Skinless V-Notched Fillet Yields of Tilapia Oreochromis

S.P. Kirkup¹, L.S. Marsh², C.W. Coale, Jr.³

1 1774 Old Brook Rd
Charlottesville, VA 22901 USA

2* 213 Seitz Hall (0303)
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA
E-mail:

3 Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics
Hutcheson Hall
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA

* Corresponding Author

Keywords: tilapia, Oreochromis, fish, fillet, yield

Footnote
International Journal of Recirculating Aquaculture 5 (2004) 19-27. All Rights Reserved
© Copyright 2004 by Virginia Tech and Virginia Sea Grant, Blacksburg, VA USA

ABSTRACT

White hybrid tilapia (Oreochromis) produced in an experiment that determined the effects of various management practices on growth rate and feed conversion ratios were weighed, measured and filleted at the conclusion of the growth trials. Regression analyses produced two models to predict fillet yields--one model that used the fish weight and length and a reduced model that used only fish weight. While the full model produced a somewhat smaller error, it was found to be impractical to use fish length to estimate fillet yield due to the difficulty in obtaining a length measurement. The full model also produced unreasonable estimates when extended beyond the limits of the data set. Using a paired t-test, fillet yields of males and females of equal weights were tested and were not found to be significantly different. This model provides a means of converting market price of tilapia fillets to a price for live fish, once processing costs are considered.