Parliament, CPF executives explain to the Higher Education Commission about measures to help people after the outbreak of "black-chinned tilapia", insist that they are not the source, ask what exactly caused it, importing 2,000 fish when there was news that 300,000 were exported, emphasize that importing fish is legal, it is very difficult to get them in, reveal that they have prepared 5 projects to remove fish from the system, purchase - release hunters - research The House of Representatives Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Committee (HEC) led by Mr. Thakorn Tanthasit, MP for the Thai Sang Thai Party as the chairman of the HEC, held a meeting to consider relief measures for those affected by the outbreak of the black-chinned tilapia, inviting the Secretary-General of the Council of State and the Director-General of the Comptroller General's Department. In addition, there is an important agenda, which is the consideration of projects or guidelines from Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL (CPF) to help people in areas affected by the outbreak of black chin tilapia. The representative from CPF who came to explain was Mr. Prasert Boonduangprasert, in his capacity as the Chairman of the Executive Committee. After the meeting, Mr. Prasit came out to meet the reporters and gave an interview that today's clarification has nothing to add. It is just information as previously announced. As for the project to help people affected by the black-chinned tilapia, it will be according to the 5 projects that are currently underway. The main reason for the clarification today is mainly about these 5 projects. I would like to add that there are two more institutions that would like to participate. We have informed the committee that Chulalongkorn University and Maejo University will join this project. These projects will support the government's measures. We think that we should help when problems arise, no matter what the cause is, whether it is related to the company or not. Like during COVID, we are considered a co mpany. We helped deliver millions of boxes of food to various places. It should be similar. 'We will probably set a goal to remove fish from the system as quickly as possible, around 2 million kilograms, and will probably support another 200,000 fish to help eliminate them faster. As for other matters, it will be research. We will have to see how much the research results can be used,' said Mr. Prasit. When asked if any evidence would be released, Mr. Prasit said it was as reported. He could not say much because some people might release inaccurate images, but he confirmed that he had sent them to the Fisheries Department. Mr. Prasit reiterated that what we explained was sufficient. As for those who were suspicious about the images, according to the process, we let people contact us and deliver the agreed-upon amount of fish. He reiterated that there is a standard management process. "With the issue of more than 300,000 being exported, which is 150 times different, I think we should consider what exactly caused the spread," said Mr. Prasert. Mr. Prasit confirmed that the outbreak of black chin tilapia did not come from CPF. As for what caused it, it would have to be followed up by the committee or relevant government agencies. "I would like to ask the reporters to consider further that the 2,000 and 300,000 are exported, not imported. Hey, where did that come from? We can't comment too much," said Mr. Prasert. When asked if other companies were involved, Mr. Prasit said that there was already news about it. There was already evidence that there were black-chinned tilapia exports from 11 companies to 17 countries. We saw information from the Department of Fisheries and other news that people had investigated further. When asked what made him certain that CPF was not involved, Mr. Prasit said that all management was in a systematic farm with high standards. We confirmed with the Department of Fisheries that the fish that came to us were even young fish. If you have ever raised fish well, you will know that out of the 2,000 fish that arrived at the airport, 600 were left in poor condition, which showed that the remaining fish were not healthy overall. In this regard, officials from the Department of Fisheries came to inspect at the airport and emphasized that it was normal. The reporter asked why the number of dead fish was a round number. Mr. Prasit explained that it was an estimate. At that time, they were imported for research and development. The idea came from a meeting on developing species at Kasetsart University before 2006. This was just an experimental idea, and the process was very complicated. It took a long time to legally import them. If the fish were not healthy, we closed the project. Source: Thai News Agency
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