Parliament, The Higher Education Commission revealed that next week, they will invite the Director-General of the Fisheries Department and 11 companies to explain where they brought the black-chinned tilapia from to export. They emphasized that they have not yet reached a conclusion on the source of the outbreak. "Thakorn" insists that he is not biased and is only looking for facts to send to relevant agencies. Mr. Thakorn Tanthasit, MP for the Thai Sang Thai Party and Chairman of the House of Representatives' Committee on Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, said after the meeting to consider relief measures for those affected by the outbreak of the black-chinned tilapia that he had invited the Comptroller General's Department, Office of the Council of State, to discuss legal issues regarding the matter that the Department of Fisheries had written a letter to discuss, which stated that in response to the letter dated August 1, 2024, the Department could use the money related to disaster relie f in the case of the outbreak of the black-chinned tilapia. He will officially respond in writing to the Department of Fisheries today that the trial government money can be used to help disaster victims in the case of the outbreak of the black-chinned tilapia in order to help those affected by the emergency case of 2020 as necessary and appropriate. In addition, the committee invited representatives from Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL (CPF) to provide clarification. Mr. Prasit Boonduangprasert, CPF's CEO, and his team provided clarification that they had conducted an experiment to import 2,000 small black-chinned tilapia in 2020 from Ghana. When they arrived at the airport, 1,400 died, leaving 600. They were placed in a fish pond, a concrete pond that had been constructed, and the fish gradually died until 50 remained. All of them have been sent to the Fisheries Department, with a written confirmation of the entire process. Mr. Thakorn said that the committee resolved to find additional facts regarding the new s that there were 11 companies that exported black chin tilapia to 17 countries in 2013-2016, such as the United States, Japan, and Australia. Where did the 11 companies get their fish from? Next week, the committee will invite the Director-General of the Department of Fisheries to clarify again, including representatives of the 11 companies to clarify how the exported fish were imported. Initially, the Department of Fisheries explained that there were signatures on the documents stating that they were the names of the black chin tilapia. Therefore, whatever is true and the documents will be considered accordingly. He confirmed that he did not have any bias against anyone in considering this matter. It is a factual document that, if concluded, will be sent to the government and relevant agencies, such as the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which is currently investigating this matter. Mr. Thakorn said that GPF has not yet been ruled out as the source of the outbreak, but he wants to find out wher e the 11 companies got their black chin tilapia from, because none of the 11 companies imported the black chin tilapia but how did they export them? Therefore, the source must be found, which is the original document from 2010, in which CPF stated that they imported and destroyed all of them or not. CPF stated 4 steps, that the Department of Fisheries cut the fish's fins to send them, while the remains of the fish are something that the Department of Fisheries must investigate. As for the pond where CPF raised the fish, it was a cement pond. Therefore, the committee requested evidence of the construction, which required permission from the Yi San Subdistrict Administrative Organization, and was related to where the 11 companies exported them. Did they export them with the wrong signature? Because the Department of Fisheries confirmed that the name was filled in incorrectly. How could the destination countries receive fish like this? Because there must be a tor for receiving them. The committee will then inves tigate the facts. As for the relief measures to help the people, Mr. Thakorn said that the government, led by the Prime Minister, has already announced 7 measures, and CPF has confirmed that it will provide additional assistance to the government. It will use a budget of approximately 450 million baht, which CPF will consider in order to provide additional assistance to the government, in addition to the 5 projects that have already been proposed. In addition, there is a measure that the Department of Fisheries will use the trial money to help the people in this part. The letter from the Comptroller General's Department stated that it is in accordance with the regulations for using the trial money, so it is a good goal for the people. However, it must be traced back to the root of the process to see how it came about. The committee will do its best. In today's meeting, all issues were questioned and additional documents from CPF were requested, such as the research license in 2010. After all conclusions are reached, the committee will forward them to the relevant agencies. Source: Thai News Agency