Fish sauce project tackles blackchin tilapia problem
Recent project came about under collaboration among Samut Songkhram’s central prison, its fisheries office, and CPF
Samut Songkhram agencies have come up with a new project to deal with a blackchin-tilapia infestation in the province: processing them into a fish sauce to promote consumption and create jobs for prison inmates.
The alien fish species is threatening the ecosystem in natural water resources linked to the Tha Chin and Mae Klong rivers in lower central Thailand.
The recent project came about under collaboration among the province’s central prison, its fisheries office, and Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF).
Samut Songkhram Fisheries Office was responsible for catching the fish, while CPF provided equipment and asked Phetchaburi farmer Jittrakorn Buadee to train inmates how to process fish sauce, prison chief Jitra Prasertsopa explained.
“The project is in line with the Corrections Department’s guidelines to boost occupational skills for inmates so they can generate revenue in the future,” she said, adding that it also promotes consumption of blackchin tilapia.
She added that the prison will distribute blackchin-tilapia fish sauce under its “Hub Poei Mae Klong” brand to enable Thai people to access products made from alien fish species.
Bundit Kullawanich, chief of Samut Songkhram Provincial Fisheries Office, said the office is making an effort to catch blackchin tilapia and releasing predatory fish to eliminate them.
He confirmed that the fish-sauce project has been effective in dealing with the infestation in the province, saying that 450 of 509 kilograms of fish caught from three canals were processed into fish sauce. The remaining 59kg were used to feed ducks under Samut Songkhram Central Prison’s care.
“Samut Songkhram Provincial Fisheries Office has collaborated with all sectors on eliminating blackchin tilapia from natural water resources,” he said, adding that the population of the alien fish species has dropped significantly.
Separately, CPF has supported the Fisheries Department in eliminating 90,000kg of blackchin tilapia in 17 provinces.
The company has purchased more than 1.7 million kilograms of blackchin tilapia for processing fish meal and released 90,000 predatory fish.
