Amphilophus species discoveries in EL NUEVO DIARIO

The endemic fishes of Laguna de Apoyo have hit the news again. The Nicaraguan newspaper El Nuevo Diario has published as a feature article a review of the recent scientific advances regarding Amphilophus species, including the first public announcement of the discovery of Amphilophus globosus and Amphilophus supercilius, and the first comprehensive treatment of the phylogenetic origins of the Amphilophus species throughout its range in Nicaragua. The fishes of this species complex merit strong, clear measures for their protection, given the small and localized populations and the dramatic increase in threats to Nicaragua's watersheds by urbanization, chemical agriculture, species introductions and poor land management practices including deforestation. The only species of this complex that has had its conservation status analyzed, Amphilophus zaliosus, has been categorized as Critically Endangered, which is the category of most severe risks with a wild population still existing. The next category is Extinct in the Wild. Even more disconcerting, there are other newly described species in Laguna de Apoyo which are more rare than A. zaliosus.
Please consider the conservation of these species as among the most important challenges for nature facing Nicaragua. Please help us protect the fishes of Laguna de Apoyo and throughout Nicaragua by volunteering with us or making a contribution to FUNDECI/GAIA. Your contribution helps us to maintain SCUBA diving equipment for this work.

29 de mayo del 2011  END

Mojarras de Apoyo a Museo Smithsonian

Jeffrey McCrary* | Especiales

Pareja de la mojarra pequeña (Amphilophus astorquii) cuida sus crías en la Laguna de Apoyo. Adrianus Konings / END

El mundo de la ciencia es muchas veces inaccesible a los meros mortales, por su jerga lacónica y aburridamente detallada, y por su dependencia en formalidades y en conocimientos tan especializados que al final, un evento o conocimiento nuevo puede pasar inadvertido completamente por el público. Lo mismo ha pasado con los recientes acontecimientos sobre un tema meramente nicaragüense, nuestra mojarra común (Amphilophus spp). Hay muchos conocimientos nuevos sobre la mojarra, o mejor dicho, las mojarras, peces meramente nicaragüenses, y a continuación lo resumo.
Ya sabemos que las mojarras son muchas (y no una), podría haber docenas de especies, de las cuales conocemos muy pocas hasta la fecha. Se parecen bastante todas las especies, por lo cual se ha discutido entre científicos cuántas distintas habría en este grupo. El norteamericano George Barlow (q.e.p.d.) descubrió la mojarra flecha (Amphilophus zaliosus) en 1976, así pudo comprobar que hay distintas especies de mojarras con diferencias medibles entre ellas. Como su apodo en español sugiere, este pez es relativamente alargado, en comparación con las otras mojarras que ocupan su mismo hábitat, la Laguna de Apoyo.
Durante el último año, la Unión Mundial para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (con siglas IUCN) evaluó el estado de conservación de la mojarra flecha. La ubicaron en la categoría “Peligro Crítico”, es decir, próxima a extinguirse. Las razones por las cuales se les consideró con tanto riesgo de extinguirse son, entre otras, su estrecho hábitat de solamente cuatro kilómetros de diámetro, y la limitada población estimada sobre la base de un análisis poblacional de la especie, publicada en la Revista Nicaragüense de la Biodiversidad y de la Conservación en 2008. Solo el 5% de los 2,431 nidos monitoreados por nuestro grupo de investigación en la Laguna de Apoyo fueron de esta especie.
También, durante 2010, se publicaron las descripciones oficiales de dos especies más de las mojarras que ocupan la Laguna de Apoyo. Amphilophus supercilius, o la mojarra cejada, recibió su nombre por su aspecto de rostro fruncido. En publicaciones anteriores, se refería a esta especie como Amphilophus ‘barlow’, pero por razones de reglas de nomenclatura científica, el estimado Dr. Barlow no pudo ser conmemorado con el nombre oficial del pez.

La mojarra barrigona
También se publicó la descripción de la mojarra barrigona, Amphilophus globosus, apodada por su abdomen sobresaliente. Esta especie tiene fondo de color amarillo teñido con dos prominentes manchas laterales que se aumentan hasta a ocho cuando está en su ciclo reproductivo. El documento oficial se publicó en Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, una revista relacionada con el Museo Smithsonian, en la capital de los Estados Unidos, con los autores Matthias Geiger, de la Colección Zoológica del Estado de Bayer en Munich; Jay R. Stauffer Jr., de la Universidad Estatal de Pennsylvania, y yo.
El descubrimiento oficial de estos dos peces brinda a la Laguna de Apoyo un total de seis especies de mojarras habitantes. En nuestros extensivos muestreos por todo el rango natural de la mojarra, no hemos encontrado peces iguales a los de la Laguna de Apoyo en ningún otro sitio. Y ahora, tenemos información genética que comprueba que este grupo de peces solo se encuentra en este lugar.
En un estudio publicado en 2010 en la revista Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, demostramos que todas las especies de mojarras encontradas en la Laguna de Apoyo son distintas a las descubiertas en otras aguas. Este último estudio se realizó en colaboración con Matthias Geiger y Ulrich Schliewen, de la Colección Zoológica del Estado de Bayer, en Alemania.
Los colegas Marta Barluenga y Axel Meyer, de la Universidad de Konstanz, en Alemania, encontraron resultados similares en un estudio genético publicado en la revista BMC Evolutionary Biology, el año pasado. Mientras en nuestro estudio se manifestaron siete diferentes trayectorias evolutivas aisladas, principalmente en diferentes lagunas cratéricas, este estudio más reciente manifiesta ocho.
Los resultados de ambos estudios genéticos apoyan la hipótesis de que la mojarra se originó en los lagos nicaragüenses, y luego colonizó las lagunas cratéricas, donde cada población aislada evolucionó un complemento distinto de especies de mojarras tras el paso de tiempo.

Estrategia contra depredadores
En una colaboración con Axel Meyer y Topi Lehtonen, estudiamos cómo algunas mojarras protegen a sus crías de depredadores potenciales. En una publicación en la revista Behavioural Processes, presentamos que la mojarra flecha manifiesta el llamado efecto “querido enemigo”, es decir, los padres ajustan su agresividad contra individuos de otras especies según el estado reproductivo reflejado en su coloración.
La mojarra flecha asigna el riesgo a cada individuo de los potenciales depredadores, dando riesgo bajo a los que tienen coloración reproductiva, y riesgo alto a los que no tienen la coloración reproductiva, reflejado en su agresividad contra cada uno. Este reconocimiento permite a la mojarra flecha economizar su uso de energía en la defensa de sus crías, aplicando más atención a los potenciales depredadores que presentan mayores riesgos.
Los estudios genéticos antes mencionados validan nuestra estrategia para distinguir las especies entre las mojarras. Nos basamos en observaciones subacuáticas directas mediante buceo con botellas de aire, estudios multivariados morfométricos de los peces, y estudios ecológicos.
El proceso de darle su nombre oficial a cada especie de mojarra encontrada en las aguas de Nicaragua es lento y tedioso, pero es necesario para asegurar su protección. Necesitamos saber la identidad de cada especie, sus necesidades ecológicas, su rango natural y su población total, para poder asegurar la continuada protección de cada especie en su hábitat natural. Sin embargo, nos falta muchísima información.
Nombres oficiales se han dado a tan solo 11 especies de mojarras, donde estamos más seguros que nunca de la existencia de unas 30 especies o más, en la cuenca del Río San Juan. De las 11 especies descritas, solo la mojarra flecha goza de un análisis de su estado de conservación de parte de la UICN. De las especies recientemente descritas, al menos cuatro más se encuentran en condiciones de mayor peligro que la mojarra flecha, con menores estimadas poblaciones, así podríamos anticipar la posible ubicación de varias especies más de este grupo en ”peligro crítico” en la próxima ronda de evaluación de la UICN.
La protección de estas especies se basa, principalmente, en la protección de su hábitat, lo que abarca ocho lagunas cratéricas. Tenemos la obligación de entregar estas lagunas a los hijos y nietos en buen estado natural, y es tiempo para acciones claras y severas.
Son hábitats muy sensibles a alteraciones humanas, lo cual ya se ha comprobado por los desastres modernos en las lagunas de Masaya, Nejapa y Tiscapa. ¿Cuántas especies de mojarras se extinguieron en los sucesos en estas lagunas? No sabemos. ¿Cuántas más tienen que extinguirse?
Amerita mencionar en nuestro trabajo en Fundeci/GAIA las colaboraciones, las cuales incluyen a estudiantes de la UNAN-Managua y de la UNAN-León, al Centro de Biología Molecular de la UCA, al Marena, y a muchísimos voluntarios de diversos países dispuestos a laborar con nosotros en este esfuerzo.
Como se puede apreciar arriba, las mojarras ya son tema de interés entre científicos de todo el mundo. Pero Nicaragua no debe contar con los científicos extranjeros para velar por el patrimonio nacional. La sociedad civil y el gobierno deben ejercer un papel beligerante en la protección y uso sostenible de estos peces.

 *Director de Programa, Fundeci/GAIA
apoyo@gaianicaragua.org

Click on the "escudo" to contact us.

The Mango II

The mango (Mangifera indica) season is full on at Estacion Biologica. It happens twice each year in Nicaragua. The tree above us is dropping about four ripe mangoes onto the roof every hour, including the hours I would prefer to sleep.
Mangos are excellent sources of vitamins A (25% of daily recommendation) and C (76% of daily recommendation), and supplies 25% of the recommended daily fiber in a single 1-cup serving (see here for more information).
Mangos are also great because they are easily grown without pesticides. The mangos in the US supermarkets might be heavily sprayed (be sure to check), but with reasonable cultivation practices, it is just not necessary (see here for more on organic foods). We have a couple of mango trees and we never spray or chemically treat them. Our mangos might not be picture perfect, but they are delicious.

Nicaragua has taught me to enjoy them to the maximum when mangos are abundant. Later, none are to be had. So, it's peeled mangos, sliced mangos (for breakfast), mango juice (for lunch), peeled mangos (any time), mango smoothies, mango tea, mango jam, mango and rum (!), and of course, mango pastries.

Patricia prepares an awesome mango pie. Foto by Jeffrey McCrary.

These mango pieces got a cup of yogurt and then bake time. Photo by Jeffrey McCrary.

Patricia pulls the mango tart out of the oven as Wyatt pulls a paparazzi. Photo by Jeffrey McCrary.

You might get the idea from these pictures that the pie was delicious. It didn't last long. Mangos combine excellently with yogurt, no sugar is necessary. We have also tried mango cake. Our volunteers Lu and Wyatt did an awesome job! Except that Wyatt wanted to eat it straight from the dish.

Lu narrowly escapes a direct mouth attack on her mango cake by Wyatt. Photo by Jeffrey McCrary.

Our volunteer Lu ponders her mango creation. Photo by Jeffrey McCrary.

A fabulously shaped mango loaf. Photo by Jeffrey McCrary.

Smiles suggest cooking success. More mango cake, please! Photo by Jeffrey McCrary.

Everybody likes mangos!

Our mangos are 100% organic-no pesticides ever-and tree-ripened. Come on down and eat some with us! 

Click on the "escudo" to contact us.

Fish is the Most Confusing Topic Ever, Says One

Diverse commentaries have erupted over tilapia in the cyberdebates this month. The New York Times cited Jeffrey McCrary from FUNDECI/GAIA in a report on the health and environmental aspects of tilapia aquaculture: The Other Side of Tilapia, the Perfect Factory Fish, and many responses followed. So you thought you had a system that allowed you to calculate and balance your fish purchases between the issues of taste, cost, sustainability, and health. We agree that we have more to learn to fish wild stocks sustainably, and that fish farming can be just plain unhealthy. The bottom line is that tilapia, when grown outside the purview of the EPA in places like Central America and China, are probably bad for the environment. And no matter where they are grown, they are not nearly as nutritious as wild-caught fish. Sounds simple?

Just when you think you know, Alexandra Zissu tells us:

What You Don’t Know: Fish Is The Most Confusing Topic Ever

• May 10, 2011 10:03 am

Recently there has been a lot of chatter in the news about the safety of our seafood.  Some of the growing concern is due to the nuclear disaster in Japan – how is radiation effecting what we’re eating?  As reported in The New York Times, the esteemed Le Bernardin chef Eric Ripert has outfitted his kitchen with a radiation detector (!).  That said, Bloomberg Businessweek reports that spokespeople from the FDA say there is no realistic threat to Northern Pacific fish.
It’s hard to know what to do with such wildly disparate information, except not eat wild fish until we know more.
I realize this flies in the face of what I suggested in The Conscious Kitchen: that the best fish to eat is well-caught and wild, despite the fact that our waterways are the runoff for every single thing we have done wrong, environmentally speaking.
Unfortunately farmed isn’t a choice to turn to in tough times. The New York Times just reported on the factory farming of tilapia, nicknamed “aquatic chicken” because it “breeds easily and tastes bland.” Not very enticing. These fish are factory farmed–just like their feathered bretheren–and gain weight easily from their largely corn and soy based diets. That corn and soy is usually heavily sprayed and often genetically modified. If fish aren’t eating the aquatic plants they should, their nutritional value to us human predators diminishes rapidly.  “A portion of tilapia has 135 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids, a portion of salmon has over 2,000 milligrams.”  Hmmm. What’s the point?
These issues are deeply confusing, even upsetting. As environmental issues–and oil gushing into places like the Gulf–come up, as species are overfished, then (somewhat) replenished, as changes happen, my approach changes. I start by eating what I said I eat in The Conscious Kitchen: well caught wild that I’ve double checked with a group that tracks contaminants in seafood is still my first choice if and when I want to eat fish (which, admittedly, isn’t often). I always stay informed and talk to my fishmonger, and suggest you do, too.
A few thoughts on purchasing fish from The Conscious Kitchen:
WILD
The main environmental issues for wild seafood, ocean or fresh-water, are sustainability and harvesting methods (how the fish was caught).  A number of species are currently drastically overfished – cod has long been the poster child of a depleted fish, so much so that there have been cod fishing bans from the Northwest Atlantic to the Baltic Sea.  Sharks, bluefin tuna, and many kinds of West Coast rockfish also are overfished, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch.  What’s been depleted can sometimes be renewed, so check online for the latest information.  With regard to how fish are being caught, some methods are environmentally friendlier than others.  To learn more about these, go to FishOnline.org/information/methods.
FARMED
The main environmental issues for farmed fish and seafood – pollution and sustainability – are tightly linked to personal health concerns.  Many fish farms, domestic and abroad, use feed that’s similar to the gunk that factory-farmed animals are fed, including antibiotics and hormones, plus dyes (this is what makes farmed salmon as pink as its wild counterpart), and other undesirable additives.  In 2009, a neurologist from the University of Louisville issued a warning in a paper published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease saying that farmed fish that were fed cow by-products could even be at risk for mad cow disease.
Some farmed seafood is actually fed wild, sometimes overfished fish.  Ironic.  This further depletes the waterways and makes the finished product high in environmental toxins like PCBs.  There are even well-meaning farmers attempting to raise so called “organic” shrimp who also raise purer farmed fish to feed their purer farmed shrimp.  That sounds like an unanswerable riddle for the carbon footprint crunchers!
Another Tip:
When you’re in front of a fish counter or looking at a restaurant menu, if you don’t have a safe seafood card in your wallet, whip out your phone!  Text the Blue Ocean Institute‘s handy Fish-Phone – 30644 – with the word “fish” and the species you’re looking to get information on, and they text you right back with environmental and health information, giving your choices a Red, Yellow, or Green light.

Click on the "escudo" to contact us.

New bird records in Nicaragua

Most birdwatchers who visit Nicaragua complain of the lack of resources available for birdwatching and nature tourism in the country. In part, the issue is that relatively little has been done to document our wildlife here. Our bird research team at Estacion Biologica FUNDECI/GAIA is working on that: we have made the first records of some 25 bird species in Nicaragua (see the final paragraph of this entry for links to the articles). This country is obviously still under-researched, and many more species await the careful observer. Several of those first in-country records came from our observations in Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve. At Estacion Biologica, we are helping to fill the knowledge gaps through study of bird populations using two methodologies: point counts, and mist netting. The latter approach is far more labor intensive but among the benefits of its use is the opportunity to appreciate a bird "in the hand". Below are a few photos from a recent mist-netting expedition.

The Long-tailed Manakin (Chiroxiphia linearis) male is stunningly beautiful. This male is still in the mist net, made of fine nylon threads which are stretchable to facilitate bird removal. More than fifty birds of this species were captured during the May 2011 mist netting activity. Photo by Lukas Betthauser.

Marlene Kroner, a DED volunteer, performs the tedious task of data entry. Several observations and measurements are made on each bird before releasing it into the wild again. Photo by Lukas Betthausen.

Each mist netting activity involves three or four days in the field. During the dry season, hammocks are extremely comfortable for sleeping and for a midday nap. Photo by Lukas Betthausen.

The head of a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) glimmers. Photo by Lukas Betthausen.

A female Long-tailed Manakin (Chiroxiphia linearis) is quite drab in comparison to the adult male. Photo by Lukas Betthausen.

Among the spectacular birds of the forests of Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve is the Elegant Trogon (Trogon elegans). The bird is quite docile in the hand in spite of its large size. Photo by Lukas Betthausen.

Female and immature birds are often drab and even camouflaged in comparison to their male counterparts. This Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) female has a beautiful green color on its upperparts but it does not compare to the male. Photo by Lukas Betthausen.   

Red feathers can be seen among the yellow breast, suggesting this Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) is not a female, but rather, an immature male. Photo by Lukas Betthausen.

This Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) must be an immature male, as its red breast feathers have begun to come in. Photo by Lukas Betthausen.  

Some of the first records of bird species registered by our team are found in publications in the journal Cotinga, to find the articles click on Cotinga (2008), and Cotinga (2009). We are grateful for the support received in this work by DED, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and several other individuals and organizations mentioned in the articles.

Our research on birds is helping to protect the wildlife habitats of Nicaragua. Our research group is the most-published of any in the country, and we are leading the way among conservation professionals in identifying needs and presenting solutions. Our research and conservation activities are directly supported by the Laguna de Apoyo Spanish School. By studying Spanish with the school, you help support the wild nature of Nicaragua.

Would you like to help us with bird monitoring? We are seeking volunteers. Please let us know if you would like to participate. We have projects appropriate for volunteers without any specific qualification, as well as students and researchers in the biological and environmental sciences. We are happy to go birdwatching with you if you would like a skilled companion, too. Whether as a volunteer, donor, researcher, or birdwatcher, your participation helps us learn about and protect the birds of Nicaragua.

Click on the "escudo" to contact us.

Chicken of the Pond

Another article was published in the aquaculture sector, this time at Aquaculture Hub. I was surprised by the positive spin given the New York Times report by this journalist. Tilapia is not only an invastive species in Nicaragua which has wrecked natural habitats for many native species; now we learn that tilapia grown by aquaculture is not that nutritious, according to the recent, cited report. Nonetheless, there are defenders, as the author of the article reproduced below. Environmental impacts caused by tilapia when introduced into new areas are clear, but some people don´t consider this a priority.  Read it all, think about it carefully, and make your own decisions.

Tilapia--the New Chicken

• Posted by Barbara McLain on May 2, 2011 at 4:11pm

I love it when aquaculture gets some mainstream press and today, the New York Times featured an article by Elizabeth Rosenthall, describing tilapia as the perfect factory fish.  We like that here on the hub, although Iʻm not so sure sheʻs correct on her facts about fatty acids?  (Hey hub scientists...somebody please read her article at this link and doublecheck her fatty facts, ok?)


In short...the article says:

...Americans ate 475 million pounds of tilapia last year, four times the amount a decade ago, making this once obscure African native the most popular farmed fish in the United States. Although wild fish predominate in most species, a vast majority of the tilapia consumed in the United States is “harvested” from pens or cages in Latin America and Asia. Known in the food business as “aquatic chicken” because it breeds easily and tastes bland, tilapia is the perfect factory fish; it happily eats pellets made largely of corn and soy and gains weight rapidly, easily converting a diet that resembles cheap chicken feed into low-cost seafood.

I would love to see some fast-food restaurants adopt tilapia for sandwich offerings, over their current use of pollock and cod.  McTilapia anyone?  KFT = Kentucky Fried Tilapia?  Sounds yummy to me, so yʻall keep plugging away out there building up your fish stocks and reducing your fish feed dependence, so that we can give those farmed chickens a rest.

Click on the "escudo" to contact us.

Dissent from the seafood sector: Tilapia aquaculture

The article repeated below and two letters were published in About Seafood. The environmental and nutritional aspects of tilapia farming have come under much scrutiny lately. Much of the research on the environmental aspects of the tilapia business has been conducted in Nicaragua, where tilapia farming occurs using cages in natural lakes. Now that the New York Times has added its voice to the issue, the debate has intensified. As can be expected, the seafood industry spokespeople may defend the tilapia farming business vigorously, although as is noted in the response letter by the New York Times editorial staff below, the arguments given by the tilapia farming business proponents were anticipated and had been dealt with in the original article.

Farmed tilapia is nutritionally inferior to most wild-caught fish, and the tilapia farming business standards, especially in farms outside the US, create huge environmental damage. The article below does not successfully contest either fact. Consumers have a right to know, and unfortunately, the fish farming industry is not prepared to inform the consumers. The article below demonstrates that some sectors of the seafood industry are not ready to talk clearly to the consumers.

Times Misses the Boat with Tilapia Tale

From a past encounter with the New York Times, one that ended with a correction from the Times and a rebuke by the paper’s ombudsman, we know that the Old Grey Lady ain’t what she used to be. But I’m not sure she’s changed for the better.
Recently we brought some salient points up about the failure of the Times to abide by its own journalistic standards when producing its most recent report on fish—this time tilapia. And we heard back from an editor who, where’re not sure actually read our letter. Keep in mind her response is that she believes all of our points were “well represented” after when we just spent 700 words outline the clear, demonstrable lack of representation found in the article.
The dismissive, blind defense of the Times editorial process is one perhaps Jayson Blair himself would be proud of. Watch this space for more on our interaction with the Times and feel free to read our letter below and the editor’s response.
May 2, 2011
Jill Abramson
Managing Editor
New York Times
VIA Email
Dear Ms. Abramson,
We would like to bring to your attention several breaches in journalism standards contained in an article today by Elisabeth Rosenthal [Another Side of Tilapia, the Perfect Factory Fish].
In paragraph #7, Ms. Rosenthal claims tilapia “contains a less healthful mix of fatty acids because the fish are fed corn and soy instead of lake plants and algae, the diet of wild tilapia.”  Ms. Rosenthal was made aware by NFI dietitian, Jennifer McGuire, MS, RD, that the American Heart Association (AHA) “concludes that omega-6 fatty acids – found in some vegetable oils, nuts and seeds – are a beneficial part of a heart-healthy eating plan.”  She ignored both Ms. McGuire’s and AHA’s expertise.
In paragraph #8, Rosenthal cites Dr. Floyd Chilton, a professor of physiology and pharmacology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, as a source that claims tilapia “may be detrimental.” Ms. Rosenthal was made aware by me and Ms. McGuire that Dr. Chilton’s public statements about the healthfulness of tilapia have in the past led to reports that bacon, hamburgers, and doughnuts are a better choice than certain fish and his communications on this issue have been rebuked by the medical community as potentially damaging to public health
In response to confusing media reports about Chilton’s perspective in 2008, an international coalition of more than a dozen doctors spoke out to clarify that fish like tilapia are low in total and saturated fat, high in protein and clearly part of a healthy diet.  In explaining the specifics of different types of fat, the researchers note (consistent with AHA) that omega-6s are not only found in fish like tilapia, but vegetable oils, nuts, whole-wheat bread and chicken. The coalition, that even included another expert from Wake Forest University itself, said unequivocally that while lean fish are not rich in omega-3 fatty acids, fish like catfish and tilapia, “should be considered better choices than most other meat alternatives” and, in addition to eating oily fish, “our omega-3 needs can also be met by eating less-oily (lower-fat) fish more often.”  Ms. Rosenthal simply uses Dr. Chilton as an “expert” and ignores his past transgressions in the media that a long list of credible health organizations and independent researchers have spoken out against.
In paragraphs 10 and 11 Ms. Rosenthal explains the inspection and certification efforts of the WWF’s Aquaculture Stewardship Council. She also mentions the appeal of certified aquaculture facilities to “large corporate customers like Costco.” She describes the program’s “growing popularity.” But she omits facts the National Fisheries Institute brought to her attention that inspection and certification has been ongoing for years and the World’s largest retailer Wal Mart and the country’s largest grocer Kroger both already only carry aquaculture products that are certified by the Global Aquaculture Alliance.
Readers are given the impression that aquaculture certification is a new and growing trend. While it is growing, it’s been around for years and major companies have long endorsed it.  The WWF’s Aquaculture Stewardship Council may be new but the added food safety and sustainability aspects of such certification are not new at all.
In paragraph 23 “many biologists” are reported to be worrying about tilapia farming leaving lakes dead and species extinct. However, only one is quoted. I can’t help but wonder how many were contacted for the article. In the case of the afore mentioned Dr. Chilton we provided 16 voices that stood in contrast to his often found hyperbole but  none were used to counter him.
Paragraph 34 notes that the Mayo Clinic advises patients that tilapia and catfish, “don’t appear to be as heart-healthy” as other fish. In our contacts with Ms. Rosenthal, prior to publication, we actually provided her with a statement from Mayo Clinic dietitians who said specifically of the tilapia debacle in 2008, “I'm going to continue to eat fish — at least twice weekly. I'm going to choose a variety of fatty fish — including tilapia and catfish along with others especially high in the good fats such as salmon, tuna and mackerel.” This clear endorsement of tilapia by the Mayo Clinic was reiterated by registered dietitian Jennifer McGuire and is not reflected in the article.
We look forward to your review of this report.
Sincerely,
Gavin Gibbons
National Fisheries Institute
CC:         John Geddes
Managing Editor
Jim Roberts
Assistant Managing Editor
Gerald Marzorati
Assistant Managing Editor
Philip Corbett
Associate Managing Editor
Greg Brock
Senior Editor
Dana Canedy
Senior Editor
Arthur Brisbane
Public Editor
From: Keenan, Sandra [mailto:**************]
Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2011 9:39 AM
To: Gavin Gibbons
Subject: tilapia farming
Dear Mr. Gibbons,
Thank you for the input on the tilapia farming story. With a careful reading, you will find that all the points you make about tilapia and the industry are well represented in Ms. Rosenthal's balanced, measured and expertly sourced piece.
Please let me know if you would like to discuss this further.
Best,
Sandy Keenan
environment editor/The New York Times

Click on the "escudo" to contact us.

Still more on tilapia

Here are a couple of recent posts on the tilapia issue. Food editors have taken note, the world over, that farmed tilapia may not be a good thing for their plates and restaurants.  Please take a look and vote with your pocketbook!

From the Riverfront Times

Tilapia: You Can't Spell Bland Without Bad

By Ian Froeb, Mon., May 2 2011 at 2:00 PM

Historical Curiosity Update: (Monday, May 2, 3:30 p.m.) This article was slated to be on the front page of today's New York Times until the death of Osama Bin Laden caused someone to -- literally! -- shout, "Stop the presses!"
---
And here I thought the problem with tilapia is that it tastes like nothing.

Well, make that two problems: It tastes like nothing, and restaurants mark it up like a bottle of supermarket wine. Though, really, if you order overpriced tilapia in a restaurant, that's your fault, not the fish's. 

At any rate: Today, the New York Times drops a fascinating and troubling look at tilapia as a farmed fish and a food product.

First, if you think tilapia is a cheaper way to get the fatty acids that make fish heart-healthy and, thus, doctor-recommended, think again:

Compared with other fish, farmed tilapia contains relatively small amounts of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, the fish oils that are the main reasons doctors recommend eating fish frequently.... Also, farmed tilapia contains a less healthful mix of fatty acids because the fish are fed corn and soy instead of lake plants and algae, the diet of wild tilapia.

OK, so it's not as nutritious as you think. But at least it's sustainable, right?

Let's take a little trip to Nicaragua.

...Dr. Salvador Montenegro, director of Nicaragua's Center for Aquatic Resource Investigation, has spent a decade fighting to close the much larger Nicanor tilapia farm in a remote corner of Lake Nicaragua. "This kind of intensive fish farming jeopardizes a lake that is a national treasure, already under stress from pollution," he said, once comparing its effect to allowing 3.7 million chickens to defecate in the water.

You really should read the entire article, which details the nascent effort to introduce better environmental protections to the tilapia-farming industry in Latin America and also goes into much greater depth about the health benefits (or relative lack thereof) of eating tilapia.

It should also be noted, as the article does, that while "fresh" tilapia comes to the United States mainly from aquatic farms in Latin America, the vast majority of tilapia that we eat is frozen fish from China. Indeed, in one of the article's most telling details, much of the tilapia available in stores near the fish farms in Nicaragua is frozen tilapia from China.

The article also contains the single most pointed quote about factory farming that I've ever read:

"Nature is for maintaining species; what we do is make fillets,"

Also, there is the nugget that scholars believe the fish in the story of Jesus feeding the multitude loaves and fishes was tilapia. I hope, for their sake, one of the multitude had some lemon-garlic butter handy.

________________________________________________________________________

Here is one from Table Hopping, the food and dining column for Timesunion.

Criticism of farmed tilapia mounts

May 3, 2011 at 10:39 am by Steve Barnes, senior writer

Tilapia is surging in popularity, with American consumption up fourfold over 10 years ago, but experts say it’s bad for the environment and lacks many of the health benefits of other fish, according to a long piece in the New York Times (overview and link here). Short version:

Compared with other fish, farmed tilapia contains relatively small amounts of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, the fish oils that are the main reasons doctors recommend eating fish frequently; salmon has more than 10 times the amount of tilapia. Also, farmed tilapia contains a less healthful mix of fatty acids because the fish are fed corn and soy instead of lake plants and algae, the diet of wild tilapia.Environmentalists argue that intensive and unregulated tilapia farming is damaging ecosystems in poor countries with practices generally prohibited in the United States — like breeding huge numbers of fish in cages in natural lakes, where fish waste pollutes the water. “We wouldn’t allow tilapia to be farmed in the United States the way they are farmed here, so why are we willing to eat them?” said Dr. Jeffrey McCrary, an American fish biologist who works in Nicaragua. “We are exporting the environmental damage caused by our appetites.”

At right is a tilapia farm in Honduras.

Click on the "escudo" to contact us.

Two more votes against farmed tilapia

Elisabeth Rosenthal's report on the nutritional and environmental aspects of farmed tilapia has spawned dozens of internet responses. We present two more. This essay was published at the blog Organic Authority.

Tilapia: Unhealthy Factory-Farmed ‘Chicken of the Lake’

May 4th, 2011 - Jill Ettinger

As overfishing continues to plague oceans, lakes and rivers around the world, the resulting fish farm aquaculture industry is devastating those already fragile ecosystems and may also be producing considerably less healthy animals than wild caught fish, offering fewer dietary benefits for humans.
In a NY Times article published earlier this week, Elisabeth Rosenthal digs into the tilapia industry—a fish few people had heard of ten years ago. Rosenthal writes that just last year, “more than 52 million pounds of fresh tilapia were exported to the United States, mostly from Latin America, as well as 422 million more pounds of frozen tilapia, both whole and fillet, nearly all from China, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.” Only 5 percent of tilapia consumed in America is raised in this country.
Environmentalists such as Captain Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd and star of Animal Planet’s Whale Wars, argue that most of the self regulated “eco” or “sustainable” fishing and aquaculture farming, like those commonly used for raising tilapia, are heavily destructive, damaging vital ecosystems by using practices the U.S. would not allow within its borders. The extent of the damage to Lake Apoyo in Nicaragua from one relatively small cage had the effects of 3.7 million chickens defecating in the water, according to Rosenthal’s article.
When fish is recommended in place of chicken, pork or beef, it’s often for the Omega-3 fatty acids. But in comparison to other fish, tilapia contains significantly lower levels. Salmon contains more than 10 times the Omega-3 fat content than tilapia. This occurs largely due to the unnatural diet fed to the tilapia—corn and soy, which also happen to be two of the most common genetically modified seeds.
___________________________________________________________________________________

Another blog, CL Atlanta, was equally fierce, for somewhat different reasons.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Food & Life

Why are you eating that tilapia?

I've mentioned pretty frequently that I don't like tilapia. To my taste, it's the tofu of the animal world, not much better than a sop for other flavors. In fact, I like its texture less than tofu. It reminds me of the mysterious white stuff in the "fish sticks" I ate every Friday in school cafeterias.

I remember when food suppliers began aggressively marketing tilapia. A friend reported going to a trade show at the time and hearing someone promote the fish as if it were a sideshow freak. "No fish has the shelf life of tilapia!" a supplier told him. "It's truly the wonder fish."
I don't dispute that the fish is an excellent source of protein and that its low cost makes it an efficient addition to diets. It's called "aquatic chicken," co-opting the rep of the canned tuna known as Chicken of the Sea.
It turns out that tilapia is not as healthy as we've thought — not for consumers and not for the environment. The New York Times recently published an article titled "Another Side of Tilapia, the Perfect Factory Fish" that describes the fish's reality.
There's this:

Compared with other fish, farmed tilapia contains relatively small amounts of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, the fish oils that are the main reasons doctors recommend eating fish frequently; salmon has more than 10 times the amount of tilapia. Also, farmed tilapia contains a less healthful mix of fatty acids because the fish are fed corn and soy instead of lake plants and algae, the diet of wild tilapia.
“It may look like fish and taste like fish but does not have the benefits — it may be detrimental,” said Dr. Floyd Chilton, a professor of physiology and pharmacology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center who specializes in fish lipids.

And then there's this:

Environmentalists argue that intensive and unregulated tilapia farming is damaging ecosystems in poor countries with practices generally prohibited in the United States — like breeding huge numbers of fish in cages in natural lakes, where fish waste pollutes the water. “We wouldn’t allow tilapia to be farmed in the United States the way they are farmed here, so why are we willing to eat them?” said Dr. Jeffrey McCrary, an American fish biologist who works in Nicaragua. “We are exporting the environmental damage caused by our appetites.”

The author of the article, Elizabeth Rosenthal, followed up the story the next day with a blog entry detailing the actual origins and treatment of those pretty fresh tilapia filets you see in the market:

If you ask about the provenance of tilapia at your own market, you may discover what I did: that it was previously frozen and then thawed and put on display among fresh fish. And it was farmed in China.
How can it look so good after that kind of journey? Much of the tilapia farmed in China is frozen and then treated with carbon monoxide, a gas that prevents meat and seafood from discoloring as it ages. When it is thawed, it looks like new.

Click on the "escudo" to contact us.

Tilapia: Counterpoint

The Atlantic has already offered a response to Elisabeth Rosenthal's "Another Side to Tilapia, the Perfect Factory Fish", published in the New York Times. To see the digital version, click here. Ms. York points out correctly in the article that "tilapia can be raised responsibly", but what she glosses over, is that it is usually produced irresponsibly. While China is notorious for using improper food production methods in diverse products, Central America is by no means immune to the temptations to conduct unethical aquaculture practices, as Rosenthal documented. Our experience in Nicaragua has been disastrous, and we suspect that the Chinese aquaculture practices are even worse. This contribution to the tilapia aquaculture cyberdebate, nonetheless, points out that tilapia aquaculture will have a place in our future, although certainly many lessons on environmental damage and nutrition await us before we "get it right".

Helene York is the director of strategic initiatives for Bon-Appetit Management Company, a national onsite restaurant company based in Palo Alto, CA.

By Helene York
May 13 2011, 11:25 AM ET

Tilapia might be the fish that people most love to hate. But hormones and industrial feed are only part of the story—and if you're careful, there can be a lot to love.

Tilapia is the fish everybody loves to hate. Chefs hate it because it doesn't taste like fish. Locavores deride it because it's farmed in large, industrial pens and fed industrial soy meal. Nutritionistas shun it because it lacks the abundant omega-3 fatty acids with which they've come to associate fish.

But American consumers who eat fish love it. It has gone from unknown in the U.S. in the mid-1990s to the fifth most popular seafood we eat, after shrimp, canned tuna, salmon, and pollock (think fish sticks). The collapse of the Northeast cod fishery in the early 1990s created a massive gap in the supply of "whitefish," which farmed tilapia and wild pollock were quick to fill.

Guidelines are not a substitute for asking tough questions and holding seafood suppliers to high standards, especially for companies that have to identify large supplies months in advance.

Tilapia's popularity is due to many things—its affordability, mild flavor, and ubiquity. That ubiquity comes at a price, however. Elizabeth Rosenthal's May 2 story in The New York Times, "Another Side of Tilapia, the Perfect Factory Fish," spotlighted the damage that many intensive tilapia farms are doing to local ecosystems, especially in China, where the Seafood Watch rating dropped from a "good alternative" to "avoid" four years ago. China produces 89 percent of the 475 million pounds of tilapia that Americans consumed last year, Rosenthal reports.

Yet tilapia is no different than any other "crop." It can be raised responsibly and irresponsibly—including in China.

When Seafood Watch changed its rating on tilapia from yellow to red for the Chinese-grown tilapia, I remember uttering a word I can't publish and wondering what to do next. I can take or leave tilapia myself, but millions of college meals depend on an affordable supply of a fish that college students will actually eat. Because the more than 400 cafes run by the company I work for, Bon Appétit, are committed to following the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch guidelines, I couldn't ignore the change in status. Lots of our tilapia came from China.

We had a choice. We could source "green"-rated tilapia from Latin America, which was mostly delivered "fresh" by air freight, contradicting one of our core sustainability principles (because emissions of air shipping are 10 times worse than shipping frozen products), or try to encourage the development of a role model in China. Our supplier, a European company that owns farms in China, wanted to keep our business. So with the supplier's cooperation, we asked independent scientific advisers to evaluate their tilapia farms.

The evaluator reviewed our supplier's documentation and went to see the operations in China firsthand. There, he verified their claims and suggested some improvements they have since implemented. Unlike many new farming operations, our supplier has sited pens in water channels where the tilapia cannot escape and over-run native species, collects and disposes of fish waste properly to maintain stringent water-quality standards, and never administers antibiotics or hormones. (Among the disturbing facts in Rosenthal's piece was that baby tilapia are routinely fed testosterone.) And in the end, Seafood Watch agreed that this producer's operations met the criteria for a "good alternative," despite its countrywide "red" listing for Chinese tilapia.

Bon Appétit believes strongly that it is better for a large purchaser like us to help drive change and reward good producers than just to cherry-pick from the top producers. Seeking out a large supply of sustainable seafood is neither a simple endeavor nor a static one. The science-based recommendations offered by Seafood Watch and Blue Ocean Institute are an important starting point for us and for individual consumers, because they represent a snapshot of current knowledge about a moving target (just like the fish themselves). But they are not a substitute for asking tough questions and holding seafood suppliers to high standards, especially for companies that have to identify large supplies months in advance, rather than simply choose dinner off a restaurant menu.

Rosenthal also raised questions about the nutritional benefits of farmed tilapia. It's worth noting that while tilapia raised on grain-based feed may be less healthy than wild marine fish, tilapia is not an inherently "unhealthy" food—especially when compared to other grain-fed protein sources such as beef or pork. As Alice H. Lichtenstein, a professor of nutrition science and policy at Tufts University, pointed out in a response to Rosenthal's article:

The advantages of eating fish are many; unfortunately, fish consumption in the U.S., especially if you exclude breaded deep-fried fish, is extremely low. Fish offers heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and is low in calories and saturated fat. Tilapia happens to be lower in fat than some other fish, so it has less of all types of fatty acids. Tilapia is, however, more affordable than most other fish in the market today. Splitting hairs over whether one fish has less omega-3 fatty acids per serving than other types of fish when the total fat content is low seems to miss the point. Let's get people eating more fish, and then worry about fine-tuning either the fish's diet or our diet to edge up the omega-3 content.

I couldn't agree more. There's no arguing that fish such as sardines and wild salmon have nutritional qualities that are considered superior, but not everyone will eat "fishy" fish. (Most Americans, it seems, won't.) Bon Appétit serves 120 million meals a year. We have to please a lot of palates, so we offer a variety of protein choices that introduce new options to consumers who otherwise might opt for burgers and fries at every meal. So when tilapia is farmed responsibly, we all win.

Click on the "escudo" to contact us.

More on tilapia-en espanol

Para los que prefieren leerlo en espanol, aqui repetimos un recorte de un blog sobre desarrollo rural en Mexico, donde aparece el debate sobre la conflictiva tilapia. Este capitulo del debate se inicio con un articulo en el New York Times. Es interesante que este tema tome vuelo en un pais donde se ha sembrado tilapias en muchisimas aguas naturales. Para leer el blog, haga clic aqui.

 El Pez Global Tiene Lado Oscuro
14 Mayo 2011

ELISABETH ROSENTHAL. NEW YORK TIMES. Una historia bíblica muy conocida cuenta que Jesús alimentó a 5 mil personas con cinco panes y dos peces, los cuales, conjeturan los académicos, eran tilapias.

Sin embargo, en la granja de peces Aquafinca, en Agua Azul, un milagro moderno ocurre diariamente: decenas de miles de tilapias carnosas, aleteando al salir del agua, son sacadas de jaulas atestadas en el Lago de Yojoa, convertidas en filetes en un rastro frío y rápidamente llevadas a aviones con destino a Estados Unidos, donde algunas harán su aparición en platos en espacio de 12 horas.

Los estadounidenses comieron 215 millones de kilos de tilapia el año pasado, cuatro veces más que hace una década, lo que convierte a esta variedad nativa de África, antes poco conocida, en el pez de granja más popular en EU. Aunque los peces salvajes predominan en casi todas las especies, la enorme mayoría de la tilapia consumida es "cosechada" de corrales o jaulas en Latinoamérica y Asia.

Conocida en la industria alimenticia como "pollo acuático" porque se reproduce con facilidad y tiene un sabor insípido, la tilapia es el pez de granja perfecto; come con gusto bolitas cuyos ingredientes principales son maíz y soya, y engorda con rapidez, lo que convierte facilmente una dieta semejante a alimento barato para pollos en un marisco de bajo costo.

La tilapia de granja es promovida como buena para la salud y el medio ambiente, en un momento cuando muchas poblaciones marinas se han visto muy reducidas. Comparada con otros peces, sin embargo, la tilapia de granja contiene cantidades relativamente pequeñas de ácidos grasos omega-3, los aceites de pescado que son la principal razón por la que los médicos recomiendan comer pescado con frecuencia; el salmón contiene más de 10 veces la cantidad de omega-3 que la tilapia.

"Puede parecer pescado y saber a pescado, pero no tiene los beneficios; podría ser perjudicial", expresó Floyd Chilton, profesor de fisiología y farmacología en el Centro Médico Bautista de la Universidad Wake Forest, en Winston-Salem, Carolina del Norte. Los defensores de la acuicultura de tilapia señalan que esta industria joven y en rápido crecimiento ha empezado a mejorar sus estándares.

El Aquaculture Stewardship Council, creado por el organismo de conservación Fondo Mundial para la Naturaleza (WWF) e IDH, programa de comercio sustentable holandés, está en proceso de iniciar un programa de inspección para las granjas de tilapia. Las aprobadas recibirán etiquetas que identifican sus peces como "criados con responsabilidad".

Aquafinca se ha convertido en la primera en aprobar una inspección.

Nativa de los lagos africanos, la tilapia fue empleada en muchos países tropicales pobres en la segunda mitad del siglo 20 para controlar la maleza y los mosquitos.

Esa "tal vez no fue la mejor idea", dijo Aaron McNevin, biólogo del WWF quien trabaja en normas para las granjas de tilapia, porque "es una de las especies más invasivas conocidas y es muy difícil erradicarla una vez que está establecida".

Para los 90, los negocios vieron una oportunidad en la cría en granja de esta robusta especie. A través de la reproducción selectiva, los científicos crearon las variedades industriales de la actualidad: peces grandes y carnosos con cabezas y colas diminutas e intestinos que les permiten absorber los alimentos más rápido.

La tilapia de granja alcanza su peso de venta de alrededor de un kilo tras aproximadamente nueve meses de alimentación intensiva.

Para los consumidores que compran tilapia de China, Honduras o Ecuador, hay poca orientación.

"Es tan complicado para los consumidores decidir qué comer, ahora que la producción de la acuicultura está en tan rápida expansión", señaló Peter Bridson, gerente de investigación de la acuicultura del Acuario de la Bahía de Monterey, California.

El acuario produce la popular Seafood Watch, guía del consumidor independiente a cómo comprar pescado sustentable.

Por el momento, Seafood Watch califica la tilapia criada en EU como la "mejor opción", la de Latinoamérica como una "buena alternativa" y sobre la de China, dice que "debe evitarse". Bridson comentó que estos ratings aproximados se basaron, en gran medida, en la presencia de un monitoreo efectivo en esos sitios y en cómo se deshacían las granjas de sus desechos.

Sin embargo, a muchos biólogos les preocupa que el gran negocio de la cría de tilapia pese más que la cautela y deje lagos muertos y especies extintas.

Jeffrey McCrary, biólogo de peces, ha pasado la última década estudiando cómo una pequeña granja de tilapia de corta existencia degradó el Lago Apoyo en Nicaragua.

"Una pequeña jaula echó a perder el lago entero, ¡todo el lago!", dijo de la granja, que operó de 1995 al 2000.

Los desechos de las jaulas contaminaron el ecosistema, y algunas tilapias se escaparon. Una planta acuática llamada chara, alimento importante para los peces, desapareció y eso dejó al lago convertido en un páramo. Hoy en día, algunas especies de plantas y peces se recuperan lentamente, pero es probable que otras se hayan perdido para siempre, mencionó McCrary, quien trabaja para la fundación FUNDECI nicaragüense.

Salvador Montenegro, director del Centro para la Investigación en Recursos Acuáticos de Nicaragua, ha pasado una década en la lucha por cerrar la granja de tilapia Nicanor en el Lago de Nicaragua, porque, dijo: "pone en peligro un lago que es un tesoro nacional".

Los peces más débiles, como el róbalo arco iris, han empezado a desaparecer del lago.

Sin embargo, David Senna, gerente de Nicanor, aseguró que las jaulas empleadas por la compañía ocupan sólo una fracción minúscula del lago, en un área con corrientes lo suficientemente fuertes para llevarse los desechos de los peces.

Para los médicos, el debate se ha centrado en el valor nutritivo de la tilapia. Bruce Holub, profesor de ciencia nutricional en la Universidad de Guelph, en Ontario, dijo que la tilapia es una fuente de proteína y contiene algo de omega-3.

Sin embargo, a otros les preocupan las investigaciones que muestran que la cantidad de otro tipo de ácidos grasos, los omega-6, es mayor que los benéficos omega-3 en la tilapia de granja en una proporción de 2 a 1. Algunas investigaciones sugieren que dicha proporción incrementa el riesgo de cardiopatía.

Gran parte de la tilapia en los mercados mundiales proviene de China, cuyas granjas de peces son consideradas mal reguladas.

China exporta los peces congelados y empacados en monóxido de carbono para preservar su color y apariencia fresca cuando son descongelados para la venta al menudeo.

"La gente quería pagar alrededor de 8 dólares por kilo de este pescado congelado, en lugar de alrededor de 12 dólares por el fresco, especialmente durante la recesión", dijo Senna. Es por la mala regulación de las granjas chinas, señaló Bridson, que la industria necesita normas más claras.

Hasta entonces, el producto más barato ganará.

"Si tengo 100 tilapias en un estanque, puede que sean tilapias felices porque tienen espacio para nadar, pero no podré venderlas debido a que no tendré acceso al mercado global", expresó McCrary.

Blake Schmidt contribuyó con reportes desde Managua, Nicaragua.

Para contactarnos, haga clic en el escudo.