Thailand catches 1.3 million kilos of invasive fish

Thailand has netted more than 1.3 million kilograms of highly destructive blackchin tilapia fish, the government said yesterday, as it battles to stamp out the invasive species. Shoals of blackchin tilapia, which can produce up to 500 young at a time, have been found in 19 provinces, damaging ecosystems in rivers, swamps and canals by preying on small fish, shrimp and snail larvae. As well as the ecological impact, the government is worried about the effect on the kingdom’s crucial fish-farming industry. Fishing authorities caught 1,332,000kg of blackchin tilapia from February to Wednesday last week, said Nattacha Boonchaiinsawat, vice president of a parliamentary committee set up to tackle the spread of the fish. “We talked to local residents and found out that the spread of tilapia has got worse — they found them in small canals, which was not the case before,” Nattacha said. The outbreak of tilapia would cost the Thai economy at least 10 billion baht (US$292 million), he said. ...