Thailand’s experience with an invasive fish shows how badly things can go wrong when a species enters unfamiliar territory.
What’s going on?
Blackchin tilapia has wreaked havoc on the Southeast Asian country’s waterways, spreading to 17 provinces in recent years, as BBC reported.
Like other invasive species, it devours and out-competes native species to the detriment of ecosystems. Another issue is financial and could cost the country nearly $300 million.
“The core problem is that blackchin tilapia prey on small fish, shrimp and snail larvae, which are among Thailand’s important aquaculture products,” the BBC said.
The West African fish may have escaped from a Charoen Pokphand Foods laboratory after the company imported 2,000 of them in 2010, or they could have grown up after being smuggled into the country.
Why is this important?
As the BBC noted, it doesn’t matter how it happened, but what comes next. It’s a path taken by communities around the world, as human actions and a warming climate allow invasive plants and animals to colonize areas far and wide.
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“We will not pass on a destroyed ecosystem to the next generation,” Bangkok lawmaker Nattacha Boonchaiinsawat told the news agency.
Because tilapia can carry 500 fingerlings at once, the government has released Asian sea bass and long-haired catfish to devour the fish, doubling its bounty to $0.42 per kilogram.
Residents are encouraged to eat the catch too, but experts told the BBC it may not be possible to drive the fish away.
“I don’t see the possibility of eradicating it because we cannot limit its range,” said Suwit Wuthisuthimethavee of Walailak University. “When it’s in the wild, it reproduces continuously.”
What else is done to blackchin tilapia?
In another move, the government has genetically modified tilapia, which it hopes to release by the end of the year, to produce sterile offspring.
“Who will win?” Nattacha asked the BBC. “We need the people to follow the case closely, otherwise this issue will be quiet and we will pass this kind of environment to the next generation.”
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