Court orders fisheries agency to tackle invasive tilapia
BANGKOK, Sept 9 (TNA) - Thailand’s Central Administrative Court has ordered the Department of Fisheries to clear the widespread outbreak of invasive blackchin tilapia within 180 days, ruling that officials neglected their duties after permitting the initial import of the non-native species for research without adequate monitoring.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by 54 fishery representatives against 18 government entities, alongside private firm Charoen Pokphand Foods. The court also ordered the Interior Ministry to direct the governor of Samut Songkhram to process disaster aid for affected districts within 90 days. While civic groups plan to appeal to expand the ruling's geographic scope, a related 2-billion-baht civil suit remains pending at the Bangkok South Civil Court.
In response, the Ministry of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives instructed the Department of Fisheries to comply immediately with the court order. Officials report that over 10 million kilograms of the invasive fish have been removed from private ponds and natural waterways so far, with population levels declining or stabilizing across 18 provinces.
To meet the strict deadline, academic experts advise rapid, intensive netting in public waters before introducing natural predators such as Asian seabass.
Meanwhile, local authorities in Kalasin—a landlocked northeastern province far outside the primary outbreak zones concentrated along coastal and central regions—are launching a large-scale survey on Sept.
