SA next to breed superfish

[henried]

http://www.news24.com/Green/News/SA-next-to-breed-superfish-20130111

Cape Town - Egyptian and Ghanaian researchers have bred a commercial fish which grows about 30% faster than more common strains.

SciDevNet reports that the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) will boost food security and farmers’ earnings in Egypt and West Africa.

The breeding programme employed the evolutionary process of natural selection to achieve the increased growth rate.

General manager of the aquaculture division at Stellenbosch University, Henk Stander, explains that the fastest growing fish from different families are selected from the wild and bred. “The offspring form the next generation of fast growers, and this is repeated for several years,” he told News24.

According to Stander tilapia is an easy fish to farm because it is herbivorous and only requires plant protein. Commercially, “the meat is ideal for consumption because it is a white fillet and has a neutral taste”, he said.

The aquaculture division at Stellenbosch will soon embark on its own tilapia breeding programme in collaboration with a Norwegian company.

The programme will make use of Biofloc Aquaculture technology which causes the growth of living organisms in the water for food and also rids the water from fish faeces.

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project is currently in progress.

[Gerhard]

Lekke stukkie kurper op die kole in plaas van n snoek...

[tripodmvr]

Wil hulle die' noordelike spesie gebruik of van ons plaaslike tilapia spesies? Daar is reeds soveel vreemde visse in ons riviere.

[Silent Hunting]

Daar vergiftig die groenes ons damme en riviere alweer net soos met Forel wat "uitgeroei" moet word volgens hulle.

[Lourens Potgieter]

Tilapia=Kurper...die kurpers wat EK ken is roofvis....dis hoekom dit 'n goeie eetvis is....

Solank hulle maar net die vis mooi toe hou.....die gras karpe is nie so groot probleem nie maar daai sjinese silwer karpe maak groot moleste orals in die wereld....in SA is ons nog gelukkig dat dit redelik beperk versprei het....

[KDB]

Daar is so by die 100 spesies Tilapia. Van die lot is die Nile of Nyl Kurper die grootste en die viningste groeiers. Hulle vreet hoofsaaklik alg. Hulle sukkel om te oorleef in water temperature onder 21 grade. Het al self 'n Nyl Kurper in die Oranje Rivier gevang. Pragtige vis. Die Tilapia bedryf wereldwyd is so 1,500,000 dollers werd op die oomblik. Die kurpers hier by ons sal nie werk nie. Hulle groei te stadig en kom te beperk voor, al pomp jy hulle vol steroiedes. Ek het ook glad nie 'n probleem as hulle die goed wil kommersialiseer nie. Ons het al die buitelandse valuta nodig wat ons kan kry. Goedkoop kos is ook welkom. Maar ek stem saam as daai manne eers ons riviere en damme betrek, veral hier in die noorde waar dit warmer waters het, gaan ons plaaslike spesies daaronder ly. Groetnis.