CHITWAN, July 10 -- Consumers enjoy eating tilapia, an ambrosial fish with fewer bones; but fishery owners are intimidated by just hearing the name because this invasive fish species multiplies so fast that they cannot farm other fish species in the same water body.

"Consumers choose tilapia over commonly farmed carp; but without suitable farming techniques in place, fisheries have not been able to derive benefits from it," said Jogendra Chaudary, secretary of the Fisheries Association of Nepal. "Once tilapia multiplies in numbers, all the fish cannot gain weight. Lower weight means lower market value."

A team of aquaculture researchers from the Agriculture and Forestry University in Rampur has made headway in containing the population ...