World Aquaculture September 2018

36 SEP TEMBER 2018 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S.ORG to seed production and 0.5 percent is small-scale with seed production. Based on this information, it has been estimated that tilapia aquaculture in Peru has generated 2,169 direct jobs and 5,145 indirect jobs (Table 2). Considering that each job can support an average of three dependents, it is estimated that formal tilapia aquaculture would be a means of supporting about 30,000 people. According to the San Martín Regional Aquaculture Plan 2014-2023, there are around 740 informal aquaculture establishments in San Martín, doubling the number of formal establishments nationwide (Mendoza 2013). Available Tilapia Strains and Seed Production Currently the species cultivated in different parts of the country are O. niloticus (the entire coast, San Martín, Jaén, Tingo María, Madre de Dios), O. niloticus Chitralada strain (Piura, Tarapoto, Rioja, Moyobamba, Jaén, Tingo María), red tilapia (Jaén, Lima and Ica), all- male hybrid O. aureus ND-41 (Piura and San Martín), and O. urolepis hornorum (San Martín and Cajamarca). The main farms that are located in Lima and Piura use blue tilapia and Nile tilapia of the Chitralada strain, in general of good genetic quality. However, small producers located in Cajamarca and San Martín produce and use Nile tilapia seed of very low quality, with varying degrees of degeneration and low yield. It is necessary to make an effort to assure an adequate production of quality seed with high performance potential, responding to the needs of producers and adapted to each geographic condition and business situation. Production techniques and seed quality must be improved. The technique of fry production that is the most practiced in Peru is the use of reproduction ponds and hapas. Ponds are usually (Department of San Martín, mainly in the provinces of Tarapoto, Moyobamba and Rioja). Nile tilapia is distributed along the Peruvian coast from Tumbes to Tacna, as well as in several Amazonian regions where aquaculture with limited resources and of micro and small companies predominates. The greatest production is concentrated in Piura (67 percent), San Martín (27 percent) and Lima (6 percent), and the lowest in Cajamarca, Amazonas, La Libertad and Madre de Dios (1 percent) (Fig. 2). According to the area where they are harvested, production in the coastal zone (73 percent) is greater than the high forest (27 percent) (Fig. 2). The actual production of tilapia is underestimated by official statistics because there is high informality in the sector, especially in the Amazonian areas, and therefore accurate information is not obtained by the national statistical information collection systems that are administered by the Ministry of Production and collected by regional governments. All statistics are derived from information officially reported by aquaculture companies, small producers and directorates of regional governments. Tilapia production is still modest, although there has been a rapid increase from just 46 t in 2000 to 3,250 t in 2015. The largest crop registered was 4,610 t in 2014 (Fig. 3). Tilapia production grew at an annual rate of 7.2 percent from 2007 to 2015. The low production of tilapia in 2015, according to information provided by producers in San Martín, has been caused by the lack of an adequate supply of seed with appropriate conditions for the crop. In 2015, the Ministry of Production registered 389 formal aquaculture establishments of which 58 percent were subsistence, 39 percent small-scale, 1 percent large-scale, 0.8 percent oriented FIGURE 3. Evolution of tilapia crops 2000-2015 (Source: RNIA 2016). FIGURE 2. Main departments where tilapia is harvested (Source: PRODUCE-RNA statistics). TABLE 2. Estimation of jobs generated by tilapia crops (2015) in Peru (Source: Mendoza 2011). Level of development Nº of rights Nº of employed Direct Nº of Indirect Total granted persons (Average) Employment indirect jobs Jobs (a) (b) (axb) (c) (axc) Larger scale 4 40 160 120 480 640 Seed production 3 5 15 15 45 60 Reduced scale/seed production 2 5 10 15 30 40 Smaller scale 153 10 1,530 30 4,590 6,120 Subsistence 227 2 454 - - 454 Total 389 2,169 5,145 7,314