Farmers in the UAE will soon be able to raise giant tilapia fish that can grow up to 200 grammes within four months.
Feasibility studies are currently underway and are likely to lead to cooperation agreements with experts in the Philippines, according to informed consular sources.
The hybrid tilapia is said to have been genetically enhanced by special breeding programmes at a specialist centre in the Philippines. Scientists at the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) combined various subspecies collected from Asia and Africa.
This development is among a number of breakthroughs in aquaculture which are about to be adopted by farmers in the UAE and other Gulf countries, according to Libran Cabactulan, Philippine Ambassador to the UAE.
"Aquaculture is one of the areas of mutual cooperation which can be beneficial to both countries," said the envoy.
Last year, BFAR also produced the saline tilapia that can thrive in brackish water, which may be appropriate for the UAE.
Cabactulan, formerly posted in Australia, has proposed a training programme for fish farmers in the UAE within the framework of the G-77 protocol on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries.
The original predecessors of genetically enhanced tilapia (GET), such as the Nile tilapia (O. niloticus), can attain a maximum weight of only 125 grammes in five months, according to BFAR scientists.
"We have a menu of specific programmes ready to be shared by Filipino trainers from BFAR and the International Centre for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM).
"This training has already benefited fish farmers in other countries." The envoy said links are being established with scientists in the UAE such as the Marine Resources Research Centre and the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries.
Some farmers in the UAE use large tanks to breed tilapias, known locally as "bulty".
BFAR has the worlds first and only tilapia gene bank in its facility at the National Freshwater Fisheries Technology Centre at the Central Luzon State University in Nueva Ecija, north of Manila.
The centre has the most extensive repository of tilapia sperm cells and live specimens of various stocks of Nile tilapia from Egypt, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Kenya, Senegal, Ghana and the Philippines.
From its collection of various tilapia species, local scientists led by Dr. Melchor Tayamen had been able to cross-breed specimens to produce offspring that are bigger, more versatile and meatier.
BFARs Excel tilapia, another hybrid, has a 10 per cent higher survival rate as it is genetically engineered to resist common diseases even if raised using current production techniques. It also weighs 38 grammes more than conventional tilapia.
Spreading the net of development* Huge hybrid tilapia is genetically enhanced by special breeding programmes in the Philippines. Scientists at the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources combined various subspecies collected from Asia and Africa.
* The aquaculture projects are among a number of breakthroughs which are about to be adopted by farmers in the UAE and other Gulf countries.
* Links being established with scientists in the UAE such as the Marine Resources Research Centre and the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries.
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