The dedicated breeding centre took two years to construct and, according to GenoMar, will be the first of its kind for tilapia species in the Latin American region. It will have sufficient capacity to manage the company's breeding programmes as well as to produce parent stock for its distribution operations. The new facility will enhance GenoMar´s distribution infrastructure in Brazil and support its expansion efforts in the region, especially in Colombia and Mexico.
“This facility provides an ideal and safe home for our breeding programs in Latin America. It will significantly strengthen our ability to breed tilapia with optimal and predictable field performance for the Brazilian and international markets,” said Diones Almeida, breeding director at GenoMar Genetics Latin America, in a press release.
At the facility, tilapia geneticists and scientists will work applying the latest technologies in selective breeding to continuously enhance favorable traits. This includes balanced breeding for growth rate, feed conversion rate, health, and adaptability to global production environments as well as to increase the fillet yield and fillet quality in GenoMar brands and products.
The breeding centre has a high biosecurity level and an effective surveillance programme for the most important tilapia pathogens worldwide. After obtaining official accreditation of its own quarantine facility in January 2022, the company is already working very closely with the respected Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA) in Brazil to certify the facility as SPF and/or disease-free in the coming years.
“Every decision about site selection, water source and layout has been made to develop a new standard for biosecurity in the industry,” said Marina Delphino, fish health manager at GenoMar Genetics Latin America.
The introduction of new animals into a country is well recognised as one of the main routes for the spread of diseases when carried out indiscriminately. The new investment will increase the resilience of the Brazilian tilapia industry and transform Brazil into an exporter of high-quality tilapia genetics.
“I am very proud of this milestone in the history of our company. The team has worked untiringly to develop a breeding centre that comply with high-level biosecurity, good fish health and multiplication of high merit brood stock to the tilapia industry”, says Alejandro Tola Alvarez, CEO at GenoMar Genetics Group.
