Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchart Chomklin has requested seven days to sort through and verify evidence before identifying those responsible for the spread of invasive blackchin tilapia, insisting the government will act impartially.
He was responding to a Senate inquiry raised by Senator Thewarit Maneechai during a session on Monday on progress in investigations and legal action over environmental and economic damage caused by the species.
Mr Thewarit, who represents Samut Songkhram — identified as the origin of the outbreak — outlined a timeline dating to 2006, when the Fisheries Department approved the import of the fish from Ghana for research purposes.
The imports by Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF) did not take place until 2010 and the fish died within three weeks at the company’s Samut Songkhram research site. CPF said they were disposed of using approved methods.
However, the species has since spread widely, reaching Bangkok and 19 provinces along the Gulf of Thailand.
Despite this, Mr Thewarit said efforts to identify those responsible have lagged, with no state agency filing legal action.
This prompted residents in Samut Songkhram and Phetchaburi to file a class-action lawsuit against the importing company early last year.
However, a new study released last week by Chulalongkorn University researchers and published in an international scientific journal found that blackchin tilapia in Thai waterways originated at multiple places and in multiple ways, both human and natural.
Mr Thewarit cited a Thammasat University study estimating annual damage from the spread of the fish totalled 132 million baht to farmers and small-scale fisheries in tambon Phraek Nam Daeng of Samut Songkhram alone.
Mr Suchart acknowledged the issue had persisted across successive governments, with budgets allocated to address it, but he said the Fisheries Department holds key evidence for any legal action.
He has instructed the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources and the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning to urgently survey ecological damage, including losses of seagrass and native species.
He reaffirmed the government’s sincerity in tackling the issue without favour.
