Farmers seek payment from the CPF, an agribusiness giant, for damages brought on by aggressive fish.
PUBLISHED: 4 Mar 2025 at 14: 23
A Thai court has accepted a class action lawsuit against Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc ( CPF ) in Thailand, seeking compensation for the losses caused by the spread of invasive blackchin tilapia fish to farmers and the environment.
The Samut Songkhram province’s fish growers and fishermen filed a class action lawsuit on Tuesday, according to the Bangkok South Civil Court, because the fish’s fast spread had caused a lot of damage to the region’s waterways.
Panya Tokthong, a bass producer and scientist based in the Amphawa region of the state, claimed his organization was seeking 2.4 billion baht as recompense for the lost revenue from small-scale seafood farming and fish breeding.
In the fight against the SET-listed farming company, Sittiporn Lelanapasak and lawyers from the Lawyers Council of Thailand represent them.
The jury conducted an in-depth assessment of the lawsuit before it made its decision on Tuesday. It was started in September of last year.
In a concept on his Instagram page on Tuesday, Mr. Sittiporn expressed gratitude to the court of justice for allowing a class action lawsuit in the blackchin fish situation.
According to Daily News, Mr. Panya even thanked the team of attorneys for assisting the defendants by gathering information on the ground and assessing the damage.
He expressed his hope that the court’s decision may lead to a successful situation because the Thai company that imported the fish should be held accountable, according to the virtual news outlet.
The event, according to Somchai Ameen, a lawyer with a focus on environmental matters at the government, may serve as a precedent lawsuit for the affected parties in 19 different provinces in the future.
According to Daily News ‘ , he claimed that CPF now has seven times to appeal the judge’s decision.
According to Manager Online, a CPF representative stated that the company may use scientific evidence and facts to challenge the claim. According to a business speech, CPF had adhered to all rules governing seafood and stressed the importance of protecting the environment.
Since last year’s reports of common damage done to the freshwater fishing and prawns farms in several provinces, CPF has consistently denied being responsible for the blackchin tilapia outbreak.
With agreement from the Department of Fisheries, the firm acknowledged that it imported blackchin fish from Ghana for analysis at its Amphawa breeding center in December 2010. However, after they became frail and passed away a fortnight after, the project was abandoned.
After being sent to the office with examples and documents, all of the fish were then disposed of in a waste using approved methods, according to CPF. However, the division maintains that it did not receive the requested information.
Blackchin fish were discovered in Amphawa and later discovered in rivers and lakes in 18 different regions.
In connection with his comments about the business and the spread of the fish, CPF is even bringing a libel lawsuit against the BioThai Foundation secretary-general.