That's possible I guess. I've read where it's been introduced there, and there's a fear it will eventually find it's way in to the Everglades.
I actually don't know if tilapia are down there to any great extent, but I suspect that it could survive based on what I've read. When I was a yute, we would purchase various shit-fish (mullet, pilchards, etc) as well as shrimp for bait on the way down to the Keys or wherever we were going fishing. Of course, it always depended on what type of fishing we were planning; deep sea, trolling, shoreline, canals, bridge, etc... Tilapia and other garbage "farm raised" fish were frequently a part of the shit fish available. It was cheap... Very cheap.
But, I
really can't believe that people are actually eating mullet and amberjack nowadays. Catfish is bad enough, but mullet is even worse. I've actually tried amberjack, now that people are eating it, and I have to admit that it isn't too bad. I wouldn't go out of my way to order it, and I'd still probably avoid it most of the time. It's just not very good.
I think it's been said... IMO, the best fish include snapper followed closely by grouper and dolphin (aka Mahi-mahi for the PC fags). There are several others that fit into this group as well. As far as the
"fishy" taste that people have complained about, fish needs to be fresh and properly cleaned. In some cases, the older, larger fish can have a
"fishy" taste, but they'll typically be 40+ pounds for that to occur. And, don't get me started on manatee steaks... There's NOTHING better!