Qualitative and quantitative analysis of red tilapia yield under a variety of controlled conditions and experimental verifications of cost effective culture strategies

An assessment of the acceptability of brackish- and freshwater-cultured red tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) by a consumer panel consisting of 50 people was conducted at the Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah. Red tilapia fries were raised in 1000 L fiberglass tanks, one batch in a salinity of 20 ppt and the other in 0 ppt (freshwater) for a period of 4 months. The fillets from the two batches of tilapia were analyzed for 5 attributes (appearance, aroma, texture, flavor, and aftertaste) by sensory evaluation test using a hedonic scale of 10. All attributes were not significantly different (P>0.05) among the tested samples. However, the freshwater red tilapia fillets obtained higher acceptance scores for three attributes; aroma, flavor, and aftertaste. Appearance, aroma. texture, flavor, aftertaste and overall acceptance scores were 4.86 ± 2.66, 3.65 ± 2.75. 5.30 ± 2.15, 5.22 ± 2.65, 5.03 ± 2.67 and 5.46 ± 2.45 respectively, for brackish ti\apia fillets and 4.75 ± 2.43, 4.3\ ± 2.39,5.27 ± 2.22, 5.73 ± 2.64,5.47 ± 2.75 and 5.80 ± 2.6\ respectively, for freshwater tilapia fillets