Aquaculture quality starts before fish grow-out. It starts with the origin of fingerlings, genetic quality, health, transport, management and the feed used. This was the central message of the presentation by the National Institute for Standardization and Quality on the standards developed under MAMAP.

The session highlighted two key Mozambican standards for the tilapia value chain: Mozambican Standard 1274, on the assessment of tilapia fingerling quality, and Mozambican Standard 1275, on tilapia feed quality. These standards help producers, suppliers, authorities and buyers use a shared language on quality.

The standard on fingerlings defines criteria for assessing the quality of animals used in national aquaculture. It covers aspects such as fingerling sources, broodstock age, uniformity, appearance, body condition, fins, scales, eyes, gills, behaviour, health, species, post-transport survival, internal circulation and quarantine.

The feed standard sets requirements for raw materials, traceability, additives, veterinary medicines, nutritional composition, physical pellet quality, buoyancy, moisture, fine particles, colour, odour and safety. Poor-quality feed can reduce growth, increase losses, contaminate ponds and compromise producer income.

These standards are important because they reduce uncertainty in the market. They help protect consumers, improve fair competition, encourage good practices, reduce fraud and promote safer inputs. They also support licensing, certification and access to more demanding markets.

In a growing sector, standardisation is a practical development tool. Mozambican tilapia will be more competitive if producers have access to healthy fingerlings, safe feed and clear quality criteria.

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