Tilapia was ousted from the No. 4 spot on the Top 10 per-capita seafood consumption list last year, but the fish is still in the Top 5 at nearly 1.3 pounds, just below its close rival and fellow whitefish, pollock. Since 2006, when tilapia cracked the Top 5, the species has stayed in that spot, with the exception of 2010, when it was No. 4 and consumption hit a high of 1.45 pounds per person.
Don Kelley, procurement manager at Western Edge Seafood in Claysville, Pa., says the consistent popularity of tilapia is largely supply-chain driven. “We have a species with all the availability and year-round consistency of an aquaculture product at a price point that is attractive,” he says. “We’re talking a USD 2 fish here. It’s hard to find a similar species.”
Because of that, he says, tilapia continues to be a core product for Western Edge, even as the company expands into other species.
Although farmed fish can certainly have some ups and downs, especially when impacted by weather or disease, Kelley says this year in particular has been smooth sailing for tilapia. “We saw very little impact of disease this year,” he says, which has helped keep supply at stable to abundant levels.
Disease, explains Kelley, is usually linked to weather, such as typhoons, rising water temperatures and genetics. With no major typhoons in China this year, thankfully that part of the equation was missing.
Click here to read the full story which ran in the December issue of SeaFood Business >
