Fisheries officials inspected seawater in Pattaya on Thursday after freshwater blackchin tilapia were reportedly caught off the beach in the resort city in Chon Buri.

A local fisherman called Start posted a video on his Facebook page on Wednesday. It showed large numbers of blackchin tilapia he caught off Pattaya Beach in Bang Lamung district.

Mr Start, who runs a fishing content channel with over 20,000 followers, said his fellow anglers were alarmed that large schools of blackchin tilapia had appeared in Pattaya, so he went to help catch them.

The latest inspection at the Na Kluea fishing pier area, where the fish were previously reported about two days ago, found no blackchin tilapia, according to officials.

Inspections would be conducted again at the pier and at Pattaya Beach, where information and videos had circulated online.

Blackchin tilapia is an invasive African species that was originally imported to Thailand for research purposes in 2010.

However, blackchin tilapia later started showing up in local waterways, with the first reports in 2012. As their population grew, native fish species started decreasing in number, leading to a major eradication campaign in 2024. 

Fishermen are being urged to help catch the fish, which are safe to eat.