Is Tilapia a Freshwater Fish?

The name ̶0;tilapia̶1; applies to a large number of fish species. Tilapia inhabit fresh water in Africa and Asia.

  1. Genus Tilapia

    • The genus Tilapia applies to about 40 African freshwater fish species. The species in this genus readily hybridize with each other, complicating classification.

    Common Name Tilapia

    • Tilapia is a common name used to describe members of the genus Tilapia, as well as Oreochromis and Sarotherodon. These are important freshwater food fish, naturally occurring in Africa and Asia.

    Consumption

    • Tilapia are becoming more popular as a food fish. According to the American Tilapia Association, tilapia is now the fifth most popular seafood consumed in the United States. U.S. consumption alone is projected to increase from 1.5 million tons in 2003 to 2.5 million tons by 2010, according to a 2008 article in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

    Aquaculture

    • To meet growing demand for tilapia, fish farming has increased, both in the United States and abroad. Tilapia are prolific breeders and grow quickly. However, they require warm water temperatures not only to grow, but survive. Savvy tilapia farmers take advantage of warm-water discharge, as from a power plant, to sustain their fish.

    Problems

    • Because they are prolific breeders, there is concern about tilapia escaping from fish farms and entering waters where they are not native. In fact, tilapia are on the Internation Union for Conservation of Nature's 100 of the World's Worst Alien Invasive Species list. Because they require warm water temperatures to survive, tilapia could not survive in the wild in many places around the United States.