Private firm blamed for havoc caused by imported blackchin tilapia
Only one unidentified private company had imported blackchin tilapia which triggered the infestation in Thailand, a House panel for tackling the alien species invasion said on Wednesday.
The remark follows the propagation of alien fish species that had a severe impact on Thailand’s marine ecosystem and aquaculture.
The blackchin tilapia invaded 79 districts of 19 provinces, the panel pointed out.
The panel chairman Wayo Assawarungruang and vice chairman Nattacha Boonchaiinsawat, both People’s Party MPs, said an unidentified private company had sought permission to import alien fish species from the Department of Fisheries three times in 2006, 2008 and 2010.
The company did not import blackchin tilapia in 2006 and 2008, the panel explained. However, the company imported 2,000 alien fish species from Ghana in 2010, which aimed to improve tilapia species at an aquatic animal research centre in Amphawa district of Samut Songkram province.
The panel inferred that the blackchin tilapia infestation in Thailand was triggered by humans rather than the reproduction of alien species on waterways.
The Department of Fisheries has found that the DNA of the blackchin tilapia found in six provinces between 2017 and 2021 matched the DNA of alien fish species in Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, the panel said.
The panel urged the government to hunt down a suspect responsible for the outbreak under Section 97 of the Enhancement and Conservation of National Environment Quality Act BE 2535 (1992).
Agencies responsible for the hunt to protect national benefits include the Department of Fisheries, Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, and Provincial Administrative Organisations affected by the infestation, the panel added.
