DEVELOPMENT OF NEW PRODUCTS AND MARKETS FOR THE GLOBAL TILAPIA TRADE

Tilapia production surged around the world during the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Tilapias are now the second most popular farmed fishes after the carps, with global production well over 1,526,000 mt in 2003. This has been accomplished by developing large consumer markets in North America and Europe, which are purchasing fish grown in tropical countries with year-round production and relatively low costs. These markets have evolved in a similar manner, starting with immigrant communities, moving into high cost, white tablecloth restaurants, then casual dining chains, hypermarkets and club stores and finally to traditional seafood counters and frozen foods of local groceries. With this rapid development in markets have come a variety of new product forms and commercial by-products. This has been a critical factor in the continued rise of tilapia in the ranks of popular seafoods and is a result of thoughtful marketing and product development, as well as increasing demands from retailers and consumers. A variety of product forms are described along with methodologies used to develop new markets for these products. By-products including leather goods, pharmaceutical products, and decorative objects made from tilapia scales are also described