Fish farming on Lake Chapala

I saw a reference to fish farming that Dr. Todd Stong was promoting, but I think it was about yucky catfish. I hate them and I don't know of any Mexican dishes that call for them so I'm not sure why he said catfish (if indeed he did).

But that got me wondering, why don't they farm tilapia here? I think the lake is being stocked with tilapia already. I've been to a tilapia fish farm outside of Mazamitla and it was beautiful. Three ponds and they net and clean your fish (or you can use a pole, but why bother?) and grill them on the spot.

Anyway, I'm just curious, would appreciate any info about fish farming on the lake.

Merry

Merry, From what I've read the Lake is at 40% of capacity, and if it drops to 25% pretty much all fish may die, du to the high mineral comp of the Lake bottom. I don't know the truth/facts, just passing on info.

Jim w

I think I heard that farmed tilapia are marketed as blanco de nilo.
Lot of fish farms on and just off 15 between La Barca and Zamora. Don't know what they raise...probably bagre. Now if someone had a huachinango farm...I would go.

I understood there were some fish farms by Mezcala Island too.

I think that when the Lake gets too low, there is an issue with its ability to maintain oxygen levels adequate for fish to survive?

I know they are raising catfish in several locations east of Chapala. Stop by the market in Chapala square on Sunday mornings and check out the harvest.

CheenaGringo wrote:I think that when the Lake gets too low, there is an issue with its ability to maintain oxygen levels adequate for fish to survive?

Well the lake was pretty low in 2000/01 yet the fish survived that. No?

CanuckBob wrote:

CheenaGringo wrote:I think that when the Lake gets too low, there is an issue with its ability to maintain oxygen levels adequate for fish to survive?

Well the lake was pretty low in 2000/01 yet the fish survived that. No?

yes they did. even the whitefish, although getting quite rare, are still caught and for sale in the chapala mercado upstairs. one of these days i would like to catch one in the lake.

On the coast they do it like this

Sparks, they look like that in every major lake, unfortunately, in Lake Chapala ...stuck in the mud.

Jim W wrote:Merry, From what I've read the Lake is at 40% of capacity, and if it drops to 25% pretty much all fish may die, du to the high mineral comp of the Lake bottom. I don't know the truth/facts, just passing on info.

Jim w

Yeah it could get close to 25% if those rainbirds don't get louder. A - fish farmer? - would have to sell the crop when the lake got too low.

M.

sparks wrote:On the coast they do it like this

Hey great picture, SParks! Thanks.

Merry

Well according to that article by Dr. Todd Stong the rain in this area has diddley squat to do with the level of the lake. It is all controlled by those dams up stream.

There was a report released on the 8th about the lake - that supposedly will be the foundation for environmental policies - but I haven't seen the report - http://www.udg.mx/noticias/presentan-la-udeg-el-expediente-hechos-lago-chapala-ii

This is from an article a year ago http://fcoandbradsmexicotravels.blogspot.com/2012/05/aguaculture.html

The immediate plan is to produce 12 tons of tilapia each month.


and from the national water commission last month http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/8aba6b4533bde5b477603fdb65c5b5a0
He (referring to the Water Commission speaker) acknowledged that expectations for the coming weeks are not encouraging, since according to what is happening, Lake Chapala reach 30 percent of its capacity: "Sadly I think we will go reaching around 33 percent capacity of the lake, is what we expect in these two months, and hopefully we can recover and that the rains not only in the riparian area, but also the State of Mexico, Guanajuato and Michoacan logically have a good time to enter more water to the lake, run tap water and not stop both dams, that's what we expect. "

Hey Mad Max! This is awesome! Thanx!

Merry

Tilapia is typically sold in Mexico using the name "mojarra".

Tilapia are vegetarians which can also feed on the algae in the lake water using filters in their gills. They are also tough to catch using a pole because they don't go after prey to feed. A small piece of tortilla on a hook sometimes works.

The government does stock the lake, but the problem is that they are releasing a mixed sex population of baby tilapia. Once they hit about 25g, which is 3" or 4" in size, a tilapia's mind is like a teenager's - only thinking about sex. The gubmint dumped something like 3 million tilapia fry into the lake last summer.

Sex, and not enough eating, means they don't get to the size for humans to have much to eat. Farmed tilapia are typically sold when they hit 450-500g in size here, and they start with all male babies to avoid this problem.

If you don't like bagre (catfish) it's because you've probably never had one properly prepared. Take a bottle of hooch and go find that old Hound Dog and ask him to fry up a bunch of catfish fillets dipped in beer batter. Toss in some okra. It might change your thinking.

Mad_Max wrote:There was a report released on the 8th about the lake - that supposedly will be the foundation for environmental policies - but I haven't seen the report - http://www.udg.mx/noticias/presentan-la-udeg-el-expediente-hechos-lago-chapala-ii

This is from an article a year ago http://fcoandbradsmexicotravels.blogspot.com/2012/05/aguaculture.html

The immediate plan is to produce 12 tons of tilapia each month.


and from the national water commission last month http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/8aba6b4533bde5b477603fdb65c5b5a0
He (referring to the Water Commission speaker) acknowledged that expectations for the coming weeks are not encouraging, since according to what is happening, Lake Chapala reach 30 percent of its capacity: "Sadly I think we will go reaching around 33 percent capacity of the lake, is what we expect in these two months, and hopefully we can recover and that the rains not only in the riparian area, but also the State of Mexico, Guanajuato and Michoacan logically have a good time to enter more water to the lake, run tap water and not stop both dams, that's what we expect. "

Here is the report that was published on May 8. And according to one report, should be the foundation for future environmental policies for lake chapala http://www.cec.org/Storage/149/17473_Lake_Chapala_II_Factual_Record_en.pdf

Here is one of the comments:

Due to its geographical location, Lake Chapala epitomizes what is happening all along the Lerma River. The behavior of the lake reflects upstream growth in demand and the effects of untreated discharges, which degrade the quality of the water volumes stored in this body of water.

Did you know:

In Kenya tilapia were introduced to control mosquitoes which were causing malaria, because they consume mosquito larvae, consequently reducing the numbers of adult female mosquitoes, the vector of the disease (Petr 2000). These benefits are, however, frequently outweighed by the negative aspects of tilapia as an invasive species.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilapia

There is an interesting history going back to Egyptian times.
Tilapia were one of the three main types of fish caught in Biblical times from the Sea of Galilee. At that time were called musht, or commonly now even "St. Peter's fish". The name "St. Peter's fish" comes from the story in the Gospel of Matthew about the apostle Peter


That is an excellent article article ! Both endeavors !