The American Coalition for Tilapia (ACT) was created by a group of fresh tilapia producers supplying the US market. The unifying purpose of or group is to promote the image, benefits and quality of fresh tilapia fillets produced in the Americas and the benefits our products bring to the US consumers

This group is comprised of producers and importers and represents approximately 97% of the fresh tilapia fillets currently sold in the US market. The founding members are Aquamericas (or Mountain Stream), Golden Lake Tilapia, Marine Harvest, Rain Forest Aquaculture, Regal Springs Tilapia, Shell and Fish and Tropical Aquaculture.

One of the first priorities of ACT is to reinforce the superior quality and wholesomeness of true fresh tilapia fillets produced in the Americas and sold at retail seafood departments. The last few years has seen a rise in lower quality and lower costing previously frozen tilapia fillets from China and other southeast Asian countries being sold at retail seafood counters. Some very responsible grocery store chains offer “refreshed” seafood items in their store for the convenience of their customers, and follow FDA and USDA labeling regulations declaring these products as “previously frozen”. In addition, these responsible businesses also list any additives (such as carbon monoxide) these products contain so that consumers can make an informed decision about the products they choose to purchase. Other businesses have elected not to inform their customers about the fact that some of the seafood items offered in the fresh counter have been previously frozen or about additives used in those products. Additionally ACT members have detected misleading and incorrect information regarding country of origin labeling where thawed fillets from China and other southeast Asian countries were claimed to be a product of Ecuador, Costa Rica, or Honduras for instance.

ACT is seeking alliances with other members of the industry; namely those supermarket chains and seafood distributors that act responsibly and follow existing FDA and USDA labeling laws. ACT is looking for the support of these businesses to properly represent and label their products and help fight fraud and deception by other members of the industry.