Thailand's Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry has given the Fisheries Department a seven-day deadline to find the source of the explosion in the blackchin tilapia population.
Prayoon Inskul, permanent secretary for the ministry, on Saturday said his team has drawn up a plan to tackle the outbreak in 16 provinces.
A committee initially will be asked to bring the population under control by September next year and raise the price to 15 baht per kilogramme, up from eight baht a kilogramme now.
Mr Prayoon said the committee will investigate the import of the fish species on local ecosystems and the source of its outbreak.
The committee is required to have the department's report ready within seven days. The findings will be submitted to the ministry for drafting a solution, he said.
The meeting also discussed preparations to release predatory fish, such as white sea bass, to help hunt down juveniles of this invasive species.
Surveillance measures will be beefed up in areas where the fish have not been discovered yet, he added.
A source said Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thamanat Prompow will visit Samut Sakhon to meet representatives from 16 provinces along the Gulf of Thailand tomorrow.
Those invited include officials from agencies such as the Rubber Authority of Thailand, the Department of Land Development and the Department of Agriculture.
Rapid reproduction
On Friday, the department's director-general, Bancha Sukkaew, announced a prohibition on farming blackchin tilapia and the ministry also issued a regulation banning the activity.
Under Section 144 of the Fisheries Act 2015, violators are liable to imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of up to one million baht, or both.
The reason behind the ban is that this invasive species can adapt to Thailand's environment and the fish can grow and reproduce rapidly, adversely affecting the ecosystem and causing problems for aquaculturists and fishermen, who say fish from other species are under threat.
The blackchin tilapia (Sarotherodon melanotheron) is native to West Africa. It can live in fresh and brackish water and coastal areas. Its lifespan is up to nine years and it can grow to a length of about 25cm. The fish's reproductive age starts at one year old and can breed every 22 days.
A female fish can lay up to 900 eggs at a time. Its breeding season is throughout the year, according to the Fisheries Department.
The fish is considered an invasive alien species, and the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry has made eradicating it a part of its national farming agenda.
