Is it finally tilapia’s time?

The 2025 Responsible Seafood Summit panel session in Cartagena set out to answer this question, describing it as the fish the world wants and needs. Panellist and FAI COO Murilo Quintiliano believes tilapia could be the ‘best everyday animal protein’ by considering and tackling the sustainability challenges of other animal protein sources.

Tilapia is prolific, accessible, easy to produce and a source of high-quality protein.

But something is holding it back... Its reputation.

In some markets, such as Europe, tilapia is still relatively unknown. In others, its widespread availability has worked against it. Rather than being seen as a premium or aspirational choice, tilapia is often overlooked precisely because it is so widely available. As incomes rise in these regions, consumers tend to seek out fish they perceive as more exclusive, leaving tilapia behind in the search for something ‘better’. 

In Brazil, tilapia historically suffered from having a ‘muddy’ or ‘off’ flavour not, as many believe, caused by mud, but by geosmin, compounds produced by certain types of algae and cianobacterias in water. While technology and quality controls have improved the fish’s taste, it has yet to convince consumers.

To take its rightful position as a major player in global food security, tilapia must overcome these perceptions, and stop being treated as a poor man’s food.

Versatility and a nutritional powerhouse

Globally, tilapia is still eaten as a whole fish or with simple processing into fillets, rather than being further processed and used as an ingredient. In Mexico, the market demand for whole fish was so high the country reduced its processing capacity and now imports tilapia fillets from China.

But I believe this must change and the versatility of the fish, suitable for a range of meal types, could make it as widely used as chicken – it’s use could even extend beyond the dinner table.

Hugh Jackman made tilapia famous as part of his protein-rich, muscle-building diet when filming Deadpool & Wolverine. Protein’s role in health and fitness has also led to a flourishing supplement industry, with collagen used in nutritional supplements and cosmetics.

Dr. Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted of CGIAR describes aquatic foods as ‘nutritional powerhouses’, emphasising their richness in essential micronutrients and fatty acids, and their potential to address nutritional challenges on a global scale. This could be a growing market for tilapia producers.

Improved welfare — central to tilapia’s success

Being easy to produce, tilapia is a popular choice with farmers around the world, and we’re seeing increasing evidence these producers are looking to improve welfare on their farms. Implementing better practices not only improves fish well-being but represents a more ethical and informed approach to sustainable food production.

Consumers want to know more about how their food is produced and supply chain players are making greater demands of producers, so helping tilapia farmers focus on welfare as the route to elevating their product’s standing could be central to its success.

Taking a bottom-up approach

FAI’s industry-leading, bottom-up approach to welfare empowers farmers to make meaningful change. We offer multi-lingual online training through FAI Academy, face-to-face workshops and practical tools, such as the Tilapia Welfare App. The combination of these has already positively impacted a significant proportion of annual tilapia production at different life stages, from hatchery to slaughter, including 26% in Brazil, 30% in Honduras and 10% in Egypt.

We promote welfare as an integral part of farm operations, not just a requirement of compliance. An important component of fish health, product quality and optimised production, improving welfare creates value throughout the supply chain.

If we can recognise tilapia not as a fallback protein source, but as a versatile, affordable and increasingly welfare-compliant nutritional powerhouse, it could become one of the defining foods of our time. The groundwork is in place. The demand is growing. The tools to improve welfare and quality are already in farmers' hands. Now it’s time to help give tilapia the reputation and the role it deserves.

To find out more about FAI’s work in tilapia welfare, visit our website or contact us on hello@faifarms2025.twdemos.co.uk.