Not a day passes that
you don't hear something about climate change. Often
this has turned more into a finger pointing exercise of which
countries pollute unnecessarily whilst other countries become a
victim to the ravages of the weather caused by these changes.
However behind the
scenes there are countries who are preparing for these changes. For
example, universities in the countries of Norway, Finland and the
Netherlands have come together to discuss what can be done to prepare
for the changes to fish farming as a result of climate change.
One of the topics they
touched on was selective breeding. This would be cross breeding
with weather hardy types to produce a fish which is still acceptable
to the consumer but can stand temperature fluctuations.
Although their talks
were centered around farmed fish such as salmon, this is also a
necessary topic for tilapia. Currently fish are, in the main, raised
in areas which are warm due to the fact that to heat a large volume
of water is costly.
Here in Brazil we have
a constant temperature year round which makes it ideal for the
rearing of almost any fish. The ideal temperature is 86°F (30° C).
As the temperature decreases the fish are using the food to keep
their body warm and not to increase the weight. If the temperature is too hot, the fish become
stressed and will stop eating also not ideal. .
Climate change could see areas which were once too cold to profitably farm tilapia
opening up to potential boom times. Under the right conditions, you
can harvest in 5 months. This is a quick turn around and can be very
profitable. Even if winters are still cool, an early warm spring
could see the introduction of tilapia in many areas which were once
considered unsuitable for this tropical fish.
