Chumphon – The Department of Fisheries has launched a campaign to repel the aquatic invader known as black-chin tilapia in Chumphon province.
Deputy Director General of the Fisheries Department, Arunchai Puthcharoen, chaired the opening of an activity to eradicate the alien aquatic species by releasing predatory fish like black and white snapper and long-whiskered catfish into rivers, canals, and waterways.
The arrival of this alien fish species in natural water sources has become a major problem for the department and local farmers, because black-chin tilapia feed on smaller fish and shrimp which are the main source of income for Chumphon farmers.
The alien species can adapt well to a new environment and its population is growing quickly in Chumphon and neighboring provinces.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives earlier this year issued a regulation banning the import of three types of tilapia, one of which was black-chin tilapia, believing that they destroy aquatic ecosystems in Thailand.
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