Thailand wages war against invasive blackchin tilapia

One theory that parliament has looked into is that an experiment by food behemoth Charoen Pokphand Food (CPF) 14 years ago had caused the spread. The company, which produces animal feed and runs shrimp and livestock farms, imported 2,000 from Ghana in late 2010. Two years later, outbreaks of blackchin tilapia were reported in Thailand, including the area of a CPF laboratory, according to local broadcaster Thai PBS. But CPF – the agribusiness arm of one of Thailand’s largest conglomerate, Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group) – has rejected the allegations. “Although the company is confident that it is not the cause of the outbreak, it is not indifferent and is ready to cooperate with the government to alleviate the suffering of the people,” said Premsak Wanuchsoontorn, CPF’s aquaculture and research development officer. However, CPF officials have attended parliament hearings in person only once. The director-general of Thailand’s Department of Fisheries, Bancha Sukkaew, notes only one private company had sought permission to import blackchin tilapia. However, he is also not discounting the possibility that the invasive fish species could have been smuggled into Thailand. In the end, though, how they came to be in Thai waterways is the past – the problem is the future, and getting the outbreak under control. “I don’t see the possibility of eradicating it,” said Dr Suwit Wuthisuthimethavee, an expert in aquatic animal genetics at Walailak University. When it is in nature, it reproduces continuously, has a fast reproductive cycle,” Dr Suwit added. “The problem with alien species is that once they are established, they are very difficult to eradicate,” he said. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjjw9e077d8o