World Aquaculture September 2018

WWW.WA S.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • SEP TEMBER 2018 35 FIGURE 1. Aquaculture production in Peru by area and year (Source: RNIA 2016). 2000 to 120,570 t in 2015. The growth of Peruvian aquaculture was 20 percent from 2000 to 2009 and 11.6 percent from 2006 to 2015. The greatest production volumes are of trout (45 percent; around 41,000 t in 2015), shrimp (26 percent), fan shell (24 percent) and tilapia (4 percent) (Fig. 1). About 3,250 t of Nile tilapia were produced in 2015. The Cultivation of Tilapia in Peru In the 1960s, the Directorate General of Hunting and Fishing of what was the Ministry of Development and Agriculture made the first introductions of Tilapia rendalli as forage for paiche Arapaima gigas . In the 1970s, the Peruvian Sea Institute (IMARPE) and the National Agrarian University La Molina (UNALM) introduced Oreochromis niloticus , O. hornorum and O. mossambicus (Ramos and Gálvez 2000) for research and cultivation in the tropical and temperate zones of the Amazon and the Peruvian coast. Blue tilapia O. aureus were introduced in the mid-1980s. The first experience with fertilized egg collection and embryo incubation in hatcheries began in 2000, carried out at the former Tambo de Mora Aquaculture Center of the National Fisheries Development Fund (FONDEPES), which was later consolidated in 2005 with the start of the first tilapia hatchery in Peru. Cultivation has spread in the high forest and on the northern coast, linked to the use of ponds and more recently cages. There are several opportunities in these areas and, with the available culture technologies, are indications of good prospects to produce this species, although business organization and access to markets must be improved. Tilapia has easily adapted to tropical conditions in the country, mainly in the north (Department of Piura) and in the high forest T ilapia is a species of tropical waters native to Africa and the Middle East, and the dissemination of its cultivation in the world is mainly due to its easy adaptation to captivity, tolerance to high densities, disease resistance, filter feeding and omnivorous feeding habits, acceptance of diverse varieties of food, white flesh and the possibility of offering quality fillets. This has given tilapia an important commercial presence, making it one of the most widely cultivated aquaculture species worldwide. Tilapia is grown in more than 100 countries and about 98 percent of the tilapia produced in these countries were introduced into them. The most common species of tilapia in the world is Nile tilapia, representing approximately 75 percent of the production of cultivated cichlids. The world production (fisheries and aquaculture) of tilapia was 6.5 million t, of which 5.9 million t were from aquaculture, with 3.9 million t fromAsia in 2014 (FAO 2016). Global tilapia production has been projected to almost double from 4.3 million t in 2010 to 7.3 million t per year in 2030 (World Bank 2013). In 2014, aquaculture in Latin America and the Caribbean reached 2.8 million t (FAO 2016), of which tilapia contributed 406,000 t, ranking third after salmonids and penaeid shrimp. The main producing countries in the region are Brazil (48.8 percent), Colombia (14.3 percent), Mexico (13.4 percent), Honduras (7.3 percent), Ecuador (5.8 percent), Costa Rica (4.1 percent), Guatemala (2.3 percent) and Peru (1.1 percent), accounting for 97.5 percent of tilapia production in the Latin America and the Caribbean region (Table 1). This article presents an analysis of the current state of tilapia culture and its prospects and potential in Peru. Aquaculture in Peru Aquaculture in Peru is in full development due to the country’s comparative advantages such as climate and abundant water resources. Aquaculture production has increased from 6,664 t in Tilapia Potential in Peru Paul M. Baltazar Guerrero, David Mendoza Ramírez and Max Castañeda Franco ( C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 3 6 ) TABLE 1. Tilapia production ( t ) in the main producing countries of the Latin America and Caribbean region (Source: FAO 2016). Country Year 2012 2013 2014 Brasil 182,297 169,306 198,664 Colombia 52,688 57,000 58,500 México 23,749 29,269 54,536 Honduras 20,500 22,600 29,750 Ecuador 39,820 23,922 23,902 Costa Rica 23,355 26,401 16,736 Guatemala 5,455 5,974 9,546 Perú 3,174 3,840 4,610