CPF announces support for solving the problem of black chin tilapia

Bangkok, CPF announced its readiness to accelerate support for solving the problem of black-chinned tilapia, coordinating with 3 leading universities to integrate proactively in many dimensions, responding to the government's measure to purchase 2,000 tons of black-chinned tilapia to be used to make fish meal at 15 baht per kilogram, including urgently implementing 5 projects. Mr. Prasit Boonduangprasert, Chief Executive Officer of Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL (CPF), announced a collaboration with lecturers from Kasetsart University, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL), Khon Kaen University, as well as a fishmeal factory to urgently solve the situation of the black chin tilapia. The company realizes that the spread of the black chin tilapia is currently causing suffering to people in many areas. The most important thing now is to cooperate and support the management of the problem to alleviate the impact urgently. As a private sector, the company supports the action plan of 5 projects t o jointly solve this problem of the government sector according to the company's potential. Mr. Prasit said that he would like to thank Mr. Settha Thavisin, the Prime Minister, who assigned Colonel Thammanat Prompao, the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, to drive the resolution of the problem. He also praised Mr. Bancha Sukkaew, the Director-General of the Department of Fisheries, for being strong and taking proactive action to reduce the number of black-chinned tilapia so that it does not affect the public. CPF is ready to use its organizational potential to support integrated solutions with all sectors and to take proactive action in 5 dimensions as follows: Project 1: Working with the Department of Fisheries to support the purchase of black-chinned tilapia from every province in the country where there is an outbreak, at a price of 15 baht per kilogram, 2,000,000 kilograms, to be used to produce fish meal in order to quickly eliminate black-chinned tilapia from the system as much and as quickly as possible. Previously, the company collaborated with the Siri Saeng Aramphi fish meal factory in Samut Sakhon Province to purchase 600,000 kilograms of black-chinned tilapia in the area and still has a plan to continue purchasing and coordinate additional purchasing points. We would like to thank the Department of Fisheries for its strict measures and the announcement to prohibit the breeding of black-chinned tilapia to prevent commercial breeding. Project 2: Supporting the government and communities by releasing 200,000 predatory fish into water sources. In the past, the company delivered 45,000 sea bass to the fisheries of Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram and Chanthaburi provinces. The process of releasing predatory fish follows the guidelines of the Department of Fisheries. Project 3: Supporting the government sector, communities and civil society in organizing fishing activities, providing fishing equipment and manpower in all areas with ongoing problems. In the past, the company has participated in the activity 'Long Kaek Long Klong, Mae Klong Team to Defeat Black-chinned Doctor' held in Samut Songkhram Province 4 times and will continue to do so in all provinces nationwide where there is an outbreak. Project 4: Development of food products from black chinned tilapia, with educational institutions showing interest in participating in the project, namely Kasetsart University, Khon Kaen University, and King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL), studying, researching, and developing food products. In the past, the company has received cooperation from Kasetsart University to develop menus using black chin tilapia, including fermented fish with herbs, Japanese rice seasoning powder, and crispy fish chili paste. Project 5: Joint research with experts to find a long-term approach to control the black chin tilapia population. King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang and Kasetsart University have expressed their intention to cooperate with the company in integrating to develop a long-ter m approach to alleviate the problem. The company is pleased to cooperate with experts and educational institutions both domestically and internationally. Mr. Preecha Sirisangaramphi, owner of Sirisangaramphi fishmeal factory in Samut Sakhon province, said that black chin tilapia is a fish with protein that can be used to produce quality fishmeal. The factory is pleased to be a part in alleviating this problem. It has coordinated with CPF, which works with the Department of Fisheries, and has purchased 600,000 kilograms since April and is still accepting purchases. Mr. Preecha said that he had informed the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives that 80% of the fish had disappeared. This method of elimination is on the right track and will greatly reduce the amount of black-chinned tilapia. It must be done continuously, along with measures to control and prevent illegal breeding and selling. Asst. Prof. Dr. Sittichai Hatachote, Assistant to the President for Research, Innovation and Social Mission, Kasetsa rt University, said that Kasetsart University has direct expertise in researching technology and innovation in fish control, including developing processing methods to quickly remove fish from water sources and releasing sea bass at the right time. The university has researched this type of fish for many years and will help fulfill the mission of the Fisheries Department. Fish have good protein and can be cooked as food for consumption. The university will use black chin tilapia to make fermented fish using microorganisms that help shorten the fermentation period of fermented fish. It can also be used to make fishmeal for animal feed, including researching and developing other methods to effectively manage and control black chin tilapia. As for concerns that fish will be raised for sale in the purchasing project, the truth is that the black chin tilapia farming period takes a year, but there is little meat, and the production cost is higher than the government's purchase price. Importantly, using it as fish meal for animal feed also helps reduce the cost of importing fish meal from abroad. Asst. Prof. Dr. Nantipa Pansawat, Department of Fishery Products, Faculty of Fisheries, Kasetsart University, said that there should be more awareness of the consumption of this type of fish. The department has studied the use of black chin tilapia at the household, industrial, and restaurant levels, and cooked into a variety of dishes. During this time, people are interested in tasting black chin tilapia, so there should be a link to processing and trimming the fish meat and making 'frozen fish meat' so that it can be transported to consumers more widely. If there are people who are ready to process or trim the fish, it will help this type of fish reach consumers in other regions more easily. Moreover, making it into processed food also helps prevent the spread of the fish to other areas. Asst. Prof. Dr. Wanlada Klangnurak, Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Technology, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladk rabang, said that it is good that all sectors have come together to manage and control the outbreak sustainably, focusing on the use of modern technology along with biological control methods such as Environmental DNA technology, which is the survey of DNA traces in nature, surveying the outbreak from the beginning, allowing the predatory fish to be brought in in time. In addition, it also includes the introduction of local predatory fish back into the ecosystem, which aims to maintain the natural balance and conserve biodiversity in Thai water sources. However, the black-chinned tilapia is not the first alien species to enter Thailand. The public sector is very important in being aware and helping to solve the problem as well as maintain the balance of the ecosystem. Asst. Prof. Dr. Saranat Sirisuay, Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Fisheries, Kasetsart University, stated that to solve the problem of the spread of black-chinned tilapia, the Fisheries Department has already conducted an in-depth study a nd has prepared a good plan to remove large fish from natural water sources as quickly as possible, leaving only small black-chinned tilapia. This includes relaxing the use of fishing equipment to increase efficiency and preparing to release predatory fish. Such methods help to gradually eliminate the life cycle of the fish. Meanwhile, the Fisheries Department is currently conducting research on 4N fish to cross with normal 2N fish to obtain 3N fish, which are sterile. As for the case where farmers understand that fish eggs can survive for up to 2 months during the pond drying period, this is almost impossible. All citizens should be aware but not panic. If you find black-chinned tilapia anywhere, please notify the Fisheries Department immediately. Source: Thai News Agency