Kalasin launches campaign to catch invasive black-chin tilapia

Officials in Nong Krung Si district and local volunteers in the northeastern province of Kalasin will launch a fishing campaign on Friday to catch black-chin tilapia in the reservoir behind Lam Pao Dam, in an effort to eliminate the invasive species from local waterways.

Fisheries officials have recently caught 417 black-chin tilapia in the reservoir but believe many more remain, as local fishermen continue to catch the fish daily without reporting their catches to authorities.

Trawl nets, throw nets and fish traps will be used at four locations where black-chin tilapia are most frequently caught.

Meanwhile, shrimp farmers in Yang Talat district have begun using fine-mesh nets to filter water drawn from the Lam Pao Reservoir into their farms, preventing fish, including black-chin tilapia, from entering.

The district has about 5,000 shrimp farmers, whose combined annual earnings are estimated at three billion baht.

Black-chin tilapia are considered a major threat to the district’s shrimp farming industry.