Joe,
First of all, welcome to Pond Boss.
I am in the Winchester area -- just over the border in WV. I've pretty much hit brick walls at every step in my quest of Tilapia for my pond. I haven't given up yet.
One possible resource is
Til-Tech Tilapia. They will do mail order.
There is tilapia research at Virginia Tech, and they may be of some assistance to you. Blueridge Aquaculture, probably the largest producer of tilapia in Virginia, will not sell small quantities.
But, I think you will have difficulty in convincing the VGDIF to grant you a permit to put them in your pond. See
Non-Native Aquatic Permits. Especially since the snake heads got loose, they have really taken a lot of steps to make sure that "exotics" can't get into the rivers or the Chesapeake.
I've been told that even though the tilapia shouldn't be able to survive our winters, they are concerned that they could survive in heated water areas, like the cooling ponds at Lake Anna and around the power plants on the Potomac.
I'm busier than had I hoped to be this spring, so I've put my quest on hold. I figure I will eventually be able to locate tilapia, even if I have to have them shipped in, and raise them to pond size from fingerlings.
The real problem is getting permission. Here in WV it is not implicitly forbidden in ponds like in Virginia, but neither is it defined. For me, it is a grey area that no one wants to tackle.
Good luck. Keep us informed.
Ken
