Photo credit: Martiza Marroquin de Rivas (El Salvador)
Review: Ana Martiza Marroquin and Abdel Rahman El Gamal (Founder of the website)
Tilapia contributed significantly in aquaculture in El Salvador. According to FAO statistics, the first show-up of farmed tilapia occurred in 1984 where 10 tons of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) was produced. Afterwards, there has been a significant increase in the production of farmed tilapia peaking up to 4101 tons in 2011 before declining and reaching 832 tons in 2014 whereas tilapia contributed by about 50% of total El Salvador aquaculture over most of the years.
The inserted picture is for a 3000 m2-earthen pond located in Atiocoyo (Department of Liberty). The stocking rate is 5 fingerlings/m2, and fish has been fed manufactured feed with 32% protein. The average in the mentioned system averages about 10 tons/ha per the growing season. One may notice the bird threads over the ponds to protect fish against fish-eating birds.
