There's much talk about tilapia these days. Some folks thing they are going to save the world, some don't know how to pronounce the name of the fish. I also have an opinion or two about the fish. This bit focuses on stocking tilapia as a corrective measure. They can also be stocked as baitfish even if you aren't taking corrective measures.
In many ponds/lakes that have been left unmanaged for years, things happen and usually there is high cost for corrective measures. Be it vegetation issues of underweight/overpopulated bass, there is a significant problem to be solved. Tilapia can be the solution in the short-term and long term.
Here's a short-term example: You acquire a pond or lake or suddenly decide to take active management steps with one that has been neglected. The water has been clear, weeds grow like the plaque, no plankton production for years, overpopulation of small bass, and the big ones you still brag about or hear about are dead and gone or can't be caught. Bluegill are present and have the capability to rebound with the right conditions...a plankton bloom and reduced predation. But bass are overcrowded and may stand in the way of a bluegill rebound. Since tilapia reproduce as often as every 6 weeks, are mature at 3-4 inches, have the right body shape for easy consumption (as opposed to monster bluegill, and can produce 1000's of lbs of brood per acre per year , they are a miracle drug. Say you treat your weeds with sonar, they die and become a food source for filamentous algae...you are growing food for tilapia. Say you fertilize to create a bloom to get ahead of filamentous algae after a herbicide application...you are growing food for tilapia. Say you feed with artificial pellets...you are feeding tilapia. You are hence feeding your predators by having a fish that converts a nuisance into a fat bass.
Here's a long-term example: Our experience is that tilapia populations encourage growth of plankton by constantly consuming bottom growth and suspending nutrient rich organic matter. In all of our survey experience on ponds and lakes, those that had a natural plankton bloom, for whatever reason, had tremendous populations of both bass and bluegill. Tilapia stocking may increase production of plankton indirectly, which would create a very desireable condition. These forage fish should not be stocked just once, unless you flat out decide they are not what they are hyped up to be. If your results are desireable the first year, you should stock them every year. They'll build equity in your pond until fall then they will cash out like the lottery!
