Tilapia Fingerling Production in Honduras

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study was supported by Aquaculture Collaborative Research Support Program (ACRSP) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and conducted in Honduras by the Pan-American Agriculture School (PAS) from September 2003 and July 2004. The objective of the study was to evaluate tilapia fingerling production and examine the factors that influence the way farmers produce and distribute fingerlings and to provide recommendations to improve the quality and availability of fingerlings in Honduras. The study describes the socioeconomic characteristics of tilapia fingerling producers, their production techniques, as well as their needs for training and technical assistance in Honduras. Sixteen farmers were identified, visited, and interviewed. A sample from each farm of the 13 producing and distributing fingerlings was taken to the Aquaculture Station at the PAS to determine their count and evaluate their quality based on uniformity of size, color, and male gender. Seven of the fingerling farms are family owned, four are private companies, one is a cooperative, one is operated by a nonprofit organization (NGO), another is run by a university, and two by the government. In aggregate, they produce approximately 15.3 million fingerlings a year. Most (75%) of the fingerling producers interviewed also produce marketing size tilapia, produce other aquaculture species, and have other farm enterprises. Results show that fingerling sex reversal with hormone-treated feed is practiced by 13 of the 16 farmers. Tilapia fingerling producers have between 4 and 6 years of formal education and an average of 6.7 years of experience (range of 0–25 years). The results of the study suggest that a farmer's experience growing tilapia food fish is positively correlated to production of quality fingerlings. Analysis of the fingerling samples shows that there is variability on the quality of the fingerlings from one farm to another.