Tilapia in Queensland

[GaryD]

Hi,

I just watched the Channel 9 News on TV and they featured a segment on the Tilapia that are spreading through Queensland waterways. DPI have dubbed the species "The Cane Toad of the Waterways" and are encourage the public to assist in their eradication.

No mention of the fact that Tilapia are the most widely cultured fish in the World or that they taste good.

Coincidentally, there's concern among US Tilapia growers that the fish may have unacceptably high levels of undesirable Omega-6 fats (the bad one).

Gary

[Hamish]

I watched the same news report - very interesting. They were catching them and throwing them in a rubish bin! Crazy - take them home and eat them!

[DaveOponic]

Hi Gary

I am a Queenslander teaching English in Brunei. (Borneo) I am growing Tilapia (Black Tilapia) as well as Koi in my system. They are also in the waterways here in Borneo but apparently not a threat to the native ecosystem. they sure are fast growers and reportedly good to eat. (Haven't tasted any yet)

I can understand the need to protect native species in Aust. waterways but it seems they are already there. So why not be permitted to farm them, after all sheep and cattle have taken over much of the habitat of native fauna. Tilapia are a whole lot easier to grow and don't damage the environment if farmed.

It sounds to me like the bureaucrats in Aust. need educating on AP. Since Tilapia are not a pretty fish, I can't see that legalising them would be such a problem as people aren't likely to keep them as aqauarium fish/pets and then release them. More likely fatten them and eat them.

I have been paying $ 2.00 per fish here for 3-4 cm Tilapia. I have since learned that I can get as many as I want with a scoop net in most of the rivers around here.


Dave

[Murray]

I am afraid that the genie is already out of the bottle on Tilapia.

Personally I am in favour of the ban. We have very good native species here that the fisheries people want to protect.
Jade Perch, a native of the Barcoo River system in Qld have the highest known content of Omega-3 fatty acids....the very good one, of any fish species on the face of the earth.
It would be a tragic to loose the wild stocks of such a species.

Murray Cod, another amazing native species, already under threat because of poor management by we humans. Murray Cod are suffering the onslaught of the common carp...a relative of the Tilapia I understand.

Tilapia would certainly be wonderful for home tank culture, but I feel, for Australia anyway, we are better off without them.

Carp

Cyprinus carpio
Attempts to acclimate carp since the 1860s and early this century were largely unsuccessful and eventually carp were recognised as an environmental pest and such attempts were banned. However, illegal stockings of carp (believed to be from Germany) in the 1960s which co-incided with substantial reductions in native fish for unrelated reasons allowed the species to establish itself in the wild.
Since then carp have become the dominant species in many waters and are a declared noxious species in Victoria. It is illegal to return live carp to any waters in Victoria and any carp caught must be destroyed. It is also illegal to hold live carp in Victoria, including koi carp, which are kept by some people as ornamental fish.
Often blamed for any environmental damage in systems where they occur, they do in fact cause considerable damage. Some native species, notably Murray cod, have learned to feed on carp and young carp form an important part of their food supply at certain times of the year.
Almost universally despised in Australia, carp are not generally sought as a food fish. There have been a number of attempts with limited success to establish commercial uses for the fish.
Carp were recently discovered in Tasmania and caused much alarm, ironically, because of its possible effects on another introduced species, trout.

[GaryD]

Hi Hamish,


They were catching them and throwing them in a rubish bin!
That's part of the process of vilifying the fish. The behaviour is meant to create the impression that they are garbage fish. In other states, they do the same thing with European Carp. Australians won't eat them but many people from European and Asian countries make very good meals from carp.

On a positive note, I've heard some researchers suggest that Murray cod may be on the rise again......because of the readily available food source provided by European Carp.

The role of bureaucrats in the whole food production thing is interesting. They'll make it illegal for people to keep Tilapia (or rabbits) while sitting on their hands when it comes to eradication. Tilapia have been moving into the river systems around Cairns for years without any meaningful attempt to eradicate them.

The Kolan River is choked with Water Hyacinth while state and local authorities argue about who is responsible for getting rid of it.

I'm similarly bemused around their approach to rabbits. A backyarder can be fined tens of thousands of dollars for having a rabbit in their possession but a farmer will only be made to do anything if the rabbits on their land become highly visible.

The prohibition that applies to farming rabbits in Queensland is illogical and irrational and is representative of the behaviour that has led to the richly deserved international reputation that Queensland bureaucrats and politicians have for catering to vested interests.

Historically (and interestingly), the major introduced threats to the environment seem to have originated with the bureaucrats. Examples include the European rabbit, the fox, the cane toad and, more recently, the horse virus that has so severely damaged Australia's equine industry.

GaryD

[Hamish]

Would be far better to have the news report on Tilapia followed by a segment on how to cook them :) Perhaps a spin on the fact that food prices might be rising but there is fish in the rivers available for free.

[Hamish]

I just did a search on the Ch 9 web site to see if I could find the news story - and came up with this story about Tilapia being a good fish for pregnant mothers to eat! Same news show, same fish, different story!

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=174422

[Hamish]

I just emailed CH9 to give them a rev up :) Will see if they get back to me.

[DaveOponic]

The Kolan River is choked with Water Hyacinth while state and local authorities argue about who is responsible for getting rid of it.


I had to laugh when I read this again. I have just posted about water hyacinth in the plants forum.

My Tilapia and Koi (pretty carp) can't get enough of it. they are eating it as fast as it grows!

So der....? Wouldn't there be some sense in having Tilapia in that river growing fat on the Water Hyacinth? They could be netted and put on the market when they reach plague proportions. I wonder just how much a threat the Tilapia would be in that ecosystem?

[GaryD]

Hi Dave,


Wouldn't there be some sense in having Tilapia in that river growing fat on the Water Hyacinth?

The trouble is that both the Hyacinth and the Tilapia would be doing well to the exclusion of everything else.....and rivers feed into other rivers so the problem wouldn't be confined to the one river system.


They could be netted and put on the market when they reach plague proportions.

When Tilapia are in 'plague' proportions they often don't grow out to eating size.....they spend most of their time looking to breed.


I wonder just how much a threat the Tilapia would be in that ecosystem?


In Australia, we have an unfortunate history of unsuccessfully using one pest species to fix another pest species......the most prominent example being the cane toad.

I believe that water hyacinth has a place as a aquatic bio-filter but only in the most controlled of circumstances. It is a superb performer when it comes to converting nutrients into plant biomass. It will polish water (and even remove heavy metals from water) better than just about any other plant.

In any case, it is a banned species in most (if not all) parts of Australia. The only parties who are able to grow it are the state and local governments.....in places like the Kolan River.

GaryD

[DaveOponic]

I'm pleased to report that my fish are now thriving on a staple diet of water hyacinth. I no longer buy $ 5.00 worth of fish pellets every fortnight. They aren't very interested in pellets anymore but every day I toss a few into the pond.

Last week I stopped and talked to some Indonesian guys who were fishing in a stormwater drain near my kid's school. They were catching Tilapia that were bigger than the ones I have been nurturing these past months - at least a foot long!

So instead of paying $1.00 each for 6 inch Tilapia I think I'll be throwing in a line when I am on holidays next week.

dave