Thailand Fish Farm Losses Approaching $90,000

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND (August 25, 2005) - Current and future losses to a fish hatchery supported by Covenant World Mission could amount to $90,000, due to recent flooding that devastated much of the area during the past two weeks.

The flooding followed several days of rain in northern Thailand. The water reached as high as 10 meters above flood stage. "No one in the village has ever seen water come so high," reports Randy Bevis, a Covenant career missionary to Thailand with expertise in the area of fish hatcheries.

In a report to Covenant News Service, Bevis lists the loss estimates:

$5,000 from the loss of 700,000 fry that were ready for sale

$7,500 from three million fry that were undergoing a sex reversal process

$20,000 from ponds that flooded in the nursery project, resulting in investment losses for fry and feed

$3,600 profit for the nursery farmers

$3,000 profit from the nursery ponds for the hatchery

$50,000 – the amount of projected loss in revenue for the next seven months due to the loss of breeders

The cost of specialized nets, which were washed away, has yet to be determined. The special nets are placed inside the ponds (supported by bamboo poles), preventing soil and silt from infiltrating the water. Breeding fish are placed inside the nets, separated by size. Containing the fish inside the nets makes it easier to capture the fish. "We have hundreds of these nets that we have sewn, and we wash them weekly. Those that were along the pike dike, ready to be washed and not tied down, may have been swept away."

Not all was lost, however. "Pond dikes, equipment, trucks, and fish feed from our storage are okay," Bevis notes. "They (staff and volunteers) got these things moved to higher ground when the waters started coming up."

The water did recede quickly and some of the fish remained in the area. "That was a great answer to prayer," Bevis says. "It is unbelievable that the fish would stay around with the waters so high over the banks of the pond." Crews have been able to recapture enough breeders for eight breeding nets of black tilapia and eight breeding nets of red tilapia. "We had over 40 sets of black tilapia and 30 sets of reds before," Bevis says. The captured breeders will make limited production possible, he added.

Bevis says he is not sure whether it will be economically feasible to transport fry from Singapore, which has an excess. "If we can, that will help provide for the loss of our breeders in the time we are growing out new ones."

While the losses of fish, nets and other material items is significant, the loss of future revenue generated by the nursery ponds will result in major losses to the rotating loan funds that are so important to the economic development efforts of the people in that area.

A new fund has been established by the Department of World Mission of the Evangelical Covenant Church to allow interested individuals and local churches to donate to the rebuilding effort at the Chiang Mai fish farm. Contributions should be earmarked for the Chiang Mai Fish Farm Fund and sent to Covenant World Mission, 5101 N. Francisco Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60625.

To read more of the original account of the flooding at Chiang Mai, please see Flooding.

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