Tilapia

Tilapia is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish, native mainly to Africa and the Middle East, that live in shallow freshwater and are now classified chiefly in the tribes Coptodonini and Oreochromini for the economically important species. Farmed tilapia production reached about 1.5 million tonnes worldwide in 2002, worth an estimated 1.8 billion dollars, with China the leading producer at 1.3 million tonnes a year, followed by Egypt at 0.5 million tonnes; the fish are popular for farming because they eat plant-based feed rather than requiring costly carnivorous diets. In the United States it has been the fourth most consumed fish since 2002, valued for its low cost and easy preparation, usually fried or broiled, with whole fish yielding up to 47 percent fillet by harvest weight. Because males grow significantly faster than females, tilapia farming commonly raises all-male populations through hormone treatment or selective breeding.