Tilapia

Oreochromis niloticus niloticus

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Location

All areas

Production method

All applicable methods

Certification

Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC)

Rating summary

The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certified farmed tilapia are a Good Choice. Farms meeting the ASC standard need to comply with a wide range of criteria for environmentally responsible aquaculture. Farms must ensure feed sources are disclosed and don’t risk vulnerable species. Environmental impacts are limited through controlled use of chemicals including antibiotics, measures to limit escapes from farms, monitoring of nutrient and effluent build up around farms and recent prohibition of conversion of wetlands to aquaculture. There are also measures to manage fish health and welfare on farms. There are, however, some concerns that the certification criteria and management do not minimize the risk of parasites to wild species or consider the cumulative impacts of farms more widely.This rating is based on full compliance with certification requirements. Commercial buyers should therefore ensure that full compliance has been achieved in order for this rating to be applicable.Rating last updated December 2024.

References

ASC. Aquaculture Stewardship Council. Available at https://www.asc-aqua.org [Accessed on 18.08.2024].ASC, 2009. Aquaculture Stewardship Council News: Tilapia standards finalised world’s first. Published on 17.12.2009. Available at https://www.asc-aqua.org/news/latest-news/tilapia-standards-finalised-worlds-first/ [Accessed on 07.06.2019].ASC, 2016. Interim solution on Marine Raw Material Requirements in the ASC Farm Standards. Aquaculture Stewardship Council. Available at https://www.asc-aqua.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ASC-Feed-Interim-solution-Marine-Ingredients_FINAL_20161213.pdf [Accessed on 21.05.2019].ASC, 2016. Interim Feed Solution. Available at https://www.asc-aqua.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ASC-Feed-Interim-solution-Marine-Ingredients_FINAL_20161213.pdf [Accessed on 18.08.2024].ASC, 2019. ASC Tilapia Standard Version 1.2. Aquaculture Stewardship Council. Available at https://www.asc-aqua.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/ASC-Tilapia-Standard_v1.2_Final.pdf [Accessed on 18.08.2024].ASC, 2021. Aquaculture Stewardship Council, Regal Springs - Lake Toba Farm, Surveillance 2 Audit Report – Final. Published on September 15, 2021. Available at: https://myasc.asc-aqua.org/netapp/FileHandler.ashx?id=15945EAD-62E3-4328-BADF-C290A2463B9B [Accessed on 29.3.2022], using search facility available at: https://www.asc-aqua.org/find-a-farm/ASC00732/ASC, 2023. ASC Feed Standard Version 1.01. Jan 2023. Available at https://asc-aqua.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ASC-Feed-Standard_v1.01.pdf [Accessed on 18.08.2024].ASC, Recertification, 2021. ASC Tilapia Standard AUDIT REPORT V.3.6. PT. Aquafarm Nusantara, Regal Springs - Lake Toba Farm. Published on January 21, 2021. Available at: https://myasc.asc-aqua.org/netapp/FileHandler.ashx?id=C67671C1-2A1C-4F6A-9DD2-DABF6EFE47D5 [Accessed on 29.3.2022], using search facility available at: https://www.asc-aqua.org/find-a-farm/ASC00732/ASC, 2022. Aquaculture Stewardship Council, PT Suri Tani Pemuka - Tambun Raya Farm. Surveillance 1 Audit Report – Final. Available at: https://myasc.asc-aqua.org/netapp/FileHandler.ashx?id=2D1BD7A7-554F-44FC-902C-5FA030665B99 [Accessed on 29.3.2022], using search facility available at: https://www.asc-aqua.org/find-a-farm/ASC00656/ASC Feed, 2022. Feed, Available at: https://www.asc-aqua.org/what-we-do/our-standards/feed-standard/ [Accessed on 18.08.2024].ASC, 2019. ASC Tilapia Standard Version 1.2. Available at https://asc-aqua.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/ASC-Tilapia-Standard_v1.2_Final.pdf [Accessed on 18.12.2024].FAO, 1989. Aquaculture methods and practices: a selected review. Available at http://www.fao.org/3/t8598e/t8598e05.htm [Accessed on 16.05.2019].FAO, 2005. 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Available at: http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/species.php?sc=1322 [Accessed on 16.05.2019].Jansen, M. D., Dong, H. T. and Mohan, C. V., 2018. Tilapia lake virus: a threat to the global tilapia industry? Reviews in Aquaculture. 10.1111/raq.12254Kang, B., Huang, X., Li, J., Liu, M., Guo, L. and Han, C., 2017. Inland Fisheries in China: Past, Present, and Future. Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture. 25:4, pp. 270-285. 10.1080/23308249.2017.1285863.Li, Y and Cai, S., 2011. Identification and Pathogenicity of Aeromonas sobria on Tail-rot Disease in Juvenile Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus. Current Microbiology. 62: 2, pp 623–627.Li, K., Liu, L., Clausen, J. H., Lu, M. and Dalsgaard, A., 2016. Management measures to control diseases reported by tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) and whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) farmers in Guangdong, China. Aquaculture. 457, 20: pp. 91-99. 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2016.02.008.Liping, L., Zongfeng, Z., Wenbo, Z., Murray, F. and Little, D., 2012. Tilapia aquaculture in China. Global Aquaculture Alliance. Available at https://www.aquaculturealliance.org/advocate/tilapia-aquaculture-in-china/ [Accessed on 18.08.2024].Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF), Republic of Indonesia and USAID Sustainable Ecosystems Advanced (SEA) Project, 2018. State of the Sea: Indonesia, Volume One: An Overview of Marine Resource Management for Small-Scale Fisheries and Critical Marine Habitats in Indonesia. Jakarta, pp. 156Phillips, M., Henriksson, P.J.G., Tran, N., Chan, C.Y., Mohan, C.V., Rodriguez, U.P., Suri, S., Hall, S., and Koeshendrajana, S., 2015. Exploring Indonesian Aquaculture Futures. [pdf] Penang, Malaysia: WorldFish. Available at: http://pubs.iclarm.net/resource_centre/2015-39.pdf [Accessed 07.03.2018].PRI, 2016. Chinese fish farmers are trying to clean up their aquaculture practices. Available at https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-12-18/chinese-fish-farmers-are-trying-clean-their-aquaculture-practices [Accessed on 04.05.2019].Seafood Watch, 2015. Indonesia Net Pens Tilapia Seafood Watch Report. Available at https://seafood.ocean.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Tilapia-Nile-Indonesia.pdf. [Accessed on 18.08.2024]. Via https://www.seafoodwatch.org/recommendation/tilapia/nile-tilapia-30037?species=228Seafood Watch, 2018. China Farmed Tilapia Seafood Watch Report. Available at https://www.seafoodwatch.org/-/m/sfw/pdf/reports/t/mba_seafoodwatch_tilapiachinareport.pdf [Accessed on 18.08.2024].SFP, 2018. FishSource Aquaculture Scoring Methodology. Sustainable Fisheries Partnership. Available at https://s3.amazonaws.com/fs4.fishsource.org/uploads/ckeditor/attachment_file/data/117/Aquaculture_Scoring_Methodology_for_FishSource__V4_9_March_2018.pdf [Accessed on 18.08.2024].WHO, 2019. Critically important antimicrobials for human medicine, 6th revision. Geneva: World Health Organization. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.