GIFT transfer risk management: Ecology. Ecology risk analysis and recommended risk management plan for the transfer of GIFT (Oreochromis niloticus) from Malaysia to Nigeria

The selectively bred strain known as Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) was the outcome of efforts to develop a fish variety of high aquaculture performance. Not genetically modified or transgenic, this new variety was bred using traditional selective breeding methods through a carefully conducted genetic selection and improvement program. The program was based on broodfish collected from four African countries and four commercial Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) strains used in the Philippines. In response to a request from the government of Nigeria for the transfer of GIFT, WorldFish plans to invest in a research and development (R&D) program that provides the foundation for establishing a sustainable private sector-based GIFT seed and grow-out industry in Nigeria. The ecological and environmental risk analysis of the proposed transfer from Malaysia to Nigeria is based on the guidelines given in the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea’s Code of Practice for the Introductions and Transfers of Marine Organisms (ICES Code). This risk analysis is exclusively based on information gleaned from published research articles and reports on the status of tilapia in Asia, Africa and other geographical regions, including their ecology, invasive status, aquaculture performance, environmental and socioeconomic impacts.