The Fisheries Department’s chief has promised a thorough investigation into who is responsible for the spread of Blackchin tilapia, because someone must be held accountable.
The alien fish species, imported from Ghana by an unnamed major private company, has been detected in many watercourses in Thailand, including in Bangkok’s Makkasan swamp, and is posing a threat to indigenous fish and other aquatic species.
Bancha Sukkaew, the department’s director general, told the media yesterday that a private company sought permission to import Blackchin tilapia in 2006, for experimental breeding and species improvement, as a potential new source of protein.
The company did not, however, import the fish until 2010, when it sought another permit and imported 2,000 Blackchin tilapia from Ghana for breeding on a fish farm in Samut Sakhon. The experiment was unsuccessful and the fish were destroyed.
Bancha said fisheries officials have checked records in the department’s computer system and log books, containing reports sent from the company to the department about the number of fish imported and the numbers being disposed of at the end of the failed experiment.
He said that the company never reported in writing about the breeding experiment or the number of fish left on the farm, adding that the company never sent fish samples to the department either.
On July 11, the National Human Rights Commission published on its website a full report on its investigation into public complaints about the impacts of the spread of Blackchin tilapia.
In summation, the report says that the company imported 2,000 Blackchin tilapia in 2010, but most of them died on the long journey from Ghana, leaving only 600 alive on arrival.
After one week in an enclosed pond, 400 more had died, leaving 200 which also died within three weeks. 50 dead fish were preserved and sent to the Fisheries Department. The dead fish were buried and covered with lime.
The company claimed it had verbally reported to the Fisheries Department about the failure of the breeding project and the disposal of the dead fish. It also insisted that it was not responsible for the spread of the fish in the watercourses, according to the NHRC.
