Thai fisherman are seen in their boat along the Mekong River at Chiang Khan, near Thai-Laos border on 12 February 2007. China has built two dams on the river, and has blasted rocks and sandbars in portions of the 4,000-km (2,400-mi) river to make it easier to navigate, opening a shipping channel to Southeast Asia. Fishermen here say the increased traffic on the river is one of the reasons why their work has become more difficult.(AFP/File/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul) by Thanaporn Promyamyai
CHIANG KHAN, Thailand (AFP) - Phol Nasa cannot recall a time when his family wasn't fishing on the Mekong River where it sweeps through the misty hills along Thailand's northern border with Laos.
"I've watched my grandfather, my father and my brothers fishing on the river since I was very, very young," the 24-year-old said as he perched on the bow of a longtail boat in the middle of the river.
The family boat sets out every morning laden down with their nets which they men use to trawl the river bed for catfish and gourami.
Phol says the daily catch used to be enough to provide food for his family, and if he was lucky there would be enough fish to sell at the local market to earn a bit of money as well.
But now, he says, most days his nets come back empty.
Phol began joining the other men in his family when he was 10, when the river was very different and the fish were plentiful, he remembers.
"Fishing was easier when I was young. We had plenty of fish to catch, enough for everybody," he said.
Phol's family lives in one of the dozens of villages that stretch out near the river banks.
This region of northeastern Thailand is one of the poorest in the country, largely left out of the rapid modernisation that has taken place elsewhere.
The fishermen here say they don't know why the Mekong has begun changing, but say the water level is lower than it used to be, making it harder to catch fish.
"It should be easy to catch fish while the water is low, if there were any fish to catch," says Thom Nonla, a 55-year-old fisherman.
Experts say the low water levels are the result of unusually light rains last year, highlighting the chronic cycle of flood and drought in this part of Southeast Asia.
The unpredictable cycle is one reason that governments of countries along the Mekong, and especially China where the river begins, want to build dams, which they say will help regulate the waters.
China has already built two dams on the river, and is considering several more. It has also blasted rocks and sandbars in portions of the 4,000-kilometre (2,400-mile) river to make it easier to navigate, opening a shipping channel to Southeast Asia.
Fishermen here say the increased traffic on the river is one of the reasons their work has become more difficult.
"The big boats keep the fish away. We cannot fish because they make too much noise," Phol says.
Compared with the other major rivers flowing from China, the Mekong's ecology is in remarkably good condition, experts say.
It remains one of the world's most bio-diverse, and overfishing, rather than pollution, is to blame for the difficulties facing fisherman, experts say.
Relatively little industry lines the Mekong's banks -- partly because navigating the river is so treacherous.
As it runs from China through Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, the water alternates between silky smooth and white-water rapids, eventually leading to a major waterfall in Cambodia before stretching out into the swampy delta in Vietnam.
Sumatr Phulaiyao, coordinator of the Southeast Asia River Networks (SEARIN), says 500 Thai villagers have already been affected by the dams and the blasting, and the resulting changes in water levels.
"The blasting causes the river to run faster, and the water will hit the bank harder," causing erosion that will cause the river to swell, Sumatr says.
In areas where the river water becomes shallower, fish will push their way farther down river, he adds.
Whether this section of the river changes more over the next decade depends largely on how China proceeds with its planned development.
Phol says he has already been forced to look for extra work, finding odd jobs to earn extra money.
"I do whatever I can get hired to do. Fishing alone was not enough," he says as he pulls in his nets at the end of another day without a catch.
"I've watched my grandfather, my father and my brothers fishing on the river since I was very, very young," the 24-year-old said as he perched on the bow of a longtail boat in the middle of the river.
The family boat sets out every morning laden down with their nets which they men use to trawl the river bed for catfish and gourami.
Phol says the daily catch used to be enough to provide food for his family, and if he was lucky there would be enough fish to sell at the local market to earn a bit of money as well.
But now, he says, most days his nets come back empty.
Phol began joining the other men in his family when he was 10, when the river was very different and the fish were plentiful, he remembers.
"Fishing was easier when I was young. We had plenty of fish to catch, enough for everybody," he said.
Phol's family lives in one of the dozens of villages that stretch out near the river banks.
This region of northeastern Thailand is one of the poorest in the country, largely left out of the rapid modernisation that has taken place elsewhere.
The fishermen here say they don't know why the Mekong has begun changing, but say the water level is lower than it used to be, making it harder to catch fish.
"It should be easy to catch fish while the water is low, if there were any fish to catch," says Thom Nonla, a 55-year-old fisherman.
Experts say the low water levels are the result of unusually light rains last year, highlighting the chronic cycle of flood and drought in this part of Southeast Asia.
The unpredictable cycle is one reason that governments of countries along the Mekong, and especially China where the river begins, want to build dams, which they say will help regulate the waters.
China has already built two dams on the river, and is considering several more. It has also blasted rocks and sandbars in portions of the 4,000-kilometre (2,400-mile) river to make it easier to navigate, opening a shipping channel to Southeast Asia.
Fishermen here say the increased traffic on the river is one of the reasons their work has become more difficult.
"The big boats keep the fish away. We cannot fish because they make too much noise," Phol says.
Compared with the other major rivers flowing from China, the Mekong's ecology is in remarkably good condition, experts say.
It remains one of the world's most bio-diverse, and overfishing, rather than pollution, is to blame for the difficulties facing fisherman, experts say.
Relatively little industry lines the Mekong's banks -- partly because navigating the river is so treacherous.
As it runs from China through Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, the water alternates between silky smooth and white-water rapids, eventually leading to a major waterfall in Cambodia before stretching out into the swampy delta in Vietnam.
Sumatr Phulaiyao, coordinator of the Southeast Asia River Networks (SEARIN), says 500 Thai villagers have already been affected by the dams and the blasting, and the resulting changes in water levels.
"The blasting causes the river to run faster, and the water will hit the bank harder," causing erosion that will cause the river to swell, Sumatr says.
In areas where the river water becomes shallower, fish will push their way farther down river, he adds.
Whether this section of the river changes more over the next decade depends largely on how China proceeds with its planned development.
Phol says he has already been forced to look for extra work, finding odd jobs to earn extra money.
"I do whatever I can get hired to do. Fishing alone was not enough," he says as he pulls in his nets at the end of another day without a catch.
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