Blackchin tilapia fish caught from Sanam Chai and Khok Kham canals in Samut Songkhram are cooked to serve people at the BKK Food Bank activity held at Bang Khunthian district office in Bangkok on July 19, 2024. (Photo: Apichart Jinakul)The Department of Fisheries has asked Ghana for the DNA of its blackchin tilapia to verify if the outbreak of the invasive fish species in Thailand originated from the African nation. The ministry expects the policy to help eliminate four million kilos of blackchin tilapia from waterways and ponds by mid-next year, he said. It explained that the company asked for permission to import 2,000 blackchin tilapia fingerlings from Ghana on Dec 22, 2010, for R&D purposes in its breading centre in Samut Songkhram. He called for a probe into 11 companies that exported 300,000 blackchin tilapia to 17 countries from 2013 to 2016 to determine their origin.
