Tilapia health experts from around the world came together on June 25 to share helpful guidance for farmers. Below is a summary of the key takeaways from the live discussions.

The webinar’s featured speakers included:

Carlos Lopez, commercial director at Spring Genetics (USA)
Amighty Ricketts, aquaculture specialist & lecturer at University of Agriculture, Makurdi (Nigeria)
Dhivagar Pugazhenthi, graduate student at the Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand)

Key takeaways

Biosecurity strategies and breeding programs

Carlos Lopez emphasizes the importance of biosecurity in tilapia culture, particularly in maintaining a bio-secure breeding nucleus.
He highlights common diseases affecting tilapia, including bacterial diseases like Streptococcus, Aeromonas, and viruses like Tilapia Lake Virus (TILV) and ISKNV.
Carlos explains the role of breeding programs in improving resistance to pathogens through controlled challenge testing and targeted selection for specific pathogens.
He discusses the need for a controlled water source, robust health surveillance programs, and strict movement protocols for staff, equipment, and stock.
Carlos highlights the role of well-trained staff in identifying and containing disease outbreaks.
He provides a checklist for farmers to ask their genetic suppliers about health certificates, water sources, and biosecurity protocols.

Preparation and acclimation of fingerlings

Carlos advises farmers to be prepared before the shipment of fingerlings arrives, including checking health certificates and preparing quarantine areas.
He emphasizes the importance of matching water quality parameters and gradual acclimation to avoid stress on the fish.
Carlos recommends a quarantine period of two to four weeks to monitor the fish for mortality and feed response before mixing them with other cohorts.
He stresses the importance of using dedicated equipment for quarantine areas to prevent pathogen spread to the rest of the production.

Fish nutrition and management

Amighty Ricketts discusses the importance of good management, record keeping, and nutrition in tilapia health.
He provides an overview of the current status of aquaculture production in Africa, highlighting the role of countries like Egypt, Uganda, and Nigeria.
Amighty explains the challenges of tilapia production in Nigeria, including input challenges, infrastructure and financial constraints, and biological and environmental management issues.
He emphasizes the importance of seed selection, feed formulation, and water quality management in ensuring healthy tilapia production.

Innovations in vaccines and treatment strategies

Dhivagar Pugazhenthi discusses the latest innovations in vaccines and treatment strategies for tilapia.
He highlights the importance of autogenous vaccines in preventing disease outbreaks and the role of inactivated vaccines in tilapia farming.
Dhivagar explains the production process of autogenous vaccines, including isolation, inactivation, sterility testing, and formulation.
He discusses the role of adjuvants in enhancing vaccine efficacy and the importance of validating vaccine effectiveness through antibody titers and gene expression studies.

Q&A Session with Panelists

Jean Ko Din moderates a Q&A session with the panelists, addressing questions from the audience about vaccines, broodstock immunity, and fish nutrition.
Carlos Lopez explains the importance of brood stock immunity and the need for more research on its effectiveness in transferring immunity to offspring.
Amighty Ricketts discusses the role of nutrition in enhancing the immune system and the challenges of using phytogenics in fish feed.
Dhivagar Pugazhenthi provides advice on the use of autogenous vaccines in different regions and the importance of record keeping and analysis in disease management.

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Tilapia Health in Focus: webinar recap and key takeaways for farmers