Tilapia Biocontrol.

[rayken1938]

From the latest FFSAQ newsletter.
Good to see just hope it succeeds.
Home > Research > Tilapia biocontrol
Tilapia biocontrol
Summary
Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) are listed in the top 100 of the world’s worst alien invasive species. Both Mozambique tilapia and black mangrove or spotted tilapia (Tilapia mariae) are established in Queensland. Their impacts on natural ecosystems threatens both fishing and tourism industries. The impact of tilapia is currently largely in Queensland but recent incursions in northern New South Wales have caused concern.
While we now have an effective surveillance tool (eDNA) developed under the stewardship of the Invasive Animal CRC for early detection and mapping the distribution of tilapia, current management mechanisms are inadequate for control of tilapia once an incursion has occurred. Indeed, it is now clear that current education programs are failing to stop the spread and options for management post-incursion are extremely limited.
Thus, there is a need to research, develop and evaluate potential tilapia control agents. Recently, the tilapia lake virus (TiLV) isolated from tilapia has caused widespread mortalities in Israel and Ecuador and since then has been reported in a number of other counties. This has raised hopes of the potential for tilapia biocontrol, however, prior to significant research investment in assessing this particular agent, it is prudent to evaluate tilapia pathogens in the context of biocontrol more broadly. Thus, this project proposes to conduct a review of tilapia pathogens and assess their potential as biocontrol agents.
Status
In progress
Objectives
Desktop review of tilapia pathogens, where they will be listed, ranked. With the specific objective to provide an assessment of biocontrol options (including TiLV) for Mozambique tilapia ( mossambicus) and spotted tilapia (T. mariae).
Benefit-cost analysis of tilapia biocontrol.
Business case for investing in the research (e.g. target susceptibility and specificity) necessary to gain approval for the release of an agent.
Develop capability to work with potential biocontrol agents for tilapia in Australia.
Determine the susceptibility of two tilapias species present in Australian waterways ( mossambicus and T. mariae) to TiLV and demonstrate the efficacy of TiLV as a potential biocontrol agent for tilapia in Australia.
Project Leader


Dr Agus Sunarto
Project Team
Agus Sunarto, CSIRO
Ellen Ariel, JCU
Bonnie Holmes, USC
Jessica Grimm, UON
Project Partners
CSIRO
QDAF
JCU
USC
The project receives funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment
Outputs
February 2021 update:
Tilapia Lake Virus has been considered as a potential candidate for biocontrol and has been proposed for further investigation. Another candidate for possible further investigation is the newly emerged tilapia parvovirus (TiPV), this virus has been reported to cause 60-70% mortality rate across six provinces in China, however the species specificity of TiPV has not been reported. All other potential pathogens assessed have been shown to not be species specific to tilapia and are therefore less suitable candidates for biocontrol.
A cost benefit analysis has commenced, this review seeks to identify the current distribution of tilapia in Australia, past and current management/control practices, existing impacts of tilapia on Australian waterways and the likely spread and impact in Australia based on current management systems.
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[Lovey80]

"Indeed, it is now clear that current education programs are failing to stop the spread and options for management post-incursion are extremely limited."


This suggests to me that the powers at be are putting all of the blame for Tilapia spreading on the public. Like the only possible way for this fish to spread is if humans spread them. I have a friend here in Bangladesh the farms Barramundi. Each year after he harvests them he drains all of his ponds into pure salt water and leaves his ponds empty for three months to the point he has deep cracks in the bottom of the ponds. Weeks after he refills them, all of his ponds are full of small Tilapia.

It also suggests they have tried every management option available to them post incursion.

Tilapia are an decent table fish. I've eaten it in restaurants overseas. Yet for what ever reason, the powers at be don't want to try a combination of recreational and commercial harvesting of this species. Give a special guidance on how to deal with them and tell recreational fishers to fill their boots if they want to catch and eat them. Similarly, allow restaurants to sell it and allow unlimited commercial licences for people to catch and sell to the restaurants until we smash the population down to near zero. Then maybe electro-fish the last of them?

I like the idea that they are looking at the feasibility of using a virus. I just don't trust that we won't eradicate another Australian species or more in the process. Either through a gap in the feasibility study that misses a species somehow and we find out the hard way that the Tilapia virus also kills say Mary River Cod or worse, something like Mangrove Jack or mullet. Or the possibility that the virus is deemed not to infect Australian natives, it gets released only to jump species from the Tilapia to another native. Just like we see with all the other viruses including Swine Flue, MERS, SARS and Covid (allegedly). There's a whole lot more biologically different from a pig to a human, a camel to a human and a bat to a human than their is between a Tilapia and say a Blue Catfish etc.

[Stressless]

We can't fish for them legally (in QLD), and any by-catch must be buried above high tide level.

And yet, imported Tilapia are sold in our local markets here in Cairns, and I'm sure elsewhere

[Lovey80]

Exactly. There’s a management option that hasn’t been tried yet.

[banshee]

I've never actually come across one but have heard they are reasonably good eating.Have also heard it is against regulations to do so (take home/prepare for the table),is that correct?

[Lovey80]

I've never actually come across one but have heard they are reasonably good eating.Have also heard it is against regulations to do so (take home/prepare for the table),is that correct?

correct. To be in possession big trouble. To throw it back in the water, big trouble. You’re supposed to bury them somewhere above the high water Mark.

edit: not sure what high water Mark means when they’re mostly fresh water.

[Any_Weather]

Gday guys, I live at Caloundra and noticed quite a number of tilapia and of large size about 10 years ago in the canals. I rand the appropriate government department and they were not the least bit interested. There is even more now and some of them would be well over 1kg in size.
I see quite a few people catching them and throwing them back so educating them public is going to be a big thing.

Cheers
Lee


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[Dignity]

Gday guys, I live at Caloundra and noticed quite a number of tilapia and of large size about 10 years ago in the canals. I rand the appropriate government department and they were not the least bit interested. There is even more now and some of them would be well over 1kg in size.
I see quite a few people catching them and throwing them back so educating them public is going to be a big thing.

Cheers
Lee


Sent from my iPhone using Ausfish forums

Lee, you need to stop using them as crab bait at your place

[Luc]

They probably came from Ewing Maddock dam following overflows.
The problem with allowing people to fish and eat them is that it givean incentive to spread them to waters nearer to where they live.

[Lovey80]

They probably came from Ewing Maddock dam following overflows.
The problem with allowing people to fish and eat them is that it givean incentive to spread them to waters nearer to where they live.

the same level education programme would be needed as to what is currently required under the current system to have it help. I can’t see people spreading a noxious species for the sake of being able to fish them.

[Dignity]

Being mouth brooders is the biggest issue with them. Even dead filleted fish thrown back can have viable broods or even eggs that are ready to hatch.

[Any_Weather]

No Sam, I have never caught one, never even tried. They do look pretty in the water with their long colourful fins but. I don’t think I would eat anything from this water. There is some very large crabs in it but, I still wouldn’t eat them either.


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[Stressless]

correct. To be in possession big trouble. To throw it back in the water, big trouble. You’re supposed to bury them somewhere above the high water Mark.

edit: not sure what high water Mark means when they’re mostly fresh water.

Living from fresh to very brackish water up here. They'll be on the reef next

[Dignity]

Living from fresh to very brackish water up here. They'll be on the reef next

Had a mate that lived at Whiteside (north of Brisbane near Petrie) and we would chase various fish in a stream only 300m from his place and it was brackish as it was also tidal which really surprised me. Most times it was Tilapia that we would catch, not a bad fighting fish in shallow water on SP's. The problem is by law every time we hooked one we would have to take them up above high water mark and bury them, we actually just kept them, took them back to his place which was about 50m above the HW mark and buried them. Usually the foxes would dig them up anyway.

[chris69]

correct. To be in possession big trouble. To throw it back in the water, big trouble. You’re supposed to bury them somewhere above the high water Mark.

edit: not sure what high water Mark means when they’re mostly fresh water.

No you have to put them in a plastic bag and bin them i think ,throwing mouth brooders up the bank don,t cut it.