Researchers in southern China have come up with a new variety of tilapia that they claim is faster-growing and disease-resistant.
The "Zhuang Luo 1" variety will be resistant to streptococcus, according to the provincial wing of the China Fisheries Academy in Guangxi Province, one of the leading hubs for tilapia production in China.
The research was published by the Agriculture Ministry in Beijing, which co-funded the research. The new tilapia variety is one of over a dozen new varieties of fish announced by the ministry, with most of the other species popularly consumed in China, including carp.
A surge in government funding for research and development across the economy has helped the China Fisheries Academy further research in both fish and crustacean production. China is set to outspend the European Union and the United States in research and development spending in purchasing power parity terms from 2019 onwards, having increased ten-fold since 2000, according to data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
