Watcharapol is preparing to lead a team to Lam Pao Dam in Kalasin this Saturday to follow up on the black-barbel fish situation after over 100 more were recently found. He stressed that the main goal is to control and contain the spread to prevent further expansion.
On 21 Sep 2026, Watcharapol Khawkhum, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives and director of the command center monitoring and addressing the black-barbel fish outbreak, reported progress in tackling the issue at Lam Pao Dam, Kalasin Province. Latest reports indicate over 100 black-barbel fish (111 in total) have been found in the area. He said Kalasin’s provincial fisheries office has coordinated with local officials and residents to continuously remove the fish. He acknowledged that completely eliminating the black-barbel fish will take a long time, so the urgent priority is to control and limit the outbreak's spread.
It is notable that some captured black-barbel fish are large, indicating they have been living and spreading naturally in the area for some time. This Saturday (26 Sep 2026), a working team will visit Kalasin to monitor the situation, conduct detailed inspections, and discuss solutions with provincial authorities.
Watcharapol also stated that the command center coordinating the black-barbel fish outbreak response involves collaboration among 29 agencies. They are committed to mobilizing officials at the district level, as well as subdistrict chiefs and village heads, across 21 provinces affected by the outbreak, working at full capacity to contain the spread and achieve concrete results.