At GenoMar Genetics, we deliver genetically superior tilapia while ensuring strict biosecurity and health standards. Our practices support safer, healthier, and more sustainable aquaculture with minimal environmental impact. Learn how we provide disease-free fingerlings and juveniles to farms globally.
Enhanced Biosecurity: Securing the Tilapia Value Chain
Biosecurity is a prerequisite for preventing diseases from arising and spreading in our operations and further to our customers farms. We know our breeding programs have a broad impact, so we have implemented stringent measures at our centers in Asia and Latin America. These protocols go beyond international regulations, reflecting our commitment to eliminating harmful pathogens from the food chain.
GenoMar Supreme Philippines: World’s first Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) Certification to a Tilapia Producer
GenoMar Genetics remains at the forefront of tilapia aquaculture, setting unprecedented standards and contributing significantly to the global aquaculture industry’s advancement.
Our breeding center in the Philippines is the one and only Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) certified facility for tilapia production in the world. The certification was provided by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) of the Republic of the Philippines. This certification covers the nucleus and grandparent site at the Central Luzon State University, Philippines. At this site, GenoMar has operated a groundbreaking tilapia breeding program, representing the epicenter for the multiplication and distribution of genetically improved fish populations to farms across Asia and Latin America.
Key Highlights of the SPF Certification
- Disease-Free Status
The certification guarantees freedom from significant viral pathogens, including Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV), Viral Encephalopathy and Retinopathy (VER or VNN), and Megalocytovirus (Iridoviral disease), crucial in tilapia aquaculture globally. - Rigorous Certification Process
GenoMar’s facilities and fish populations underwent rigorous audits and analysis over a two-year period from 2020 to 2022 by the independent BFAR´s Aquatic Veterinary Services. After the initial assessment, sampling and audits are conducted every six months. This ensures the disease-free status is maintained and the SPF certification is upheld. The certification process adheres to the guidelines established by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). - Biosecurity Excellence
GenoMar’s SPF certification highlights the company’s commitment to maintaining the highest levels of tilapia health, welfare, and biosecurity. This achievement reflects GenoMar’s longstanding dedication to these principles. - Global Implications
Companies and countries importing genetic material from GenoMar’s certified facility can be assured of good health and low risk of pathogen transmission.
GenoMar Genetics Latin America: A Pinnacle of Biosecurity
Our second breeding center, located in Tocantins, Brazil, further demonstrates our unwavering commitment to biosecurity. Strategically situated in an area with unique climatic conditions ideal for tilapia rearing, this location ensures the highest standards of biosecurity. GenoMar Genetics Latin America (GGLATAM) is working closely with the veterinary authority, Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA) in Brazil to achieve Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) and disease-free compartment certifications.
Three-Zone Biosecurity Concept: A Blueprint for Safety
Our biosecurity design follows a three-zone concept, ranging from dirty to clean. Each zone is meticulously managed to prevent disease transmission. Strict control over vehicle access, visitor entry, and zone transitions is a key part of our biosecurity measures. These are reinforced by routine disinfection procedures.
Water Management: Key to Healthy Tilapia
Our water source, deep within the forests of Tocantins, ensures pristine, unpolluted water. This water undergoes stringent filtration and UV disinfection, eliminating potential viruses and bacteria. Furthermore, our decantation tanks prevent organic buildup and serve as a natural barrier, ensuring no escape of tilapia into the environment.
Continuous Vigilance and Education
Regular pathogen surveillance, education, and training programs are essential to our approach. Our employees, supervised by specialized fish veterinarians, remain dedicated to the continuous improvement of our protocols.
A robust quarantine process for new animals, combined with a comprehensive pest management plan, further fortifies our biosecurity initiatives. It is well recognised that the introduction of new animals into a country or a production unit is one of the main routes for the spread of diseases.
Accredited Quarantine Facilities
The breeding centers in the Philippines and Brazil have their own state-of-the-art affiliated accredited quarantine facilities. The accreditations were achieved by the veterinary authorities of BFAR (November 2024) and MAPA (January 2022), respectively. This means that any fish, whether national or imported, must undergo a quarantine period upon arrival.
This quarantine period allows us to monitor the animal’s health by well-trained professionals 24 hours a day. We perform robust samplings for the diagnosis of the main tilapia pathogens in official laboratories.
A Vision for the Future
No disease prevention program is entirely foolproof. However, GenoMar Genetics’ proactive approach, rooted in risk analysis, scientific methodology, and personnel compliance, ensures a robust strategy for managing diseases in tilapia aquaculture.
Our goal is to attain the status of the world’s first tilapia compartment, ensuring exceptional genetic quality and health standards. Through ongoing investments in measures, policies, programs, and technologies, GenoMar Genetics is pioneering the tilapia industry to support sustainable aquaculture practices globally.
Have a look at our video from the opening of the GenoMar Breeding and Genetics Center in Brazil showing the biosecurity procedures below: