Invasive Alien Species

"Thailand wages war against 'alien' tilapia fish."

This report from the BBC is about Sarotherodon melanotheron, a freshwater fish from Africa that was introduced to Thailand about a decade ago to see if it was suitable for the fishing industry. That turned out not to be the case, but accidentally a few specimens escaped. And now this tilapia fish is threatening local fish populations and the local fishing industry. As the fish continues to inflect damage, the government is now trying very hard to eradicate this species of fish.

This tilapia species is an example of an invasive alien species (IAS). IAS are the second largest threat to biodiversity worldwide, the first one being habitat destruction.  A few weeks ago I gave a presentation on this topic during a workshop in Thailand. I was not able to attend in person, but fortunately I could do it digitally. The ECHO organization in Thailand organized a workshop for seed bank managers in Asia, and there were participants from 13 countries. These seed bank managers do a good job of storing seeds of all kinds of useful plants in their own local seedbanks. However, they also often take seeds from other areas to try out in their own area. Often without being aware of the risks associated with the introduction of an alien species. Through my presentation ECHO wanted to raise more awareness about this.

My presentation was well received and afterwards my colleague David Price and I were present on a video call to answer the participants questions. They asked some keen questions and we are happy that we were able to make them more aware of the potential risks of invasive species.