Parliament, “Natcha” reveals that fishermen in the area raising 300,000 shrimp were completely eaten by fish, had to borrow money to invest, and finally sold the land title deeds. She lamented that it was a disaster that destroyed the economy worth tens of billions. It was found that “Black-chinned tilapia” nationwide came from the same parent breed. She revealed that tomorrow, she will call a private company to explain to the subcommittee, urging them to send jars to prepare for DNA testing to see if they match the prevalent ones.
Mr. Natcha Boonchaiinsawat, MP for Bangkok, Move Forward Party, as Vice Chairman of the Subcommittee (Committee) to consider the causes and solutions to the problem, including the impact of importing black-chinned tilapia for research and development of species in the Kingdom of Thailand, gave an interview about the black-chinned tilapia crisis, saying that the situation is very serious because this type of fish is an alien species living in Ghana and South Africa, where a privat
e company imported 2,000 fish in 2010. After that, it was found that all of them were reported for destruction, but they were found in natural water sources.
‘The most obvious and direct agency involved is the Fisheries Department. From that day until today, we don’t know what the Fisheries Department has done, but the final impact is that it is the most serious mistake because this species of fish has spread throughout the area. Today, we will see news from our brothers and sisters in the South, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla, and Surat Thani provinces, who have come out to say that they are worried about this species of fish that will invade their aquatic animals. Therefore, this is a serious disaster that can destroy the economic value of aquatic animals by several billion baht per year,’ said Mr. Natcha.
Mr. Natcha revealed that his siblings in Bang Khun Thian District, where he is an MP, invested 300,000 baht in shrimp farming. This species of fish escaped and ate all the shrimp in the pond. When they w
ere about to start raising shrimp for the second time, they had to borrow money to invest. When it was time for the third round, they had no money to pay back the loan. Now they have to sell the land title deed. This is a clear reflection of the serious threat to the black-chinned tilapia.
Therefore, the subcommittee of the committee called a meeting and asked about the research that was wrong. How much evidence was there of destroying the original fish? In order to find the responsible person.
When asked what the private companies subcommittee explained, Mr. Natcha said that tomorrow the subcommittee will invite Charoen Pokphand Foods or CPF to see evidence of the conditional import permit request in 2006.
‘In 2006, this species of fish was imported. At that time, it was not yet called the black chin tilapia or black chin tilapia, but it was called the same species as the Nile tilapia to crossbreed with the Nile tilapia. The request for import was based on information received from the subcommittee, which
clearly stated that it was imported for research by a private company. After that, the actual import occurred in 2010. After that, it was reported that the research was wrong because the fish were weak and eventually died. After that, there was still no report on what happened. The subcommittee tried to find out the truth that if this species of fish disappeared since that day, where did it come from today?’ said Mr. Natcha.
Mr. Natcha added that the Fisheries Department has research that has captured black-chinned tilapia throughout the country in 6 provinces to study the DNA to see if it comes from the same source or not. That report has proven that fish from all areas of Thailand that are black-chinned tilapia come from the same parents. Therefore, all that remains is the DNA of the imported fish. If it matches, it means that the fish that are spreading today come from the fish that were imported for research. But now it cannot be confirmed. The subcommittee is still studying further.
When asked if the d
estroyed fish could be brought back for examination, Mr. Natcha stated that in the report of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which went to inspect in 2017, it was reported that almost 2,000 fish had been destroyed by burying them, leaving only about 50 fish in jars, 25 fish per jar, sent to the Fisheries Department. Therefore, now we want to take the sample pieces of the fish in the jars to compare the DNA to see if it matches the ones that are spreading.
Source: Thai News Agency