NAKHON PHANOM: Hundreds of tonnes of tilapia fish being raised in baskets have died in three districts following recent summer storms in the area, causing about 20 million baht damage, a senior official said.
Naree Phosa, chief fishery officer of Si Songkhram district, said tilapia fish, or pla nil, were being farmed in the Songkhram stream in Na wa, Si Songkhram and Tha Uthen districts.
Rainfall from the storms earlier this month caused a sudden decrease of the water temperature in the stream, which lowered the oxygen content. An estimated 300 tonnes of fish died in the farmers' baskets. Total losses were estimated at 20 million baht.
Fishery officials were now advising the farmers how to stem the death rate.
As for the dead fish, they were being fermented to make pla ra, or being composted. The unusable leftovers had been buried to prevent them polluting the stream.