The world’s first & only tilapia sperm bank

SCIENCE CITY OF MUÑOZ, Nueva Ecija – Can you bring back to life the variety of tilapia which thrived along the Nile River in ancient Egypt when the kingdom was still ruled by Pharaohs 5000 years BC?

Or, is it possible to recreate the type of fish Simon Peter used to catch from the Sea of Galilee (now Lake Tiberias) before Jesus Christ made him fisher of men.

In today’s fast changing world when old technologies and models are easily discarded to give way to new ones, the thought of reconstituting centuries-old animal specimens and bringing them back to life under present-day setting can only turn out to be wishful thinking.

Not so in this part of the globe, where the world’s first and only tilapia sperm bank is now operating. Such a scientific wonder is not only possible. It is also being done by a team of Filipino fish experts casually and routinely without fanfare.

Modest building with modest equipment

The tilapia gene bank is housed at a P2 million two-story building inside the National Freshwater Fisheries Technology Center of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources within the Central Luzon State University compound here.

The facility features a cryopreservation laboratory, wet lab, dewar storage room, artificial incubation system, conference -room, computer area and a multi-purpose hall.

It has a collection of both cryopreserved tilapia sperm cells from various tilapia stocks, as well as live specimens of various strains of Nile tilapia from Egypt, Israel, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Kenya, Senegal, Ghana and the Philippines.

The cryolaboratory is equipped with Kryo-10 series II that provides programmed cooling of biological specimens within the temperature range of +30 degree Celsius to -180 degree C.

Presently, the gene bank has a collection of eight strains of founder stocks of tilapia, 281 straws from the founder stocks, and 480 straws of fish sample which are products of selective breeding and maintained by BFAR.

"This is the world’s richest repository of various tilapia sperm cells and live specimens that can’t be found anywhere else except in the Philippines. It is truly a national treasure," Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. told PAJ News and Features.

Role in meeting the country’s food needs

Years before President Arroyo inaugurated the facility on March 20, 2003, the sperm bank, now officially called BFAR National Fresh-water Fisheries Technology Center (BFAR-NFFTC) Tilapia Gene Bank, had already made great contributions to the country’s quest for food self-sufficiency.

From its collection of tilapia strains culled from Asia and Africa, local scientists led by Dr. Melchor Tayamen had been able to cross-breed or combine a highly select few of the fish specimens to produce offspring that are bigger, more versatile and meatier than their forebears whose origin dates back to biblical times.

"Because of the gene bank, we were able to successfully arrest the deterioration of the tilapia considering that it had been getting smaller during the last 2000 years," Tayamen, BFAR-NFFTC chief and a world-renowned fish scientist, said.

"But equally important, we can now come up with new superior tilapia strains that are easy to raise and can be significant source of animal protein, thus providing nutrition to millions of Filipinos and helping the government meet its food self-sufficiency targets," he added.

Tilapia research breakthroughs

One significant output of the bank is the Genetically Enhanced Tilapia (GET) developed by BFAR in 2000, that can grow up to 200 grams in 4 months compared to its original ascendants like the Nile tilapia (O. niloticus) which can attain a maximum weight of only 125 grams in five months.

Another product, developed last year using selective combination, is saline tilapia which can thrive in brackish water, unlike the freshwater tilapia we know.

Since we have over 150,000 hectares of brackish water, the chances of successfully culturing the fish into this environment have become much stronger, thus further increasing the country’s ability to produce more fish for its growing population.

But by far the biggest bonanza from the gene bank is the development of the EXCEL tilapia, short for EXcellent strain that has comparable advantage with other tilapia strains for Entrepreneurial Livelihood projects.

The new-generation hybrid tilapia, which went public less than seven months ago, had already created much interest among aquaculturists. It registered a survival rate ten percent higher than conventional tilapia and weighs 38 grams higher while showing resistance to common diseases even if raised using current production techniques.

Given these good qualities, fish farmers willing to culture the Excel Tilapia can raise it four times a year, compared to three for conventional strains, thus allowing them to increase production and income, Agriculture Secretary Luis P. Lorenzo said.

Tayamen said tilapia, which survived the ancient world and continues to thrive in tropical freshwater bodies, rivers and lakes, is arguably the world’s most versatile fish. This is not only in terms of its ability to adapt to diverse agro-climatic conditions but also in the more than hundred ways to prepare it as food.

He pointed out that having the world’s first and only tilapia gene bank right in the Philippines is, therefore, like giving Filipinos a scientific jewel for their economic uplift.

In the world of aquaculture, the tilapia sperm bank stands as a beacon for the Philippines to move forward and attain greater productivity. For within its laboratories, there lies the country’s very own, yet elusive, competitive advantage. – PAJ News and Features