The aim of this study was to produce a Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) pond aquaculture Site Suitability Model in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment and to use this model to create a Mozambique tilapia pond aquaculture site suitability map for the entire surface area of the Limpopo Province. This model was designed for easy duplication and expandability to other South African provinces and as well as other countries. The suitability map was used to score and rank specific existing aquaculture farmers based on their current GPS locations on the Mozambique tilapia pond aquaculture site suitability map.
The suitability model was designed in a Multi-Creteria Evaluation (MCE) model in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to rank the four sub-models. These four sub-models comprised of financial as well as physical variables which determine the suitability for specifically the indigenous Mozambique tilapia in pond aquaculture. In figure 1, the product of the model is a suitability map created by the Weighted Overlay (WO) methodology in the GIS.
In Figure 2, Forty-eight existing aquaculture farmers were scored and ranked according to the suitability of their positions on the suitability map. This could facilitate the determination of priority where to allocate fiscal and other support optimally to farmers in better positions.
The suitability maps produced by this research could be used to guide decision makers in identifying the most suitable areas for optimal allocation of funds to support existing aquaculture farmers that are in the more suitable locations or to develop new Mozambique tilapia pond aquaculture farming sites in the Limpopo province.