Tropical Aquaculture has added Pisciola El Rosario to its network of tilapia farms, the company announced in its e-newsletter on Tuesday.
Located in northwestern Colombia, El Rosario was founded in 2009 by a group of Colombian businessmen investing in a region where jobs were scarce and crime and violence were commonplace.
The company’s mission is the well-being and quality of life of its workers, and this project has boosted the community and strengthen to the local economy, according to Tropical. More than 130 positions were created between the farm and processing plant.
The processing facility is located at the farming facilities, making harvesting, processing and packaging of fresh tilapia possible within 30 minutes. Additionally, there’s a rendering plant where tilapia byproducts are processed into fishmeal and fish oil for the feed sector.
“Piscicola El Rosario is a very important partner in our network of farms and processing plants in helping us grow and guarantee continuity of supply. Because our fish are grown in a variety of locations, we are better able to avoid unexpected obstacles or delays, such as local weather or transportation issues,” said Tropical in its e-newsletter. “This allows us the flexibility to substitute any days’ harvest. Despite our complex structure, our proprietary and third-party tracking systems enable us to trace each fish back to the source.”
In addition to Columbia, the Rutland, Vt.-based company operates tilapia farms in Ecuador and Brazil. It’s one of the United States’ largest fresh tilapia importers.
