ABSTRACT

World production of tilapia amounted to 280,000 tons in 1986, with figures as high as 500,000 tons also being reported. 1 These uncertainties are due to the difficulty of clearly distinguishing between the production derived from fish farming and that resulting from small-scale fisheries. Moreover, in some countries, such as Benin, very extensive forms offish rearing exist, e.g., the acadja system, being similar to both fish farming and the exploitation of wild populations.