Assessment of the impact of dissemination of genetically improved Abbassa Nile tilapia strain (GIANT-G9) versus commercial strains in some Egyptian governorates

Abstract

WorldFish initiated a selective breeding program in Abbassa--Egypt to develop and produce the genetically improved Nile tilapia strain known as “Genetically Improved Abbassa Nile tilapia (GIANT)”, adopting the same technology used for the Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT), in Asia. WorldFish provided the Ninth Generation (G9) broodstock of the GIANT to 11 Broodstock Multiplication Centers (BMC’s) in five governorates; these centres then disseminated improved mixed-sex fry to 160 tilapia hatcheries which supplied all-male fry to 1,500 fish farms in 2017. We present results of an impact assessment of the G9 of GIANT in 83 of these fish farms in four Egyptian governorates (Kafr El-Sheikh, Fayoum, Behera and Alexandria).