GIFT "Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia": All Male Tilapia Fingerlings with Greater Yield and Uniformity

Greater yield and uniformity in tilapia farming

Mono-sex tilapia farming is a bit more complicated but it's worth it. It allows for mostly male tilapia to be grown, sometimes up to 98% male. This is done using methods like picking out males and females by hand, using hormones, or natural methods. Using specially bred tilapia (GIFT) is best for commercial farming. Using hormones can change most fish from female to male, usually about 98% of them. Another method uses changes in temperature after the fish hatch, turning about 86% of them into males. The natural method gives you all-natural males. It's important to know that with hormone-treated fish, some might look like males but genetically they're still females.

This technology is TAAT1 validated.

8•8

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 8/9; level of use 8/9

Project adoption1

Technology integrated in the PROMAC- Benin project.

Project	Beneficiaries	Budget	Duration	Key figures
PROMAC- Benin Projet de Promotion de l’Aquaculture Durable et de Compétitivité des Chaines de Valeur de la Pêche	673,000 beneficiaries in total.	102.62 million	2023–2028	250 hectares of fish ponds. 90 million fingerlings and 30,000 metric tons of fish feed. 6,300 direct jobs in aquaculture

See project details ›

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

The poor: Positive low

Under 18: Positive low

Women: Positive medium

Climate adaptability: Moderately adaptable

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

Biodiversity: No impact on biodiversity

Carbon footprint: A bit less carbon released

Environmental health: Moderately improves environmental health

Soil quality: Does not affect soil health and fertility

Water use: Same amount of water used

Problem

Mixed-sex tilapia culturing often leads to lower yields and non-uniform harvests.
Manual sex selection at the beginning of the production cycle is time-consuming and results in discarding nearly half of the stock.
Hormonal alteration of fry involves the application of α-Methyltestosterone, which may pose concerns regarding its use in feed and its impact on fish health and the environment.
Temperature manipulation to convert the sex of fry may result in a significant portion of the fry not surviving the process.
Hormone sex-reversed fish may exhibit phenotypically male characteristics but genetically remain female in approximately 50% of cases, potentially causing issues in breeding programs and overall stock management.

Solution

Utilizing improved lines of tilapia breeds with desirable traits for growth rate, feed conversion, size, and hardiness can enhance the effectiveness of manual selection, hormonal treatment, YY male technology, and GIFT.
Crossbreeding strategies, such as mating male Blue or Wami tilapia with female Nile tilapia, can produce 100% male offspring, improving mono-sex tilapia production efficiency.
Careful management of brood stock selection in hatcheries, focusing on younger brooders free from wounds and parasites, ensures high-quality and abundant fish seed production for successful mono-sex tilapia farming.
Development and utilization of sterile transgenic breeds capable of achieving larger harvest weights offer potential solutions for enhancing tilapia aquaculture productivity while addressing concerns related to sex management techniques.

Key points to design your program

GIFT (Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia) is an improved aquaculture technology that provides high-performance all-male tilapia fingerlings to increase fish production, improve feed efficiency, and strengthen aquaculture enterprises. The technology can be integrated into aquaculture development, food security, nutrition, and rural enterprise programs to enhance fish productivity and farmers' incomes. Its adoption contributes to SDGs 2 (Zero Hunger) and 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

To integrate this technology into your project, plan and budget for the following activities and prerequisites:

Assess aquaculture production systems, hatchery capacity, water availability, and the demand for quality all-male tilapia fingerlings in target areas.
Establish partnerships with WorldFish, hatcheries, fish farmer organizations, national fisheries and aquaculture institutions, and other aquaculture value chain stakeholders to support technology dissemination and scaling.
Facilitate access to certified all-male tilapia fingerlings, quality broodstock, reliable water sources, fish feed, and hatchery facilities.
Implement demonstration ponds and training for hatchery operators, fish farmers, cooperatives, women's groups, youth enterprises, and extension agents on fingerling production, hatchery management, fish health, feeding, and pond management.
Support extension and dissemination activities to promote the adoption of genetically improved all-male tilapia technologies.
Promote the participation of women, youth, and smallholder fish farmers in hatchery operations, fingerling production, and technology adoption activities.
Implement monitoring, learning, and inclusion activities throughout the project lifecycle.
Track key indicators such as fingerlings produced, farmer adoption rates, fish survival, fish yields, feed conversion efficiency, and household income.

0.1 USD

Cost of one month mono-sex fingerlings in Kenya

300 - 900 g

Weight of male fingerlings stocked in cages in 5 to 8 months of culture

IP

Patent granted

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology\’s development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology\’s readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 8 out of 9

Uncontrolled environment: tested

Level of use 8 out of 9

Used by some intended users, in the real world

Maturity of the idea										Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Project	Beneficiaries	Budget	Duration	Key figures
PROMAC- Benin Projet de Promotion de l’Aquaculture Durable et de Compétitivité des Chaines de Valeur de la Pêche	673,000 beneficiaries in total.	102.62 million	2023–2028	250 hectares of fish ponds. 90 million fingerlings and 30,000 metric tons of fish feed. 6,300 direct jobs in aquaculture

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Benin	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Cameroon	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Ethiopia	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Kenya	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Malawi	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Nigeria	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Senegal	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Tanzania	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Uganda	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Zambia	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 2: zero hunger

Goal 8: decent work and economic growth

Selecting Broodstock:
- Begin by choosing mature and healthy broodstock, preferably males and females, from a reliable source.
Stocking Spawning Units:
- Place the selected broodstock into separate spawning units, such as tanks or hapas, about 15 days before the spawning season.
Feeding and Temperature Control:
- Provide regular feeding for both males and females in their respective units. Gradually raise the water temperature up to 26°C.
Monitoring Ovulation in Females:
- Keep a close watch on female broodstock for signs of ovulation. When they carry eggs in their mouths, it's time to proceed.
Egg Collection and Incubation:
- Gently collect the eggs and transfer them to designated hatching jars. Incubate until hatching occurs, which typically takes around 10-12 days, depending on the temperature.
Transferring Fry to Rearing Units:
- Move the newly hatched fish, known as fry, from the brooder basins to rearing units.
Hormonal Treatment (Optional):
- If using hormonal alteration for mono-sex production, mix α-Methyltestosterone with fry feed. Ensure continuous feeding for 21 days to achieve a male rate of around 98%.
Ensuring Proper Size Distribution:
- After treatment, ensure there are only a few fry under 14mm in size.
Selection and Management of Broodstock for Future Cycles:
- For ongoing production cycles, continue to select and manage high-quality broodstock. These should be younger, weighing at least 300g, and free of wounds and parasites.
Provision of Adequate Resources:
- Ensure access to clean water, free from pollutants, and install aerators for oxygen supply. Provide hapa-style nets to raise the fingerlings.