Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Tilapia – An Excellent Candidate Species for World Aquaculture: A Review

E. Prabu, C. B. T. Rajagopalsamy, B. Ahilan, I. Jegan Michael Andro Jeevagan, M. Renuhadevi

Annual Research & Review in Biology · pp. 1–14 · Published 29 Mar 2019

10.9734/arrb/2019/v31i330052

Abstract

Aquaculture is currently playing, and will continue to play, a big part in boosting global fish production and in meeting the rising demand of fishery products. Capture fisheries production has levelled off and is no longer considered capable of sustaining the supply of fisheries products needed to meet the growing global demand. Tilapia is the common name for several species of cichlid fish inhabiting freshwater streams, ponds, rivers and lakes and less commonly in brackish water. Considered as an invasive species, tilapias are now of increasing importance in Aquaculture. Tilapia is the second most farmed fish world-wide and its production has quadrupled over the past decade because of its suitability for aquaculture, marketability and stable market prices. Native to Africa and Middle East, tilapias were introduced into over 90 countries for aquaculture and fisheries. Tilapia continued its rapid increase in global production. Recent production figures reported by various sources, our global production estimate for 2015 is 5,576,800 mt.  Tilapias are now one of the most widely introduced fish globally that has clearly emerged as a very promising group in aquaculture.

Tilapia aquaculture cage pond raceway biofloc

References (32)

  1. 1 The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 [DOI]
  2. 2 Effect of aquaculture on world fish supplies [DOI]
  3. 3 The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2026 [DOI]
  4. 4 Biofloc technology in aquaculture: Beneficial effects and future challenges [DOI]
  5. 5 The basics of bio-flocs technology: The added value for aquaculture [DOI]
  6. 6 Nitrogen removal techniques in aquaculture for a sustainable production [DOI]
  7. 7 Biofloc technology : a practical guide book
  8. 8 Global aquaculture and its role in sustainable development [DOI]
  9. 9 Photosynthetic suspended-growth systems in aquaculture [DOI]
  10. 10 Analysis of nutrient flows in integrated intensive aquaculture systems [DOI]
  11. 11 Biological filters in aquaculture: Trends and research directions for freshwater and marine applications [DOI]
  12. 12 Design and operation of nitrifying trickling filters in recirculating aquaculture: A review [DOI]
  13. 13 Bio-flocs technology application in over-wintering of tilapia [DOI]
  14. 14 Tilapia polyculture: a global review [DOI]
  15. 15 Genetic improvement for the development of efficient global aquaculture: A personal opinion review [DOI]
  16. 16 Genetic improvement of farmed tilapias: growth performance in a complete diallel cross experiment with eight strains of Oreochromis niloticus [DOI]
  17. 17 Effects of stocking density and feeding levels on growth and feed efficiency of Nile tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus L.) fry [DOI]
  18. 18 Genetic improvement of farmed tilapias: Composition and genetic parameters of a synthetic base population of Oreochromis niloticus for selective breeding [DOI]
  19. 19 Fish and Food Security in Africa
  20. 20 Use and exchange of genetic resources of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) [DOI]
  21. 21 Multiscale structures of biological flocs [DOI]
  22. 22 Where do fishmeal and fish oil products come from? An analysis of the conversion ratios in the global fishmeal industry [DOI]
  23. 23 OVER-WINTERING GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF MIXED-SEX AND MONO-SEX NILE TILAPIA Oreochromis niloticus IN THE NORTHEASTERN BANGLADESH [DOI]
  24. 24 Variability of tilapias (Oreochromis spp.) introduced in Mexico: morphometric, meristic and genetic characters [DOI]
  25. 25 The Genetic Improvement of Farmed Tilapias Project: Impact and Lessons Learned [DOI]
  26. 26 Prospect and Potential for Global Production [DOI]
  27. 27 GIFT: the story since leaving ICLARM (now known as the WorldFish Center): socioeconomic, access and benefit sharing and dissemination aspects
  28. 28 Impacts of Inclusion of Column Feeder Rohu (Labeo Rohita) at Different Stocking Densities on Growth and Production in Freshwater Prawn-Finfish Polyculture System [DOI]
  29. 29 Türkiye'de tilapia yetiştiriciliği ve sorunları. [DOI]
  30. 30 Evolution, phylogenetic relationships and biogeography [DOI]
  31. 31 The determination of some biological characteristics of horse mackarel (Trachurus trachurus L., 1758) caught in Samsun Bay. [DOI]
  32. 32 Tilapia production systems for the Lesser Antilles and other resource-limited tropical areas

Cited by 524

Evaluation of Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Survival and Growth in Aquaculture Systems with Different Feed Types

Robert Z. Ziama, Inoussa Akintayo, Ahouansou Roger H, Paul I. Bolorunduro, Abraham Mahari, Yarkpawolo Johnson, Zipporah Page · Annual Research & Review in Biology · 2024

Partial use of groundnut cake as an alternative protein source to fish meal in diets of juvenile nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Özgür Yılmaz, O. Taşbozan, M. Gökçe · Tropical Animal Health and Production · 2026

Dietary cinnamon essential oil improves the amino acids, lipid quality, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis, and gut microbiota of Nile tilapia.

Huiyi Li, Xiao-Li Liu, Fa-Wei Yang · The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture · 2026

Toward sustainable aquaculture: Integrating technology, governance, and food security

G. Yue, Z. Bai, J. Xia · Aquaculture & Fisheries · 2026

Marine Collagen-Based Wound Dressings: Design Strategies and Therapeutic Potential

Bo-Yu Chen, Chang-Hao Bian, Chen Wang · MarineMedicine · 2026

Effects of Commercial and Locally Formulated Diets on Growth Performance of Juvenile Oreochromis andersonii in a Hatchery System

Margaret Ndatoolewe Kanyeme, E. Simasiku, Kudakwashe Hove · Aquaculture, Fish and Fisheries · 2026

Maternal size affects the reproductive traits, hormones, gene expression, and seed quality traits in genetically improved farmed tilapia

V. Vanathi, Cheryl Antony, A. S. · Aquaculture International · 2026

Efficacy of dietary Artemisia annua against chronic carbendazim exposure in Nile tilapia: growth, antioxidant capacity, intestinal morphology, inflammatory/apoptotic genes

Rowida E. Ibrahim, A. Mansour, A. Alsaqufi · Aquaculture International · 2026

Heterotic effects on growth traits in a crossbreeding experiment involving Nile and Red Tilapia fish

Mohamed M. Soudy, M.H Khalil, M. Iraqi · Aquaculture · 2026

Trace Element Bioaccumulation in Commercial Nile Tilapia from Brazil: Screening-Level Assessment and Food Safety Implications

D. J. Machate, Q. Nji, P. Njobeh · Aquaculture Journal · 2026

Showing 101 of 524 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

515

Page views

0

PDF downloads

61

Outbound clicks

524

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.