The Bio Thai Foundation (BIOTHAI) is claiming that it has evidence to prove that Blackchin tilapia, an invasive alien fish species which has spread widely in watercourses throughout Thailand, was imported from Africa before 2005 by a single company.
In its Facebook post, BIOTHAI wrote that, even though Deputy Agriculture Minister Atthakorn Sirilatthayakorn told MPs in parliament on Thursday that the Fisheries Department could not confirm which company, it has four pieces of evidence which identify the culprits.
These include a report on the import of Blackchin tilapia to Thailand before 2005, a report on the violation of biological safety, a technical report by the Fisheries Department, saying that the watercourses in which the species was first detected are connected with an experimental fish farm.
The final piece of evidence is DNA analysis showing that the now huge population of the fish all came from a single source.
Meanwhile, former director-general of the Fisheries Department, Plodprasop Suraswadi, wrote in his Facebook post on Friday that he has been asked by Fisheries Department officials to share his views on how to stop the spread of this predatory fish in Thai waters.
Plodprasop, said Blackchin tilapia, which were first introduced into the country about 20 years ago “under murky circumstances”, cannot not be allowed to spread further because the fish are very greedy and eat non-stop, whether it be plants, other fish species or shrimp.
He disclosed that, about 40 years ago, piranha were found to have bitten some people, so snakehead murrel (Channa striata) were released into the waterways, resulting in the eradication of piranha.
He suggested aggressive fish species be released into watercourses where Blackchin tilapia are abundant, to rid the country of this aquatic menace.
