Tilapia production in the CNMI

Tilapia, Oreochromis spp., is a freshwater finfish species endemic to Africa but now distributed widely around the world. Tilapia belongs to the Cichlidae family of fish and is known as mouth-brooders because they rear their larvae inside their mouth until such time that the larvae are capable of surviving on their own. Aquaculture and Tilapia can be traced back to ancient Egypt where hieroglyphics from that era depicts the culture of Tilapia in ancient times.

Tilapia’s distribution throughout the world can be attributed to its ability to withstand fluctuations in water quality wherever it is cultured. Where other fishes succumb to low dissolved oxygen levels, high un-ionized ammonia levels, and other poor water quality parameters, Tilapia are hardy enough to withstand longer periods of poor water quality, making them ideal aquaculture culture species for first time aquaculture farmers. In the United States, Tilapia ranks as the third highest in terms of consumption of cultured, freshwater finfish behind channel catfish and trout. The white, flaky flesh of Tilapia lends itself to high-end seafood dishes that command prices as high as $7 per lb.

This history of Tilapia in the CNMI began with the introduction of O. niloticus in the 1950s during the Trusteeship period. Tilapia fry were released in Lake Susupe and a lake in the island of Pagan in an attempt to commercialize fisheries and provide ready source of protein to the inhabitants of these islands. The Tilapia now thriving in Lake Susupe are the descendants of the fry released during the TT times, albeit the stock present there is less desirable for commercialization because of genetic issues.

In the mid-1990 when aquaculture was created as a section under the Agriculture and Life Sciences (now CREES) program at Northern Marianas College, the first hatch research project undertaken was to evaluate the viability of aquaponics production in the CNMI. Aquaponics in its simplest form is the production of fruiting or leafy vegetables using effluent from the production of Tilapia as a source of plant nutrient. The demonstration system that was installed at NMC was modeled after a similar system pioneered and tested by Dr. Jim Racocy of the University of the Virgin Islands. Like the CNMI, the U.S. Virgin Islands is small in landmass with limited fresh water source. Thus, the technology of intensive production of both fish and vegetables in limited space using recirculating systems that minimizes environmental degradation made sense 15 years ago and now. That aquaponics project led to the introduction of the red, hybrid Tilapia to the CNMI.

Other varieties of Tilapia were introduced with the start of aquaculture farms on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. To date, there are 12 Tilapia farmers in the CNMI with eight on Saipan, two on Rota and Tinian. In calendar year 2008, the Aquaculture and Fisheries Development of NMC CREES distributed 15,000 grey, red, and pearl white Tilapia fry to these 12 farmers. With the assistance of NMC CREES, we helped one farmer obtain a Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant in the amount of $15,000 to produce Tilapia using artificial incubation for distribution to other farmers and to privatize the production of fry.