After the government’s cost promises expire, Samut Sakhon fishing stop catching them.
PUBLISHED: 17 Jan 2025 at 18: 13
After local fishing stopped catching the non-native intrusive species, blackchin fish fish are again more common in Central Plains state waters.
Local people claimed that the government’s decision to stop buying the fish at 15 baht per kilogramme, one of its efforts to control the mysterious fish, was never more worth the effort.
Now, the fish sell for only 3-4 ringgit a kilogramme.
In the Muang city of Samut Sakhon, a new media inspection revealed a large number of blackchin tilapia infesting Khlong Sanam Chai close to Wat Sophon Wanaram.
In August, the Fisheries Department declared 19 regions, including Samut Sakhon, as regions affected by the fish conquest.
Hannarong Rodsamrit, a native man, said his boat netted more than 20 kilograms of blackchin fish from waters last quarter, which is ample evidence of the new epidemic.
He claimed that after the government stopped buying fish, local fishing stopped fishing for them for more than two weeks.
” It costs about 1, 500 to 2, 000 ringgit to search for carp each day”, he explained. ” When the cost goes down to 3-4 ringgit a kilogramme, sailors have to find one kilogram per day to make a profit, which is a difficult task.
” But, we decided to stop catching the fish, and a new wave of the pandemic occurred as a result,” Mr Hannarong said.
American bass species known as blackchin fish. In Thai lakes, they have disrupted local communities, as they compete with indigenous fish species for food.
The government declared a full-fledged battle on blackchin fish in July of last year and authorized 450 million baht to combat the invasive species. Buying the bass above market value and encouraging its use were two methods for limiting their spread. A 50-million-baht account to obtain the mysterious fish at 15 ringgit per kilogramme was likewise launched.
The agribusiness tycoon Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc ( CPF ) has agreed to purchase 2 million kilogrammes of the fish until October 30 to make fishmeal to combat the issue.
Concerning whether CPF contributed to the spread of blackchin fish, it has long been at the forefront. With agreement from the Department of Fisheries, it has acknowledged that it brought the fish from Ghana to be used for study in December 2010. However, after they became frail and passed away a fortnight after, the project was abandoned.
After that, all of the fish were disposed of using approved techniques, with samples and documents being sent to the ministry, according to CPF. However, the division maintains that the requested content wasn’t received.
However, fish farmers in various regions in the South, including Nakhon Si Thammarat and Songkhla, have also been affected by new epidemics of blackchin fish. Late last year, large flooding in the area caused more infections to occur in nearby waterways and crawfish farms.
Withoon Lienchamroon, chairman of the BioThai Foundation, said he was disappointed with the president’s failing to get rid of blackchin fish. He claimed that this was a disaster for the natural system, and that if nothing is done, neighboring nations may also experience the effects.