TILAPIA CULTURE IN MYANMAR, HISTORY, PRESENT STATUS AND FUTURE TRENDS  

Soe Tun*
Chief of Party, Sustainable Seafood Industry Development Project Office
Myamar Fisheries Federation Building
Bayint Naung Road, West Gyogone, Insein Township,
Yangon, Myanmar.
E-mail :  nyeinst@gmail.com  
 

The first documented introduction of tilapia to Myanmar was for Oreochromis mossambicus from Thailand in 1953.  This was followed by introduction of O. niloticus and O. aureus from Israel in 1976.  Hatcheries and farms established in the 1990's started the commercial production of tilapia.  However Cyclone Nargis in 2008, destroyed all the tilapia hatcheries and flooded virtually every pond in the Ayeyarwady Delta. Tilapia escaped and have become a part of the polyculture of fish grown in most extensive ponds in central Myanmar.   The tilapia industry is now modernizing with new hatcheries, new broodstocks, improved pelleted feeds, and modern management.  Export restrictions have been removed by the Myanmar government and international companies are now encouraged and welcomed to deal in Myanmar seafood products.  

The Nile tilapia is the most commonly farmed tilapia in Myanmar and is widely accepted by consumers in all market segments.  The fish are almost always sold whole and most are cooked in that manner.  There are currently very few tilapia being processed or exported.  National production was reported to be 40,185 mt in 2011.  Estimates for 2015 were around 45,000 mt.