Introduction
Mariculture is essential to sustainable economic development and food security in Saudi Arabia. Owing to the limitations dictated by government policies and environmental restrictions, euryhaline tilapia are more suitable for aquaculture than freshwater tilapia. n 2020, Saudi Arabia manufactured approximately 99,906 tons of aquaculture; the mariculture production (including marine shrimp and finfish) was recorded at 77,264 tons, which was an increase from the previously recorded 67,833 tons in 2018. Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei farming had accounted for >70% of the total mariculture production in the 2010s; Contrastly, white shrimp farming accounted for ~47% in 2020. The main mariculture finfish species grown in Saudi Arabia are Asian sea bass Lates calcarifer, gilt-head bream Sparus aurata, and Sabaki tilapia Oreochromis spilurus, which contributed 30,521 tons to Saudi Arabia’s total fish production in 2020. Moreover, given the declining price of Asian sea bass due to overproduction and import-dependent gilt-head bream fingerlings, Sabaki tilapia aquaculture has been gaining popularity and is one of the high-valued euryhaline tilapia farming species.
Methods
A questionnaire was designed based on the s previous surveys in the industry (Young et al., 2021b). A total of 65 marine tilapia aquaculture-related personnel were sampled from all 9 primary aquaculture companies from the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture in Saudi Arabia.
Results
The results show the existence of marine tilapia farming on small, medium, and industrial levels in 2019, with average farm size >10 ha and employing >5 farmworkers throughout the production cycle in polyculture systems. Most farms used significantly more amounts of commercial feed than natural feed. The culture cycle on the surveyed farms was <6 months, with the fish produced sold directly to buyers and regular customers. Most producers were not considering a job change. The primary costs involved in Sabaki tilapia aquaculture production were feed (50.06%–69.33%), labor (14.51%–20.98%), and fry (5.29%–5.81%). The medium and industrial-level farms showed advantageous profitability.
Discussion
Survey responses indicated that the primary costs of marine tilapia aquaculture in Saudi Arabia were feed, labor, and fry costs, which are consistent with studies on tilapia aquaculture in Central America, China. Similarly, a survey on tilapia aquaculture in The Philippines indicated that fry and labor were substantial costs for the tilapia industry, with interest on capital accounting for > 90% of the total cost. Unlike other leading tilapia production countries that were sold to the export market, our result indicated that Saudi Arabia tilapia product was sold to the domestic market. Most aquaculture companies in Saudi Arabia are either industrial or large-scale businesses (Young et al., 2021a). In developing countries, this is important because the scale of aquaculture operations makes a significant difference. For example, we reported that industrial-scale producers spent less on feed because they could produce feed in their own facilities. By contrast, small-scale Chinese tilapia producers were economically inefficient. Furthermore, limited environmental factors, higher-cost production facilities were more common for marine tilapia farming in Saudi Arabia.
References
Young, B.C., Alfaggeh, R.H. and AlMoutiri, I. 2021a. Growth, fry production, and cost analysis for Sabaki tilapia production systems. N Am J Aquac 83:290-293.
Young, B. C., Alfaggeh, R. H., and AlMoutiri, I., 2021b. Status and cost analysis of Sabaki tilapia farming in Saudi Arabia. Aquac Int 29: 871-878.