Thailand nets 1.3 million kilograms of invasive fish

Bangkok: Thailand has netted more than 1.3 million kilograms of highly destructive blackchin tilapia fish, the government said Tuesday, as it battles...

Bangkok: Thailand has netted more than 1.3 million kilograms of highly destructive blackchin tilapia fish, the government said Tuesday, as it battles to stamp out the invasive species.

Shoals of blackchin tilapia, which can produce up to 500 young at a time, have been found in 19 Thai provinces, damaging ecosystems in rivers, swamps and canals by preying on small fish, shrimp and snail larvae.

As well as the ecological impact, the government is worried about the effect on the kingdom's crucial fish-farming industry.

"From February to August 28, 1,332,000 kilograms of blackchin tilapia were caught -- 590,840 kilograms from natural water sources and 743,550 kilograms from breeding ponds," Nattacha Boonchaiinsawat, the vice-president of a parliamentary committee set up to tackle the spread of the fish, told AFP.

"We talked to local residents and found out that the spread of tilapia has got worse -- they found them in small canals, which was not the case before," he added.