Mass Tilapia Farming: Real Potential In The Right Areas

Tilapia farms in Zambia with slightly cooler than ideal minimum temperatures have produced good harvests. These results are easily replicable in parts of South Africa.

- Nicholas James

Despite all the prophets of doom saying that Southern Africa is too cold for tilapia, great success has been achieved recently in ponds at lower-than-optimal temperatures. Let’s examine the facts.

In north-eastern Zambia, 0,5ha ponds at high altitude (1 374m above sea level) have recorded harvests of 17t/ ha to 20t/ ha after 11 months. This is despite two key disadvantages: a lower-performing tilapia species (Oreochromis macrochir) compared with the best strains of commercial Nile tilapia, and three months of minimum water temperature as low as 17°C. This temperature is regarded by some recirculating aquaculture system promoters as being uneconomic. Clearly, they are wrong.

At the other end of the country, above Livingstone at 1 050m above sea level, and with winter water temperatures dropping to 19°C, 1ha ponds have yielded first harvests of 17,5t/ ha to 20t/ ha. The fish were plump, healthy and even-sized.

WORKABLE IN SOUTH AFRICA