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Water Quality in Tilapia Transport: From the Farm to the Retail Store
Author(s) -
Colt John,
Momoda Tracey,
Chitwood Rob,
Fornshell Gary,
Schreck Carl
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
north american journal of aquaculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.432
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1548-8454
pISSN - 1522-2055
DOI - 10.1080/15222055.2011.629946
Subject(s) - nile tilapia , oreochromis , carbon dioxide , environmental science , water quality , tilapia , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery , business , biology , ecology
Abstract Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus are routinely transported 1,200–1,400 km from Idaho to live markets in the greater Vancouver, British Columbia, area. Direct hauling mortality is typically very low, but significant economic losses occur during retail holding owing to a deterioration in physical appearance that results in fish that cannot be sold and their subsequent mortality. To address this problem, information was collected on hauling systems and protocols, holding systems and water management protocols, and water quality in the retail holding systems. During hauling, fish are exposed to high levels of dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide, and bacteria. The transfer of fish from hauling systems to retail holding systems can subject them to rapid changes in temperature, dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide, and pH. Problem areas in retail holding include low water temperatures, high un‐ionized ammonia concentrations, and elevated levels of gas supersaturation. Determination of the causes of high mortality in transportation and retail holding is difficult to clearly identify because of sampling difficulties and commercial restrictions; improvements in hauling protocols may depend on simulated hauling experiments followed by commercial verification.