Preliminary Observations on the Marketability of Saltwater-Cultured Florida Red Tilapia in Puerto Rico

A preliminary assessment of the marketability of saltwatercultured Florida red tilapia was conducted at a farm outlet store and at nine restaurants in Puerto Rico. Florida red tilapia were grown in six 0.2-ha ponds at 22.7 ± 1.2 (mean ± SE) ppt salinity by a commercial aquaculture enterprise in Dorado, northeastern Puerto Rico. Customers purchased 4,683kg of dressed-out fish (gilled, gutted and scaled) at $7.70/kg and 826kg of whole fish at $6.60/kg from a retail outlet store located at the aquaculture farm, and nine restaurants purchased 1,071kg of dressed-out fish at wholesale prices ranging from $4.96 to $5.18/kg. Farm outlet customers and restaurants preferred dressed-out fish between 454–567g and 567–580g, respectively. Prices paid per serving by restaurant customers for red tilapia ($7.00–$25.00) were similar to that paid for silk snapper Lutjanus vivanus , a popular marine food fish in Puerto Rico. Market surveys of customers at these outlets showed that 75–81% of the respondents were new consumers of red tilapia and that they rated red tilapia highly in taste, texture, freshness, and presentation and equal to or better than silk snapper. There was no effect ( P > 0.05) of age group or economic level on consumer responses. Survey participants stressed the need for product promotion, including a more markehriented name that emphasized the red color and that it was farm-raised in saltwater, to distinguish it from darkcolored, wild-caught freshwater tilapia. Local saltwater production of Florida red tilapia could help supply the market demand for fresh, marine fish in Puerto Rico if producers can meet the demand for quality, availability and price.