**3.1 World production**

In 2015, Tilapia group ranked third in terms of production worldwide after Cyprinidae and Salmonidae. Global tilapia production has increased rapidly since the 1980s and reached 3,670,259 tons in 2014 [22]. This production is mainly destined to the U.S. market, the main importer of this fish. In terms of geographical location, Asia accounts for more than 80% of tilapia production in the world, with China as the largest producer with 1 M tons. On the other hand, while Africa is the native environment of tilapia, its production remains extremely limited (apart from Egypt and Zimbabwe) [22, 23].

#### **3.2 Tilapia production in Tunisia**

Nile tilapia (*O. niloticus*) was the first exotic species reared in Tunisian geothermal waters, particularly due to its rapid growth and tolerance to high temperatures. In addition, the remarkable adaptation of this species and the highly motivating results of its breeding have attracted the private sector to invest in this activity since 2009 in the governorate of Medenine [20]. However, the production of tilapia has remained low compared to other groups of freshwater fish (5428 Tons against 1,034,035 compared to the rest of the species). Most of this production is realized in the reservoirs of Lakhmés (Siliana), Lebna (Nabeul) and Sidi Saâd (Kairouan) [20]. The average market price is also low (3–4 TD/kg; which corresponds to 1.2–1.7 €) and remains uncompetitive compared to other farmed fish. The reason is that tilapia, like most freshwater fish, is not in the dietary habits of Tunisians and its market is quite small.
