World Aquaculture Magazine - June 2021

54 JUNE 2021 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG percent of the total. The main finfish species that are farmed are Asian sea bass Lates calcarifer, gilthead seabream Sparus aurata and tilapia, amounting to 9,000 t of total output. To meet the production goal, new species are needed. The candidate should be unique, easy to manage, low cost to produce and with a high market demand. According to biological factors (fry, broodstock, farming environment) and economic factors (market demand, production costs), fisheries authorities have selected Sabaki tilapia Oreochromis spilurus as a species that will be promoted (Fig. 1). Why Was Sabaki Tilapia Chosen toMeet Development Targets? Tilapia aquaculture expansion has the potential to create jobs, promote economic growth and improve food security. Production systems are easy to operate and have lower production costs. A Brief Story of Saudi Aquaculture Due to economic development, market demand and environmental factors, shrimp farming has been significantly prosperous in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since the 1990s. In the beginning, the main species was Indian prawn Fenneropenaeus indicus . However, since outbreaks of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) burst out in 2010, Saudi shrimp farmers have started farming Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei to cover the shortage of production. Currently, shrimp farming in Saudi Arabia is still widespread because of the global market demand. For the sustainable economic development of Saudi Arabia, the government set up the goals of a new strategic framework for economic diversification called Vision 2030. The aquaculture goal of Vision 2030 is for Saudi aquaculture industries to produce 600,000 t by 2030. At present, the total aquaculture production of Saudi Arabia is around 83,000 t, with shrimp farming accounting for almost 70 A New Potential Aquaculture Species in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Sabaki Tilapia Oreochromis spilurus Benjamin C. Young , Riyadh Hussain Alfaggeh and Ibrahim AlMoutiri FIGURE 1. Sabaki tilapia Oreochromis spilurus . FIGURE 2. Sabaki tilapia broodfish.