The Department of Fisheries has launched a campaign to eradicate Blackchin tilapia from Thai waterways and fishing spots.
Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Captain Thamanat Prompow revealed on Friday that growing numbers of Blackchin tilapia are threatening local marine life and fish farms in several provinces.
The minister ordered the department to take measures to get rid of them.
Department of Fisheries Deputy Director-General Mr Bancha Sukkaew said the threat from Blackchin tilapia was attributed to the fact that they are highly adaptive and can live in water with different temperatures.
Blackchin tilapia are an alien species that threaten local marine life. (Photos: Nutthawat Wichieanbut)
According to Mr Bancha, the fish breed in Samut Songkhram, Samut Prakan, Phetchaburi, Bangkok, Chanthaburi, Rayong, Ratchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla and Samut Sakhon.
As well as encouraging fishermen to catch them, the department has also released 60,000 baby sea bass into the sea near Bangkok, Samut Songkhram, Samut Sakhon, Samut Prakan and Phetchaburi to help control the Blackchin tilapia population.
A Blackchin tilapia import ban was introduced in 2019.
However, a National Human Rights Commission of Thailand subcommittee found that the Department of Fisheries' Institution Biosafety Committee had allowed a giant conglomerate in the food industry to import Blackchin tilapia from Ghana in 2006.
