Samut Songkhram residents sue firm over blackchin infestation

Fishermen and fish and shrimp farmers in Samut Songkhram have jointly filed a class-action civil lawsuit against CP Foods for allegedly infesting local waterways with the alien blackchin tilapia species.

They are demanding more than 2.5 billion baht in compensation for lost business and stocks.

The Lawyers Council of Thailand, meanwhile, has filed a nonfeasance lawsuit against 18 government agencies and officials for failing to stop the infestation.

The lawsuit against CPF was filed at the South Bangkok Civil Court by leaders of the Upper Gulf of Thailand Conservation Network, Love Mae Klong group, and groups of local fishermen and fish and shrimp farmers in Samut Songkhram.

The groups blame CPF for the infestation of blackchin tilapia, a species native to Africa, which has been found in many provinces.

CPF has denied it had anything to to do with the infestation, though it admits importing 2,000 blackchin tilapia for an experiment at its research centre in Samut Songkhram in 2010. CPF claims all the fish died because the experiment failed.

Meanwhile, 1,380 farmers and fishermen were helped by a team of lawyers from the Law Society of Thailand to file a lawsuit against CPF and nine of its executives. Panya Tokthong, 66, was chosen as a representative of the group.

Speaking to reporters after filing the lawsuit, Panya said the rights of local residents have been violated for years and their sources of income have been affected since 2012, when the predatory blackchin tilapia was first found in canals, rivers and ponds in the provinces.

He said the situation worsened in 2016 and 2017, and they filed complaints with the government and several state agencies, but to no avail.

Hence, he said, the locals had no option but to file a class-action lawsuit against the company they believe is responsible for the infestation.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs demand compensation for their slump in income from fishing and raising fish and shrimp, as well as compensation for the violation of local people’s rights to use natural resources. The lawsuit also asked the court to rehabilitate the province’s ecology, Panya added.

Panya said the compensation being demanded can be classified into two parts:

- Compensation for local fish and shrimp farmers: They are demanding compensation at the rate of 10,000 baht per rai of farmland per year for seven years from 2017 to 2024.

They are also demanding compensation for the violation of their right to use natural resources at the rate of 50,000 baht per person.
There are 1,000 farmers and 27,000 rai of fish and shrimp farms, so CPF will need to pay a compensation of 1.98 billion baht.

- Compensation for local fishermen: They are demanding that CPF make up for their loss of income at the rate of 500 baht a day or 182,500 baht per year for seven years from 2017 to 2024.

They also demand compensation for violating the right to use natural resources at the rate of 50,000 baht per person.

In this case, the total compensation CPF will be required to pay is 504.45 million baht.

Meanwhile, the Lawyers Council of Thailand has filed a lawsuit with the Central Administrative Court against 18 defendants, including government agencies and officials on behalf of 54 Samut Songkhram residents.

Among the agencies and officials being sued are the Fisheries Department and its director-general, the Agriculture Ministry and minister, Interior Ministry and minister, and the Finance Ministry.