The Fisheries Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, has successfully cultivated super-male red tilapia using genetic breeding combined with molecular marker assisted breeding. The rate of male offspring produced by mating male fish with red female tilapia after experimentation exceeds 95%. During the breeding process, these paternal fish were not genetically modified or treated with male hormones, so there is no need to worry about food safety. In addition, the growth rate and meat yield have shown remarkable performance, with a positive impact on reducing breeding costs and enhancing international competitiveness.
According to the Fisheries Research Institute, red is a symbol of auspiciousness and happiness for the Chinese. Red tilapia is often used as a substitute fish species for the red snapper family due to its appearance, which is similar to high-priced marine fish such as Gyarados and red snapper. Its value is also about twice that of ordinary tilapia. The red tilapia cultivated in Taiwan first appeared as a mutant type of Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus), but the original strain had a smaller body size and did not meet market demand. After years of hybrid breeding experiments, the Fisheries Research Institute has successfully cultivated larger and faster-growing red tilapia, which is marketed as red Nile tilapia fish.
The early maturity and high yield characteristics of tilapia often lead to increased breeding costs and varying harvest quality. Therefore, the Fisheries Research Institute developed a breeding technology for super-male tilapia in 2013, and genetic principles were used to meet the demand for all-male breeding. The cultivation process of super-male red tilapia also applies the same principle, while introducing molecular marker-assisted breeding technology to shorten the offspring development time. Mating super-male red tilapia with red female tilapia can produce offspring with a male rate of 95% to 100%. At present, the Fisheries Research Institute has established a super-male red tilapia species bank in its freshwater aquaculture research center, and it is expected to start mass production of this strain within this year.
The Fisheries Research Institute emphasizes that using super-male tilapia as breeding parents can effectively control the male ratio of offspring and achieve the goal of all-male breeding. If such a method is widely promoted in the industry, in addition to ensuring food safety and environmental friendliness, it could effectively reduce breeding costs and enhance industrial competitiveness, which is a new trend in the development of the global tilapia industry.
Photo 1. Super-male red tilapia (Oreochromis sp.)