THE country has netted more than 1.3 million kilograms of highly destructive blackchin tilapia fish (pic), the government said, as it battles to stamp out the invasive species.
Shoals of blackchin tilapia, which can produce up to 500 young at a time, have been found in 19 Thai provinces, damaging ecosystems in rivers, swamps and canals by preying on small fish, shrimp and snail larvae.
As well as the ecological impact, the government is worried about the effect on the kingdom’s crucial fish-farming industry.
“From February to Aug 28, 1,332,000kg of blackchin tilapia were caught – 590,840kg from natural water sources and 743,550kg from breeding ponds,” Nattacha Boonchaiinsawat, vice- president of a parliamentary committee set up to tackle the spread of the fish, said.
“We talked to local residents and found that the spread of tilapia has got worse – they found them in small canals, which was not the case before.”
The outbreak of tilapia will cost the Thai economy at least 10 billion baht (RM1.2bil), he added.
The fish, native to West Africa, were first discovered in Thailand’s rivers in 2010 before spreading rapidly in 2018, and are now also found in the US state of Florida and in the Philippines.
In July, the Thai government declared the eradication of the species a national priority. — AFP
