Tilapia

 The white, mild-tasting, warm-water species known as Tilapia is now the fifth most popularly consumed seafood in the U.S. It substitutes for cod, catfish and bass in restaurant and home recipes. Roughly 20 million pounds are produced annually in the U.S.—1.5 million of them by seven Idaho producers. Tilapia are native to the world’s warm-climate ponds—they die at 50 degrees Fahrenheit and below. In Idaho, most tilapia are grown in flow-through raceways, which deliver constantly refreshing clean water.

At the University of Idaho’s Hagerman Fish Culture Experiment Station, animal scientist and adjunct Assistant Professor Wendy Sealey is directing a new three-year research project to examine the protein, energy and vitamin needs of raceway-raised tilapia. “Tilapia in Idaho does make you do a double-take because they are not native here but we do have some resources that make them a profitable opportunity for some of our farmers and our geo-thermal resources are very well suited to growing Tilapia and given its popularity in the U.S., it’s a tremendous opportunity for our farmers here.”

Sealey plans to identify nutritional strategies that will support the tilapia’s tendency to grow rapidly in raceways and that will also build healthy immune systems to protect them from stress during live transport to markets.