Bangkok, The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the Department of Fisheries, government and private sectors are jointly promoting the capture, consumption and use of the black chin tilapia, along with sharing ideas on ‘How to make black chin tilapia into hygienic fermented fish,’ techniques for processing black chin tilapia into fermented fish sauce in a hygienic manner, along with presenting 5 special menus made from black chin tilapia cooked with Thai fermented fish from Chef Chumphon as ideas to support the public’s participation in controlling and eliminating black chin tilapia for increased consumption.
Lt. Col. Thammanat Prompao, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, revealed that he has ordered the Department of Fisheries to urgently solve the problem of the spread of black-chinned tilapia in all dimensions, both by implementing 7 measures under the action plan to solve the problem of the spread of black-chinned tilapia 2024-2027 and creating incentives for increased catching, both by sett
ing up purchasing points in outbreak areas and guaranteeing a price of 15 baht/kilogram before collecting and sending it to the Land Development Station to produce bio-fermented water to be delivered to the Rubber Authority of Thailand to distribute to farmers in the large-scale plot project for use in rubber plantations covering an area of ??over 200,000 rai, including creating public participation in controlling and reducing the black-chinned tilapia population in water sources by promoting increased catching for household consumption. The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has coordinated with the private sector to support the use of modern technology and innovation in the processing of black-chinned tilapia into fish sauce, in accordance with the policy of ‘Market-led, Innovation-enhanced, Increased Income’.
Mr. Bancha Sukkaew, Director-General of the Department of Fisheries, said that the processing of black-chinned tilapia is another way to solve the outbreak problem according to the third measur
e, the utilization of black-chinned tilapia that has been removed from the ecosystem, especially for consumption. Since black-chinned tilapia has a protein content of 18-20% and fat of 0.25-3%, which is close to that of general freshwater fish, it can be used as food or processed with various food preservation methods, such as sun-dried fish, sweet fish, fish sauce, and fermented fish sauce, which are currently widely popular both domestically and internationally. As a result, the export volume and value of fermented fish and products in 2023 will be as high as 65,000 tons, with a value of 2,396 million baht (data from the Department of Fisheries, 2024). Fermented fish products exported abroad must pass GMP and HACCP certification from the Department of Fisheries according to the export standards of each country to control Thai fermented fish products to be of quality, standard, and safe to be accepted by consumers.
Mr. Chumpol Chaengprai, Chairman of the Subcommittee of the Food Industry Promotion Committee
, said that fermented fish is a local food that is popular in all regions of Thailand. The export market to foreign countries has been continuously expanding. Previously, he had developed a hygienic fermented fish product using various types of freshwater fish as raw materials. In addition, there is currently an outbreak of black-chinned tilapia in the country, resulting in a large number of black-chinned tilapia being caught and used. Therefore, he saw an opportunity in the crisis by processing black-chinned tilapia raw materials into hygienic fermented fish, just like other types of fish, by applying new innovations and technologies. He conducted research in collaboration with the Synchrotron Light Research Institute in using synchrotron light technology to examine the quality of fermented fish sauce and collaborated with the Food Product Research and Development Institute, Kasetsart University, in conducting experiments and research, including transferring knowledge on making fermented fish to meet standar
ds. In addition, he has collaborated with the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) and the National Innovation Agency to upgrade and add value to fermented fish sauce. And today, we have brought a special menu using ingredients from black chin tilapia and Thai fermented fish for all the participants to taste, a total of 5 menus: grilled black chin tilapia with fermented fish and herbs, fried black chin tilapia with three-flavor fermented fish, crispy black chin tilapia with mango salad and fragrant fermented fish, baked black chin tilapia with Thai cheese, and fried black chin tilapia with black chin tilapia filling and fragrant kaffir lime.
Source: Thai News Agency