Make alien invasion part of national agenda: fisheries association
Association chief urges govt to form national panel led by PM to come up with effective solutions
The National Fisheries Association of Thailand on Monday urged the Agriculture Ministry to make tackling the invasion of blackchin tilapia part of the national agenda.
Mongkol Sukcharoenkhana, president of the association, said he would raise the issue with Agriculture Minister Thamanat Prompow when he visits Samut Sakhon later on Monday to hear complaints from local fishermen about the infestation of the alien fish.
Though the Fisheries Department has declined to point the finger at anybody in particular, the authorities in many provinces are openly blaming CP Foods for the fish from Africa taking over the local waterways.
CP Foods, however, has dismissed the allegation, saying that the 2,000 blackchin tilapia it had imported for an experiment in 2010 had been destroyed. Instead, it said, the blame lies with the importers of pet fish.
In 2012, farmers in Samut Sakhon’s Amphawa district spotted the alien fish for the first time in their ponds for breeding prawns and fish. The blackchin tilapia then spread quickly to nearby water resources.
Mongkol said his association would ask Thamanat to propose the setting up of a national committee to attend to the blackchin fish issue.
He said the national panel should be led by the prime minister, with Thamanat as deputy, and permanent secretaries from relevant ministries as members.
Mongkol said the government should also allow local villagers to use fishing gear declared illegal to catch the fish in rivers, canals, swamps, lakes and along the coasts of different provinces.
Provincial authorities should also offer the national panel ideas on how to tackle this invasion, he said.
Also, Mongkol said, the government should clearly announce a timeframe of three to six months for buying blackchin tilapia from villagers, so they don’t start raising the fish to sell to the government.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had said last week that the government approved the Agriculture Ministry’s proposal to buy blackchin tilapia from villagers for 15 baht per kilo.
