Poor fishing season in Cambodia's sight
Due to less flooding, this year’s total catch is expected to equal or even fall short of last year’s total of 700,000 tonnes, Nao Thuok, director general at the Fisheries Administration, said yesterday.
“It is likely that number of fish catches will remain the same as last year or maybe a very slight decrease because less flooding means less fish eggs are able to hatch,” he said.
“The flooding period is also the period that fishes hatch from their eggs.”
Last year’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ annual report showed 718,000 tonnes of fish were caught and sold in 2013, of which 73 per cent came from fresh water and 14 per cent from sea water.
About 12 per cent of the Kingdom’s fish production comes from aquaculture operations.
Fishing season starts in early October for areas north of Phnom Penh, in the south, fishing season has just started this month. The season will run until the end of May.
Nor Ryas, a fisherman licensed to operate along a one -kilometre stretch of the Mekong River on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, said the catch so far this year has been less than expected.
“This time last year, in the worst case I would catch 10 kilograms of fish in a day, but now I am lucky to catch three kilograms of fish,” she said.
Dai – or fish net – owners like Ryas are required to pay around $10,000 in tax every fishing season, which allows them to fish within a one-kilometre radius of their dai operation.
“I do not have much hope in getting profits this year as there was a smaller flood compared to last year,” Ryas said.
Ryas called on the Fisheries Administration and police authorities to take firmer action against illegal or non-licensed fishermen.
Sen Mat, also a licensed fisherman along the Mekong River rallied Ryas’s concerns, saying his daily catch has declined noticeably compared to last year’s season.
“I have barely caught 10 kilograms of fish in 24 hours on average this year, while last season I could catch almost 60 kilograms,” he said.
Sen Mat said illegal fishermen using “improper” fishing equipment are to blame.
“Less fish means I will lose money, but what can I do? I still have to pay tax even if I lose money,” he said.
The Fisheries Administration’s Nao Thouk admitted that illegal fishing continues to plague the industry’s growth, however said the number of reported cases has decreased.
Current key management problems include:
Inadequate fisheries regulations: In many fisheries, current rules and regulations are not strong enough to limit fishing capacity to a sustainable level. This is particularly the case for the high seas, where there are few international fishing regulations.
Lack of implementation/enforcement: Even when fisheries regulations exist, they are not always implemented or enforced. For example, many countries have still not ratified, implemented, or enforced international regulations such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the UN Fish Stocks Agreement. Lack of political will is also responsible for failures to adopt bycatch reduction devices, for example.
Lack of transparency and traceability: Customs agencies and also retailers are not always ensuring that the fish entering their country and shops is caught legally and in a sustainable way. As a result, consumers are unwittingly supporting poor management by purchasing fish from unsustainable fisheries. Only when our seafood is traceable can markets and legal systems be effective and reward sustainable practices, whilst deter the irresponsible.
Failure to follow scientific advice: Many fisheries management bodies do not heed scientific advice on fish quotas and set catch limits above the recommended maximum amount; this is the case for for Atlantic cod and tuna, for example.
Flag of Convenience vessels: Countries are either failing to restrict fishing companies from owning and operating FoC vessels, or are not rigorously inspecting FoC vessels landing at their ports. This include countries with some of the biggest fishing fleets such as the EU, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan (China). This allows illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing to continue.
Too few no-go areas for fishing: Protected areas and no-take zones, where fishing is banned or strictly regulated, can provide essential safe havens where young fish can grow to maturity and reproduce before they are caught. But just 1.2% of the world's oceans have been declared as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), and 90% of existing MPAs are open to fishing. The current lack of protection is especially worrying for fish spawning grounds and the deep sea, both of which are particularly vulnerable to overfishing.
