Tilapia fisheries in Guangdong Province, China: Socio‐economic benefits, and threats on native ecosystems and economics

Abstract

Tilapia is one of the groups of fish species most widely cultured globally. China has been the largest producer of tilapia in the world since 1990s. Guangdong Province produces almost 40% of all tilapia in China because of its suitable geography and weather conditions, and tilapia culture has brought considerable economic benefits. Unfortunately, many of the biological traits that make tilapia popular for culture also contribute to its success as an invader. Tilapia has invaded natural waters and has become the dominant fish in many rivers of Guangdong Province, causing economic loss in capture fisheries, and affecting native fish species, biodiversity and aquatic ecosystems. Poor fishery management, water quality degradation and biodiversity loss have all facilitated the tilapia invasion. Tilapia have filled the niches left vacant by now locally extinct native species resulting from environmental changes in freshwater ecosystems of the province. The introduction of tilapia has both advantages and disadvantages, which should be managed to use effectively the various tilapia species in aquaculture while controlling their spread in natural waters.

Understanding Land Subsidence Along the Coastal Areas of Guangdong, China, by Analyzing Multi-Track MTInSAR Data

“…In addition to the subsidence bowls in the LZP and PRD, local subsidence bowls are also observed in the aquaculture area, see the insets B, D, and G in Figure 6. The water sources of these aquaculture areas are mainly derived from freshwater to satisfy the water quality required by the aquatic products, such as eel and tilapia [56,57]. Moreover, the frequency of freshwater exchange is high, aiming to improve the production and quality of the products.…”

Prevalence of Parasitic Infections with Zoonotic Potential in Tilapia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…( n = 14,379) evidenced it as the Tilapia genus with the highest recurrence in cultivation practices and repopulation in bodies of continental water worldwide. In addition, it has the highest number of species described in any of the genus, with a value of 32 [ 4 , 41 ]. Jointly, the genus Tilapia presented a high sample size ( n = 3923), likely related to recurrent production and consumption on the African continent [ 42 ].…”

“…in the trade policies of this country [ 64 ]. However, zoonotic parasitic distribution has high potential due to various factors: host migration [ 65 ], culinary habit globalization [ 66 , 67 , 68 ], market policy omission [ 53 , 69 ], parasite-fish cointroduction [ 41 , 46 ], and even migration and tourism [ 59 , 70 ].…”

Tilapia introduction in China: Economic boom in aquaculture versus ecological threats to ecosystems

“…Based on statistics, a total of 10 natural and 1 hybrid species of tilapia have been introduced to China in support of aquaculture and aquarium trades (Figure 1 and Table 1). The introduction of tilapias began around 1940, when Mozambique tilapia ( O. mossambicus Peters, 1852) was first introduced to Hong Kong and Taiwan for aquaculture purposes, 18 and then to Guangdong Province in 1956 and 1957 from Thailand and Vietnam, respectively 20,37 . Following these first introductions, the rate of introductions increased during the 1960s to 1970s with the introduction of three other species, Nile tilapia ( O. niloticus Linnaeus, 1758), blue tilapia ( O. aureus Steindachner, 1864) and redbelly tilapia ( Coptodon zillii Gervais, 1848).…”