Evaluating the economic potential of aquaculture farming: A case of Tilapia fish (ARP)

Abstract

Tilapia fish is the most consumed fish in the world because it is high in protein. However, there has been depletion in the aquatic family due to numerous environmental factors. That resulted in the new form of reproducing it in a controlled monitored environment called fish farming, which is done in three ways: fish farming, aquaculture, or aquaponics. This type of reproduction will assist in future for securing food because the world population exponential growth is more than what has been estimated. The South African tilapia fish farming sector is very significant, so that the country is heavily dependent on the frozen tilapia that is exported from China. The exploratory qualitative case study method was used to investigate if it is economically viable by using multi-sources to get a holistic view of the sector. The South African sector has numerous challenges that contribute to the failure of the industry to meet the country’s demand which geographical location, weather condition, land, water scarcity and skills. The findings of the study were that different stakeholders have to work together to grow the sector that has a high potential of producing fresh organic tilapia, in turn, contribute to the economy of the country, create employment and alleviate poverty