Hun Sen calls for end to illegal fishing

Hun Sen calls for end to illegal fishing

By Vong Sokheng

Following a report from fisheries experts that there has been an
increase in Cambodia's fish catch endangering some fish species, Prime
Minister Hun Sen has appealed to local authorities and fishermen not to
fish illegally during the off season, when fishing is banned.

"Do not commit fishing crimes that destroy the fish breeding; this will
cause the decline of fishing resources," Hun Sen said in a speech on
July 1 while attending a ceremony to release 500,000 fish fingerlings
in Sihanoukville.

The fishing season is suspended between June 1 and September 30 for the
areas north of Chatomuk, and between July 1 and October 31 south of
Chatomuk, according to Yin Dara, Fisheries Program Officer of Oxfam GB.


Hun Sen said the government is fighting against unregulated fishing and
forestry crimes around the Tonle Sap in order to maintain fishery
resources.

Nao Thuok, director of the Fisheries Department of the Ministry of
Forestry and Fisheries, said on July 6 that the department has taken
measures to fight unregulated fishing during the off season.

"Small-scale illegal fishing still occurs, but it will not threaten
fish resources," Thuok said.

He said the Fisheries Department has contributed at least 2,000 liters
of fuel for patrol boats in each provincial fishery around the Tonle
Sap.

Thuok said fisheries experts monitoring the migration of newborn fish
expressed concern that young fish were not able to migrate because of
unusual water level patterns.

But Dara told the Post that illegal fishing, specifically of the
vulnerable young fish, still occurs during the prohibited times and
will lead to a decline in the overall fisheries yield in the future.

Dara said ten fisheries were monitored by a network of environmental
NGOs that have received funding from Oxfam GB since 2001 to promote
sustainable fishing resources.

He said the NGOs each receive an average of $20,000 a year, and those
have worked with 78 of the 448 fishing communities across the country.

"We want to encourage cooperation between the fishing communities and
the local authorities to fight illegal fishing within their fishing
areas," Dara said.

He said the entrepreneurs who bought the fish catch to sell in the
market were a problem, because they supplied illegal equipment to
facilitate a large catch.

"They buy cheap electrocution equipment and give it to the fishermen,"
Dara said.

Em Channarith, acting director of the Fisheries Action Coalition Team
(FACT), said it was too early to give an account of illegal fishing
during the banned timeframe, but that illegal activities designed to
catch baby fish continue.

"We haven't received any reports from the local fishing communities
yet," said Channarith. "We have set up fisheries network and kept
monitoring on the issues."



Phnom Penh Post, Issue 15 / 14, July 14 - 27, 2006
© Michael Hayes, 2006. All rights revert to authors and artists on
publication.
For permission to publish any part of this publication, contact Michael
Hayes, Editor-in-Chief
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