Tilapia aquaculture is a term that is used to describe the farming of tilapia, which is a fish that is both easy to farm and is generally considered to taste rather good. Sometimes the term aquaculture is used interchangeably with the term aquafarming. Tilapia aquaculture and the aquaculture of other kinds of fish, such as salmon and carp, are not considered to be the same as commercial fishing. This is because the fish are bred and raised in one facility instead of being caught in the wild, as is the practice in commercial fishing. Tilapia aquaculture has grown rather quickly as a number of factors have made this kind of fish very profitable to farm.
Two of the reasons that tilapia aquaculture is so profitable are that the fish grow very rapidly and that they can be stocked in high density. This means that the fish are ready for harvest faster than other kinds of fish and they require less space to farm. Using less space to farm the fish is economical for the fish farmers.
There are pros and cons to the edible products of tilapia aquaculture. One pro is that tilapia, whether farmed or caught in the wild, is lower in mercury than other kinds of fish. Other pros include the fact that the fish is high in a number of vitamins and nutrients and the fish is a good source of protein. Furthermore, because the fish is easy to farm and yields a large harvest, it is also rather affordable for consumers. As it is rather affordable, it has become more common to find tilapia fillets in both fresh and frozen forms in grocery stores around the world.
One of the nutritional cons of farm-raised tilapia is the amount of fat that is present in the fish. This may be because farm-raised tilapia are fed food with a good deal of corn in it. The ways in which this diet has affected the nutritional value of the fish has come under question and is still being researched and debated. Despite this, tilapia aquaculture still seems to be thriving, profitable, and growing.
