Spring Genetics®, a Benchmark company, has been granted with an import license for tilapia genetic material to Colombia, making it the first authorized tilapia genetics importer in the country.
In a multilateral collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS), the Federación Colombiana de Acuicultura (FEDEACUA), and Acuacultivos El Guajaro, the teams were successful at completing the regulatory process to obtain a license to import new robust tilapia genetic material.
Spring Tilapia®, brand name of the tilapia strain provided by Spring Genetics, has gone through 8 generations of selection at the breeding nucleus in Miami for key traits such as fast growth, survivability and yield, and more recently advanced genomic selection for resistance to Streptococcus iniae and S. agalactiae. The genetics are developed in a highly biosecure environment and undergo continuous health surveillance at the breeding nucleus.
Spring Tilapia® fingerlings will be commercially available in Colombia in 2020 and will provide a significant opportunity for producers to improve their productivity and sustainability.
Total tilapia Production in Colombia is 70,000 tons, from those 60% are red tilapia and the remaining 40% are Nile tilapia. Most of Nile tilapia produced is processed and exported as fresh fillet to the US market, making Colombia one of the main tilapia fresh filets exporters to US in the world and the third largest tilapia producer in LATAM, after Brazil and Mexico.
