A group of over 1,000 fish farmers and local fishermen in Thailand’s Samut Sakhon province filed a THB 2.5 billion ($77.6 million) class action lawsuit against Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF), the country’s largest agribusiness conglomerate, reports Thai PBS.

In the lawsuit filed earlier this month, the plaintiffs allege that the introduction and spread of the non-native Blackchin tilapia by CPF beginning in 2010 has caused significant economic damage to their fish farms and local fishing grounds since 2017.

Representatives from the Law Council of Thailand also filed a separate lawsuit on behalf of 54 fishermen and fish farmers against 18 government agencies for alleged negligence in allowing the invasive fish to proliferate through natural waterways connected to 13 provinces.

CPF imported 2,000 Blackchin tilapia from Ghana in 2010 for research purposes, but nearly all died in transit or shortly after arrival. CPF claims it followed official guidelines to destroy the remaining fish, but local authorities later found fish in waterways connected to the farm, the article states.