Aquaculture

Harvesting tilapia in Ecuador
© Aaron McNevin

Tilapia is one of the most popular types of seafood people eat. Most of it – 75 percent – comes from an enclosed “farm” in the ocean or an inland farm, such as a man-made pond. It’s called tilapia aquaculture and it is one of the fastest growing food industries in the world.

Despite its tremendous role as a food provider, the industry sometimes has a negative impact on the environment (e.g., polluting the water and spreading diseases to wild-caught fish).

Through a five-year initiative called the Tilapia Aquaculture Dialogue (TAD), which was coordinated by WWF, more than 200 people created global standards designed to reduce the negative environmental and social impacts associated with tilapia farming. The standards were finalized in December 2009. Tilapia farmers who adopt the standards will earn a label certifying that their seafood was raised in an environmentally-friendly and socially-responsible way.

For more information: 

Download the standards document 
Download the auditor guidance document
Read the press release
Watch the video
Download the best practices manual 

We thank the following entities, all who were represented on the TAD Steering Committee, for their commitment to managing the TAD process: