International tilapia breeding and distribution company GenoMar Genetics has officially opened a new state-of-the-art Breeding and Genetics Centre in Brazil.
The facility was officially opened on 21 October in a ceremony taken place in Palmas, Tocantins.
Representatives from the company, authorities and industry leaders gathered to celebrate this strategic investment that supports the development of a profitable and sustainable tilapia industry in Brazil, Latin America and beyond.
“I am very proud of this milestone in the history of our company. The team has worked untiringly to develop a breeding centre that comply with high-level biosecurity, good fish health and multiplication of high merit brood stock to the tilapia industry,” said Alejandro Tola Alvarez, CEO at GenoMar Genetics Group.
The dedicated breeding centre took two years to construct and will be the first of its kind for tilapia species in the Latin America region.
It will have sufficient capacity to manage GenoMar´s breeding programmes as well as to produce parent stock for its distribution operations. The new facility will enhance GenoMar´s already unrivalled distribution infrastructure in Brazil and support its expansion efforts in the region with Colombia and Mexico in the spotlight.
“This facility provides an ideal and safe home for our breeding programmes in Latin America. It will significantly strengthen our ability to breed tilapia with optimal and predictable field performance for the Brazilian and international markets,” said Diones Almeida, Breeding Director at GenoMar Genetics Latin America.
At the facility, tilapia geneticists and scientists will work to apply the latest technologies in selective breeding to enhance favourable traits. This includes balanced breeding for growth rate, feed conversion rate, health and adaptability to global production environments as well as to increase the fillet yield and fillet quality in GenoMar brands and products.
The centre has a high biosecurity level and an effective surveillance programme for the most important tilapia pathogens worldwide. After obtaining official accreditation of its own quarantine facility in January 2022, GenoMar is working very closely with the respected Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA) in Brazil to certify the facility as SPF and/or disease-free.
“Every decision about site selection, water source and layout has been made to develop a new standard for biosecurity in the industry,” said Marina Delphino, Fish Health Manager at GenoMar Genetics Latin America.
