In addition to providing the optimal dietary requirements of
essential fatty acids to support maximum growth and feed conversion
in farmed fish, it is equally important to consider the final
fatty acid content of tilapia at harvest and in particular, the fatty
acid content of the consumable fillets. Recent reports have suggested
that the beneficial PUFA content in farmed tilapia may be
reduced in fish farmed intensively and fed diets containing plant
oils rich in n-6 fatty acids (Karapanogiotidis, Bell, Little, Yakupitiyage,
& Rakshit, 2006; Weaver et al., 2008). In contrast fish grown
extensively or semi-intensively in green water systems, rich in
phytoplankton, have fillet fatty acid contents comparable with those of wild fish and have higher levels of DHA and EPA than
intensively farmed fish