Blackchin Tilapia Invasion Threatens Southeast Asia's Ecosystems

[webfact]

Blackchin Tilapia. Picture courtesy: Thai Rath

 

Concerns are mounting within the Thai government as the blackchin tilapia, an invasive predator fish, could spread from Thailand to neighbouring countries, posing an ecological crisis. MPs warned that the tilapia invasion might soon become a transnational issue affecting Cambodia and Malaysia.

 

In a recent House floor debate, Move Forward MP Natcha Boonchai-insawat highlighted the rapid and destructive spread of blackchin tilapia in coastal and mangrove waters across 17 Thai provinces. Not native to the region, this "alien species" preys on local fish, shrimps, and other small aquatic animals, disrupting ecosystems and impacting local fisheries.

 

The invasive species, imported from Ghana in 2010 for an experimental breeding project by Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF), has quickly infiltrated natural waters. Although CPF claimed to have destroyed the original batch, the blackchin tilapia has proliferated, especially in the eastern border province of Trat and southern province of Songkhla. These areas are proximate to Cambodia and Malaysia, stirring fears of a regional ecological crisis.

 

MPs underscored the urgency of immediate government action to control the invasive species. Suggestions included large-scale hunts for the fish using various nets, releasing predator fish like sea bass to control the tilapia population, promoting nationwide consumption of the tilapia, banning further breeding, and compensating affected aquatic farmers.

 

Deputy Agriculture & Cooperatives Minister Attakorn Sirilatthayakorn assured that measures would be swiftly implemented. The Fisheries Department has been allocated 231 million baht to buy captured blackchin tilapia at 15 baht per kilo, incentivising local hunts. Additionally, efforts to sterilise the fish to halt their reproduction are underway.

 

This issue underscores the broader challenge of managing invasive species and preserving regional ecological balance. Immediate and coordinated efforts are crucial to prevent further environmental and economic damage across Southeast Asia.

 

-- 2024-07-26

 

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[mr_lob]

Can't they just tell the Chinese where they are? Problem solved!

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Concerns are mounting within the Thai government as the blackchin tilapia, an invasive predator fish, could spread from Thailand to neighbouring countries, posing an ecological crisis. MPs warned that the tilapia invasion might soon become a transnational issue affecting Cambodia and Malaysia.

Come up with a national recipe, or ask Lisa to pop-over and eat one, they'll disappear overnight.

[BoganInParasite]

World-wide there has not been much success in removing an invasive fish completely once it is in a watershed. Containment strategies within a watershed are also likely to be difficult in Thailand. Stopping them getting into the Mekong via Mekong connected watersheds should be a high priority.

[Stevemercer]

7 minutes ago, BoganInParasite said:

World-wide there has not been much success in removing an invasive fish completely once it is in a watershed. Containment strategies within a watershed are also likely to be difficult in Thailand. Stopping them getting into the Mekong via Mekong connected watersheds should be a high priority.

 

Good comment. It will be impossible to contain a fish that can spread to different rivers through estuaries and along the coastlines. At a buyback of 15 Baht per kilo, people will be actively farming the fish to cash in. The priority must be to protect inland catchment, particularly watersheds feeding into the Mekong

[Sydebolle]

Get the problem solved and put the bill onto CPF's desk, their monopoly in the local food industry could afford to pump out all the water of the Gulf of Thailand, clean up the mess and refill the Gulf with pristine clean water. 

[Andycoops]

About time CP were made to pay up for their incompetence since they obviously came from their premises.

 

No doubt they as part of the billionaire old guard they will get off Scott free...

[cncltd1973]

maybe Thailand will learn about responsibility and accountability one day. imagine if Jeff Bezos caused a similar disaster and left the tax payers with the damage

[nobodysfriend]

An invasive species threatening the local ecosystem ...

is something to avoid if possible ... but , if not possible , it still fits Dawin's theory of evolution .

The survival of the fittest ... in millions of years of evolution , many species disappeared and many species appeared , evolved and changed the ecosystems

Evolution and the change it brings is natural for a living planet .

Extinction and disappearance of a species is always a loss , but a part of life .

The blackchin tilapia poses much less of a risk to the global ecosystem than the actions of the dominant species on this planet .

[PETERTHEEATER]

These fish have been in the waterways for years and no one in Government was concerned. People were even farming them. Now suddenly, panic. Concerned citizens were buying them in local markets at 8 baht a kilo and selling them to the Fisneries Dept for 15 baht a kilo. 😀

I should be surprised if they are not in the waterways of adjacent countries gobbling up the other invasive species white tilapia.

 

[CecilM]

Finally an answer where they came from and who initially imported them. 

[nakhonandy]

Just like the Lionfish in the Caribbean these invasive Tilapia will be impossible to remove.

Surely this is the responsibility of the importer, CP!

[john donson]

are they not eatable? who introduced them ? 

[mokwit]

2 hours ago, nobodysfriend said:

An invasive species threatening the local ecosystem ...

is something to avoid if possible ... but , if not possible , it still fits Dawin's theory of evolution .

The survival of the fittest ... in millions of years of evolution , many species disappeared and many species appeared , evolved and changed the ecosystems

Evolution and the change it brings is natural for a living planet .

Extinction and disappearance of a species is always a loss , but a part of life .

The blackchin tilapia poses much less of a risk to the global ecosystem than the actions of the dominant species on this planet .

I don't think Darwin really took into account species from another continent thousands of miles away being artificially introduced into an ecosystem that had not evolved with their presence.

[natway09]

The damage will never end.

Almost impossible to eradicate the species now after the irresponsible action 14 years ago by CP who 

must have had fisheries Dept approval & (or) a little commission paid at the port of arrival.

[digger70]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

The Fisheries Department has been allocated 231 million baht to buy captured blackchin tilapia at 15 baht per kilo, incentivising local hunts. Additionally, efforts to sterilise the fish to halt their reproduction are underway.

Get the money Reimbursed from CPL 

Now let CPL Pay for the Catch and Contain And Cleanup of the rest even if this is going to take a few years.

CpL brought the fish in the country ,Now they Have to take the Fish Out of the country.

[In Full Agreement]

2 hours ago, nakhonandy said:

Surely this is the responsibility of the importer, CP!

 

 

And after they go bankrupt?

 

 

[khunjeff]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

The Fisheries Department has been allocated 231 million baht to buy captured blackchin tilapia at 15 baht per kilo, incentivising local hunts.

 

And also incentivizing breeding?

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hanoi_Rat_Massacre

[StevieAus]

7 hours ago, BoganInParasite said:

World-wide there has not been much success in removing an invasive fish completely once it is in a watershed. Containment strategies within a watershed are also likely to be difficult in Thailand. Stopping them getting into the Mekong via Mekong connected watersheds should be a high priority.

There has been a similar problem in Australia where cane toads we’re introduced in Queensland to control beetles in the cane fields.
They are out of control and spreading south.

Similarly, early English settlers introduced rabbits and foxes with devastating consequences.

[nakhonandy]

2 hours ago, In Full Agreement said:

 

 

And after they go bankrupt?

 

 

They, together with the fisheries department, irresponsibly brought these fish in.

CPL won't go bankrupt and even if they did, another company would take it over.

[WDSmart]

The largest threat by far to the entire world's ecosystem is humans. 

[JensenZ]

11 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

Get the problem solved and put the bill onto CPF's desk, their monopoly in the local food industry could afford to pump out all the water of the Gulf of Thailand, clean up the mess and refill the Gulf with pristine clean water. 

I'm surprised that wasn't mentioned in the article. CPF, a massively profitable company gets off scot-free, while the taxpayers pay to clean up their mess.

 

Making the fish a valuable catch will certainly help to control their numbers, but do Thai people like this fish? CPF imported it, so it is likely to be a popular fish to eat. I'd rather eat fish grown naturally in the wild than buy the farm-raised basa and tra (Vietnamese Catfish) grown in the filthy Mekong River Delta... which is exported around the world as a cheap 'fish-and-chips' fish.

[Luuk Chaai]

8 hours ago, john donson said:

are they not eatable? 

 

as far as a healthy choice,,     garbage

The bad news for tilapia is that it only contains 240 mg of omega-3 fatty acids per serving — ten times less omega-3 than wild salmon (3). If that wasn't bad enough, tilapia contains more omega-6 fatty acids than it does omega-3.

then top it off with som nam-jim seafood sauce ( loaded with sugar)

[JensenZ]

31 minutes ago, Luuk Chaai said:

 

as far as a healthy choice,,     garbage

The bad news for tilapia is that it only contains 240 mg of omega-3 fatty acids per serving — ten times less omega-3 than wild salmon (3). If that wasn't bad enough, tilapia contains more omega-6 fatty acids than it does omega-3.

then top it off with som nam-jim seafood sauce ( loaded with sugar)

If you're going to cut and paste from articles you find on Google, you should provide references. Your comment came from the following article:

 

Tilapia Fish: Benefits and Dangers

 

There are plenty of benefits and the dangers mentioned in the article (Omega 3 to Omega 6 ratio) are just opinions. Do some more research and you'll find opinions that Omega 6 is healthy and too much Omega 3 is not. Here's one example: "omega-6 fatty acids play a crucial role in brain function, and normal growth and development".  

 

You should be comparing Tilapia with all the other fish Thai people and SE Asians in general consume, not an imported, very expensive fish like Salmon, which is out of range of most people's budget. Mostly fish is eaten as a good source of protein, not for its Omega 3 content. Most Omega 3 is destroyed in the cooking process, so unless you're going to eat raw salmon, it's not even a consideration when choosing fish.

 

The important question is, how does it taste? Do Thai people enjoy eating it? Nutritionally it will be as healthy as most other fresh fish you see at the local market.

 

 

 

[Will B Good]

7 hours ago, In Full Agreement said:

 

 

And after they go bankrupt?

 

 

They don't have to be bankrupted ....but they can pay a significant proportion of their ill gotten gains to solve the problem they created....doh!!!!

[UbonEagle]

Comments about fines sending CP broke…😅 you’re kidding aren’t ya.

But I must say is be surprised the species can get too prolific if they’re half decent eating, given the pressure most wild fish stocks are under here

[kickstart]

13 hours ago, Stevemercer said:

 

Good comment. It will be impossible to contain a fish that can spread to different rivers through estuaries and along the coastlines. At a buyback of 15 Baht per kilo, people will be actively farming the fish to cash in. The priority must be to protect inland catchment, particularly watersheds feeding into the Mekong

Farming these fish, for selling at 15 baht/kg I do not think so, no money in it, a farmer farming Bla Nin, Tilapia  are selling them at 60 baht/kg straight from the pond, and a lot of them will not be making a lot of money at that price, fish food is not cheap .it is a high protein feed, made mainly from dried fish

[JensenZ]

2 hours ago, kickstart said:

Farming these fish, for selling at 15 baht/kg I do not think so, no money in it, a farmer farming Bla Nin, Tilapia  are selling them at 60 baht/kg straight from the pond, and a lot of them will not be making a lot of money at that price, fish food is not cheap .it is a high protein feed, made mainly from dried fish

The Blackchin Telapia will be caught in the wild, so they won't need to be fed.

[CallumWK]

20 hours ago, webfact said:

Not native to the region, this "alien species" preys on local fish, shrimps, and other small aquatic animals, disrupting ecosystems

 

I have always been told that nature sorts itself. Seems to be not true then

[KhaoNiaw]

12 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

I have always been told that nature sorts itself. Seems to be not true then

Seriously?