Tilapia is a hardy, fast-growing fish that has long been a staple source of protein in many developing nations and, recently, is in high demand in developed nations. This includes the United States, where tilapia is 8th on the list of top ten seafoods consumed. Approximately 2.3 million metric tons of tilapia is produced annually and, of that, 73 percent is farmed. Most of the tilapia is produced in China, followed by Egypt, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. Although not listed as major producing countries, Costa Rica, Honduras and Ecuador are important suppliers of fresh tilapia fillets in the United States. Most tilapia is imported to the United States, the European Union and Japan.
Main impacts of tilapia aquaculture
The increased demand for tilapia has shifted many tilapia producers from subsistence growers to larger, export-driven producers. This shift has created environmental impacts - both real and perceived. The main impacts related to tilapia aquaculture are:
- Effluents in the water: Excess nutrients from food can be released into the environment, which can limit the amount of oxygen available to aquatic plants and animals
- Compromise of ecological integrity of aquaculture facilities: Overstocking, stress and other factors can make farmed tilapia susceptible to viruses and diseases; establishing areas for aquaculture can require altering natural habitat and diverting water for other uses; and tactics, such as killing birds, can be used to minimize the number of species preying on farmed tilapia.
- Pollution from inputs used at aquaculture facilities: Feed and/or fertilizer used in excess at tilapia aquaculture facilities can pollute the water
- Invasive species: Nonnative tilapia that escape from aquaculture facilities where the species is not already established can compete with native fish species and change the genetic makeup and diversity of species
- Socioeconomic impacts: Aquaculture can conflict with other uses of an area or resource, such as the use of water bodies for recreation and reliance on landscapes for scenic vistas. Also, tilapia farming often employs a large number of workers on farms and in processing plants, potentially raising issues around labor practices and workers’ rights.
Our solution
These impacts were addressed through the Tilapia Aquaculture Dialogue, a process that began in 2005 and ended in December 2009. The goal of the Dialogue was to develop and implement verifiable environmental and social performance standards that:
- Measurably reduce or eliminate key negative impacts of tilapia farming and are acceptable to stakeholders;
- Address food safety and human health concerns as they relate to tilapia culture, processing, distribution, and labeling; and
- Recommend standards that achieve these performance levels while permitting the tilapia farming industry to remain economically viable.
The Dialogue included more than 200 representatives from non-governmental organizations and government agencies, producers, retailers and academics. WWF coordinated the Dialogue and a six-person Steering Committee managed the process.
Click here to download the standards, read the press release, and watch a video about the standards and the people who led the TAD process.
The standards will be given to a new organization, called the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), that will be responsible for working with independent, third party entities to certify farms that are in compliance with the standards. Click here for more information about this organization. Prior to the creation of the ASC, the standards will be managed by GlobalGAP.
Principles
To achieve its goal, the Dialogue developed eight principles, under the umbrella of one guiding principle -- tilapia production facilities will be evaluated based on performance standards and will not be prejudged as environmentally or socially acceptable. The principles below this umbrella were:
- Obey the law and comply with all international, national and local regulations
- Site and/or expand farms to conserve natural habitat and local biodiversity
- Conserve water resources
- Conserve fish species diversity and wild populations
- Use resources efficiently
- Manage disease and pests in an environmentally responsible manner
- Ensure food safety and environmental health
- Be socially responsible
Learn more
- Tilapia Dialogue process guidance document
- Tilapia Dialogue meeting reports and presentations
- Tilapia Dialogue fact sheet
English | Spanish - List of Steering Committee members
- Fact sheet about what to look for when buying farmed tilapia
- Research paper about tilapia
- Full list of objectives agreed by the tilapia Dialogue
- Feedback received during the first public comment period and responses to the feedback
- Feedback received during the second comment period and responses to the feedback
- Tilapia Dialogue work plan
Read more about the other aquaculture Dialogues WWF is working on
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