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Showing posts with label Declining fish catch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Declining fish catch. Show all posts
Friday, October 28, 2011
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Scarcity of fish in Mekong Delta’s flood season [- Could it be due to overfishing in the Tonle Sap by illegal Vietnamese immigrants?]
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VietNamNet Bridge – People in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta often say “as dirt-cheap as linh fish” but this statement is wrong now.
This is the flood season in this region but the price for linh fish at markets in Long Xuyen city, An Giang province is up to 180,000 dong (nearly $10) a kilo. Last year, the price for a kilo of linh fish was only several thousands of dong. Why has the fish become expensive?
VietNamNet reporters went in mid-October to Con Coc village, which is called the village of linh fish, in An Phu district, An Giang province, to find the answer.
Despite it being the flood season Con Coc was abnormally dry . Fishing equipment was placed along the road. Many fishing boats were not used.
“In previous years, if you went to our village, you would have to use a boat,” Nguyen Minh Chi, a local official told VietNamNet.
“The flood season is also the time to catch linh fish. This year flood doesn’t come so local people have to plant maize instead,” Chi said, pointing to a newly-grown maize field along the Hau river, a branch of the Mekong River.
Nguyen Minh Huong, 70, who has earned his living by catching linh fish for several decades, said he used to catch hundreds of kilo of linh fish in previous flood seasons but this year flood doesn’t come so he had to plant maize.
Nguyen Van Tong, a fish creel maker, said last year he sold nearly 40,000 linh fish creels to local people and clients in Cambodia. This year even his clients in Cambodia didn’t buy creels because of the low water level in the Mekong river.
“Young people in our village went to Cambodia to catch fish but they had to return home and in the end went to Saigon and Binh Duong to seek jobs,” Tong added.
The fishing season Bung Binh Thien in An Phu district, An Giang province, which is called the “God’s Fish Lake” because it used to be full of fish all the year round, is also poor this year.
“I have been drawing up nets from 4am but I until now (9am) I’ve caught less than a kilo of fish. I used to catch 30-40kg of fish a day,” Mrs. Lai Thi Hai said.
VietNamNet reporters called Huynh Quang Dau, director of Antesco company, which often purchase linh fish in An Giang during the flood season. Dau only said briefly: “Flood hasn’t come so we couldn’t buy linh fish this year”.
An Giang people said that in the past, linh fish was in plenty and it was dirty cheap. People used to buy linh fish to process animal feed. But now linh fish is very expensive.
“Linh fish comes from Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake. During the flood season, the baby fish go to An Giang’s flooded fields. At the end of the flood season, they go to the Mekong River to go back to Cambodia to lay eggs. Linh fish has become An Giang’s specialty during the flood season,” explained Doan Ngoc Pha, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of An Giang province.
Pha said that many people thought that flood in the southwestern region is the same one as the flood in the central Vietnam. But flood in the southwestern region is the good time for local people to earn money from breeding and catching fish and planting specialty vegetables like nhut, bong sung and dien dien. This year they have suffered losses as flood water doesn’t come.
He also said that without flood water, the next rice crop will be not good.
He said that flood water doesn’t come this year possibly because of the dams built by China in the upstream of the Mekong River and the drought in Laos and Cambodia.
According to the An Giang Hydrometeorology Centre, the flood peak in the Hau river (a branch of the Mekong River which runs through An Giang) this year was only 3.05m, over 1m lower than last year. This is the record low level in dozens of years, except for 1998.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Worries ahead for Cambodia
Aug 26, 2010
By Laurinda Luffman
SOS Children
By Laurinda Luffman
SOS Children
In Cambodia, government officials and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are sounding the alarm over late rains and record low water levels. In a country with a population of 14 million, over forty percent or some 6 million people rely on the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers for their livelihood.
In Cambodia, government officials and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are sounding the alarm over late rains and record low water levels. In a country with a population of 14 million, over forty percent or some 6 million people rely on the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers for their livelihood.
The director of the Fisheries Administration in Cambodia is warning that the impact of the low water levels in the Mekong and Tonle rivers could be severe. The places where fish can lay their eggs have been limited by the late rainfall, with crucial spawning grounds remaining dry. This will affect the production and migration of fish during the rest of the year.
River levels along the Mekong, which runs through China, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos, have been of concern for some time. This month’s river levels are the lowest ever recorded for August according to the Mekong River Commission. Environmentalists worry that the increasingly shallow Mekong could be affected by upriver dams in China. 4 dams are already in operation along the Chinese stretch of the river and 9 more are under construction. With over 60 million people dependent on the Mekong for food, commerce and transportation, the situation is being carefully monitored by the River Commission.
But it is not only the fisherman of Cambodia who are being affected by the low rainfall. Rice farmers are also suffering, since more than 85 percent of the country’s rice production relies on the annual rains. One farmer in the western Pursat Province reported that his sowing was a month behind schedule, which could cut his yield by half. Other provinces are reporting an increase in the numbers of rural Cambodians who are heading to Thailand in search of seasonal labour.
Rice is Cambodia’s main crop and there could be a 22 percent decrease in production this year, from 7.6 million MT to 5.9 million, according to estimates from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). In this climate of concern, it is little wonder there is limited enthusiasm among some officials for the war crimes tribunal set up to try former Khmer Rouge leaders. Last month, the UN-backed tribunal convicted its first Khmer Rouge official for his part in the genocide of 1975-1979, when around 2 million people were killed. The 67-year old ex-teacher, Kaing Guek Eav, a commandant of a detention centre which oversaw the torture of around 14,000 adults and children before they were sent off to the “killing fields”, was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced to 35 years in jail.
Human rights groups say the sentence represents a measure of hope that other Cambodians responsible for similar atrocities will be punished. But many ordinary Cambodians have expressed disappointment at what they see as a lenient sentence. More proceedings are scheduled for next year, when four of the highest ranking officials will be tried.
But whilst TV coverage of the trials might prove a distraction for some of Cambodia’s population, others will be too busy worrying about their livelihoods in the present to pay much attention to the events of the past. The director of the Fisheries Administration in Cambodia is warning that the impact of the low water levels in the Mekong and Tonle rivers could be severe. The places where fish can lay their eggs have been limited by the late rainfall, with crucial spawning grounds remaining dry. This will affect the production and migration of fish during the rest of the year.
In Cambodia, government officials and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are sounding the alarm over late rains and record low water levels. In a country with a population of 14 million, over forty percent or some 6 million people rely on the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers for their livelihood.
The director of the Fisheries Administration in Cambodia is warning that the impact of the low water levels in the Mekong and Tonle rivers could be severe. The places where fish can lay their eggs have been limited by the late rainfall, with crucial spawning grounds remaining dry. This will affect the production and migration of fish during the rest of the year.
River levels along the Mekong, which runs through China, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos, have been of concern for some time. This month’s river levels are the lowest ever recorded for August according to the Mekong River Commission. Environmentalists worry that the increasingly shallow Mekong could be affected by upriver dams in China. 4 dams are already in operation along the Chinese stretch of the river and 9 more are under construction. With over 60 million people dependent on the Mekong for food, commerce and transportation, the situation is being carefully monitored by the River Commission.
But it is not only the fisherman of Cambodia who are being affected by the low rainfall. Rice farmers are also suffering, since more than 85 percent of the country’s rice production relies on the annual rains. One farmer in the western Pursat Province reported that his sowing was a month behind schedule, which could cut his yield by half. Other provinces are reporting an increase in the numbers of rural Cambodians who are heading to Thailand in search of seasonal labour.
Rice is Cambodia’s main crop and there could be a 22 percent decrease in production this year, from 7.6 million MT to 5.9 million, according to estimates from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). In this climate of concern, it is little wonder there is limited enthusiasm among some officials for the war crimes tribunal set up to try former Khmer Rouge leaders. Last month, the UN-backed tribunal convicted its first Khmer Rouge official for his part in the genocide of 1975-1979, when around 2 million people were killed. The 67-year old ex-teacher, Kaing Guek Eav, a commandant of a detention centre which oversaw the torture of around 14,000 adults and children before they were sent off to the “killing fields”, was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced to 35 years in jail.
Human rights groups say the sentence represents a measure of hope that other Cambodians responsible for similar atrocities will be punished. But many ordinary Cambodians have expressed disappointment at what they see as a lenient sentence. More proceedings are scheduled for next year, when four of the highest ranking officials will be tried.
But whilst TV coverage of the trials might prove a distraction for some of Cambodia’s population, others will be too busy worrying about their livelihoods in the present to pay much attention to the events of the past. The director of the Fisheries Administration in Cambodia is warning that the impact of the low water levels in the Mekong and Tonle rivers could be severe. The places where fish can lay their eggs have been limited by the late rainfall, with crucial spawning grounds remaining dry. This will affect the production and migration of fish during the rest of the year.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Low water a concern for Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Officials have mixed feelings over whether low rains or upstream dams are influencing the rice and fishing sectors in Cambodia, authorities said.
Roughly 45 percent of the Cambodian population depends on fishing in the Mekong and Tonle Sap river basins. The rainy season that typically starts in July but came a month late this year and non-governmental organizations are expecting a dramatic impact on fishing.
"We expect the impact to be very strong," Nao Thuok, director of the Fisheries Administration, told the U.N.'s humanitarian news agency IRIN.
Biologists say lower water levels are harming the spawning grounds of many fish species, limiting fish production and migration.
Meanwhile, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization predicts the rice output from Cambodia would fall 22 percent for 2010 compared with last year because of lower water levels.
Rice is a staple crop in Cambodia and requires more water than other crops.
Environmentalists said four dams upstream in China and the nine others under construction in Laos and Cambodia are making for shallow waters in the Mekong River.
The Mekong River Commission, however, said the dams aren't influencing downstream water levels.
Roughly 45 percent of the Cambodian population depends on fishing in the Mekong and Tonle Sap river basins. The rainy season that typically starts in July but came a month late this year and non-governmental organizations are expecting a dramatic impact on fishing.
"We expect the impact to be very strong," Nao Thuok, director of the Fisheries Administration, told the U.N.'s humanitarian news agency IRIN.
Biologists say lower water levels are harming the spawning grounds of many fish species, limiting fish production and migration.
Meanwhile, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization predicts the rice output from Cambodia would fall 22 percent for 2010 compared with last year because of lower water levels.
Rice is a staple crop in Cambodia and requires more water than other crops.
Environmentalists said four dams upstream in China and the nine others under construction in Laos and Cambodia are making for shallow waters in the Mekong River.
The Mekong River Commission, however, said the dams aren't influencing downstream water levels.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Cambodia's fishery exports to drop 20 pct this year
PHNOM PENH, Apr. 26, 2010 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government is set to reduce exports of fishery products by 20 percent this year in order to cater for rising domestic demand, local media reported on Monday, citing industry officals.
Nao Thuk, director general of the General Department of Fishery Administration, said that this year Cambodia would export 24,000 tons of fishery products.
"We can catch a lot of fish, but our population has risen too. That was why we have to reduce exports of fishery products," Nao Thuk was quoted by the Phnom Penh Post as saying.
Representatives from the Fishery Administration declined to reveal the scale of domestic demand.
In March, the General Department of Fishery Administration reported that last year Cambodia exported 30,000 tons of fishery products, which included fish, lobster, sea crab and shrimp.
In 2008, only 5,000 tons were exported.
Last year's exports earned Cambodia 30 million U.S. dollars as products entered markets in Australia, the United States, China, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.
Increasing exports have, in the past, echoed a rise in production.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reported that in 2009 Cambodia harvested a total of 515, 000 tons of fishery products, compared to 431,000 tons the previous year.
Commentators from the NGO community have praised the government 's decision, saying that catering for the Kingdom's population before setting export amounts would ensure food security in the future, the Post reported.
Nao Thuk said that Cambodia, which has rich resources of freshwater and sea fish, would be able to generate revenue between 40 million U.S. dollars an 60 million U.S. dollars per year from exports if local demand were not accounted for.
Nao Thuk, director general of the General Department of Fishery Administration, said that this year Cambodia would export 24,000 tons of fishery products.
"We can catch a lot of fish, but our population has risen too. That was why we have to reduce exports of fishery products," Nao Thuk was quoted by the Phnom Penh Post as saying.
Representatives from the Fishery Administration declined to reveal the scale of domestic demand.
In March, the General Department of Fishery Administration reported that last year Cambodia exported 30,000 tons of fishery products, which included fish, lobster, sea crab and shrimp.
In 2008, only 5,000 tons were exported.
Last year's exports earned Cambodia 30 million U.S. dollars as products entered markets in Australia, the United States, China, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.
Increasing exports have, in the past, echoed a rise in production.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reported that in 2009 Cambodia harvested a total of 515, 000 tons of fishery products, compared to 431,000 tons the previous year.
Commentators from the NGO community have praised the government 's decision, saying that catering for the Kingdom's population before setting export amounts would ensure food security in the future, the Post reported.
Nao Thuk said that Cambodia, which has rich resources of freshwater and sea fish, would be able to generate revenue between 40 million U.S. dollars an 60 million U.S. dollars per year from exports if local demand were not accounted for.
Monday, April 05, 2010
Concerns grow over local fish supply
The government has guaranteed internal seafood supply even as foreign demand for Cambodian products has grown. (Photo: Stock File)Monday, April 05, 2010
FIS (USA)
Cambodia exported 30,000 tonnes of fish products worth USD 30 million last year, the government reported. However, these exports negatively impacted local supply.
In 2009, 20,000 tonnes of fresh fish and 10,000 tonnes of processed fish were exported, an increase of 5,000 tonnes of fish over the previous year, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Fisheries Department said on Tuesday.
“We do not want to export too much because we want to give an adequate supply to local demand,” said Sam Nov, deputy director of the department.
He declined to specify the amount of fish needed for Cambodia’s residents.
The national government has been attempting to balance the rising international demand for Cambodian fish products with the dietary needs of Cambodians themselves, who rely on freshwater fish as a food staple, Phnom Penh Post reports.
Some 465,000 tonnes of fish were caught by the country in 2009, a hike of more than 25 per cent from the previous year, according to the report by the Fisheries Department. Of that amount, 390,000 tonnes consisted of freshwater fish.
At the same time, only 25,000 tonnes worth USD 25 million were exported. This was made up of 17,000 tonnes of fresh fish and 8,000 tonnes of processed fish.
Cambodia is an exporter of elephant fish, grouper, lobster, crab and prawns and processed freshwater fish to Australia, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the US and Vietnam, among other markets.
Although the government will not quit exporting fishery products, the amount of products exported will depend on how much remains, Nov explained.
Both domestic and international demand for Cambodia’s fish is climbing. Vietnam and Thailand particularly have increased their demand, and some companies have begun capitalising.
Canadian Nautisco Seafood Manufacturing began running a processing plant in Preah Sihanouk Province last September for a cost of USD 4 million.
At that time, Nautisco officials said they wished to have an output of 30 tonnes of frozen prawns per day - up to 500 tonnes per month. This represents a remarkable rise over Cambodia's typical shrimp catch.
Nautisco said it wants to export its prawns to Canada, Eastern Europe, Japan, Russia and the US.
Despite trends, it is too early in the year to foretell what the 2010 catch will be, analysts said.
Thau Kimsreang, president of Thau Kimsreang Import Export, said the government does not promote the export of fishery products. Thau Kimsreang shipped around 300 tonnes of processed fish in 2009.
“We do not think that in 2010 our company will be able to export as much fish as last year,” he stated.
In 2009, 20,000 tonnes of fresh fish and 10,000 tonnes of processed fish were exported, an increase of 5,000 tonnes of fish over the previous year, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Fisheries Department said on Tuesday.
“We do not want to export too much because we want to give an adequate supply to local demand,” said Sam Nov, deputy director of the department.
He declined to specify the amount of fish needed for Cambodia’s residents.
The national government has been attempting to balance the rising international demand for Cambodian fish products with the dietary needs of Cambodians themselves, who rely on freshwater fish as a food staple, Phnom Penh Post reports.
Some 465,000 tonnes of fish were caught by the country in 2009, a hike of more than 25 per cent from the previous year, according to the report by the Fisheries Department. Of that amount, 390,000 tonnes consisted of freshwater fish.
At the same time, only 25,000 tonnes worth USD 25 million were exported. This was made up of 17,000 tonnes of fresh fish and 8,000 tonnes of processed fish.
Cambodia is an exporter of elephant fish, grouper, lobster, crab and prawns and processed freshwater fish to Australia, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the US and Vietnam, among other markets.
Although the government will not quit exporting fishery products, the amount of products exported will depend on how much remains, Nov explained.
Both domestic and international demand for Cambodia’s fish is climbing. Vietnam and Thailand particularly have increased their demand, and some companies have begun capitalising.
Canadian Nautisco Seafood Manufacturing began running a processing plant in Preah Sihanouk Province last September for a cost of USD 4 million.
At that time, Nautisco officials said they wished to have an output of 30 tonnes of frozen prawns per day - up to 500 tonnes per month. This represents a remarkable rise over Cambodia's typical shrimp catch.
Nautisco said it wants to export its prawns to Canada, Eastern Europe, Japan, Russia and the US.
Despite trends, it is too early in the year to foretell what the 2010 catch will be, analysts said.
Thau Kimsreang, president of Thau Kimsreang Import Export, said the government does not promote the export of fishery products. Thau Kimsreang shipped around 300 tonnes of processed fish in 2009.
“We do not think that in 2010 our company will be able to export as much fish as last year,” he stated.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Tonle Sap Failing Fishermen
By Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer
Original report from Kampong Chhnang Province
01 June 2008
Original report from Kampong Chhnang Province
01 June 2008
[Editor's note: In the weeks leading into national polls, VOA Khmer will explore a wide number of election issues. The "Election Issues 2008" series will air stories on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by a related "Hello VOA" guest on Thursday. This is the first in a two-part series examining the fate of the Tonle Sap.]
The decline in the number of fish in the Tonle Sap is threatening Cambodia’s fishing villages, and experts worry large numbers will continue to fall if no clear measures are taken to curb illegal fishing.
Fishing villagers in Chhnok Trou, Kampong Chhnang province, say fish have declined 50 percent in recent years. The drop was due to the use of illegal fishing implements, they say.
Un Phala, 55, said before 2005 her fish haul could reach up to hundreds of kilograms per day, but this year she and her family can’t find fish beyond 6 kilograms per day.
“The fisheries are being ruined from day to day, and I am worried that there will be no more fish in the future,” she said, stitching a net under an old wooden house. “We are getting poorer, and some people, they have nothing to eat.”
Chhnok Trou is the largest fishing area in Kampong Chhnang, some 130 kilometers from the capital. About 90 percent of the population of 10,000 are fishermen who live in poverty. Their small wooden houses sit on water littered with debris.
Sam Rith Peng, Chhnok Trou’s commune chief, acknowledged that there were many illegal fishing implements being used in the provinces along the Tonle Sap, decreasing the fish supply each year.
Chhnok Trou fishermen caught a total of 50 tons of fish this year, compared to 100 tons last year, he said.
“This decline could badly affect people whose livings depend on fishing,” he said. “Their economy will be jumping down.”
The Tonle Sap is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, with the potential to produce up to 230,000 tons of fish per year. But experts say the number has been declining due to human activity.
“We can see large amounts of fish decreasing every year,” said Mak Sithirith, director of the Fishery Action Coalition Team. “So if there is no certain measure to cope with the illegal fishing equipment, fish product automatically declines, and it will affect fishing people in the future.”
Facing the decline of fish and illegal fishing methods, villagers of this community say they are looking for their elected leaders to do something, or leave their positions.
The decline in the number of fish in the Tonle Sap is threatening Cambodia’s fishing villages, and experts worry large numbers will continue to fall if no clear measures are taken to curb illegal fishing.
Fishing villagers in Chhnok Trou, Kampong Chhnang province, say fish have declined 50 percent in recent years. The drop was due to the use of illegal fishing implements, they say.
Un Phala, 55, said before 2005 her fish haul could reach up to hundreds of kilograms per day, but this year she and her family can’t find fish beyond 6 kilograms per day.
“The fisheries are being ruined from day to day, and I am worried that there will be no more fish in the future,” she said, stitching a net under an old wooden house. “We are getting poorer, and some people, they have nothing to eat.”
Chhnok Trou is the largest fishing area in Kampong Chhnang, some 130 kilometers from the capital. About 90 percent of the population of 10,000 are fishermen who live in poverty. Their small wooden houses sit on water littered with debris.
Sam Rith Peng, Chhnok Trou’s commune chief, acknowledged that there were many illegal fishing implements being used in the provinces along the Tonle Sap, decreasing the fish supply each year.
Chhnok Trou fishermen caught a total of 50 tons of fish this year, compared to 100 tons last year, he said.
“This decline could badly affect people whose livings depend on fishing,” he said. “Their economy will be jumping down.”
The Tonle Sap is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, with the potential to produce up to 230,000 tons of fish per year. But experts say the number has been declining due to human activity.
“We can see large amounts of fish decreasing every year,” said Mak Sithirith, director of the Fishery Action Coalition Team. “So if there is no certain measure to cope with the illegal fishing equipment, fish product automatically declines, and it will affect fishing people in the future.”
Facing the decline of fish and illegal fishing methods, villagers of this community say they are looking for their elected leaders to do something, or leave their positions.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Dwindling Fish Stocks Threaten Food Security
By Andrew Nette
"I have been fishing in this stretch of the Mekong for ten years," said Vandang, squatting in his thatched house in Kandal province, east of the Cambodia’s capital. "For the last few years the number of fish in the river has definitely been going down. I used to catch a lot. Now I am lucky to catch three kilos a day. I have just come back from a morning’s fishing and caught nothing."
Vandang’s concerns are part of a bigger debate about the state of Cambodia’s fisheries.
It is a vital food security issue given that fish account for 75 percent of the protein consumed in Cambodia -- 90 percent in fishing communities -- as well as providing livelihood for over a million of people.
So concerned is the Cambodian government that it is considering the introduction of stringent fishing controls, a move that some believe would only further disadvantage the poor.
The road from Phnom Penh to Vandang’s fishing village is filling up with people heading out of the capital, the beginning of a mass exodus as people return to their provinces to celebrate Khmer New Year in mid-April.
"I am a fisherman but now I have to buy prahok from the market," he says referring to the pungent fish paste that is a staple condiment for virtually all Cambodian dishes.
There have been several stories in the Khmer press about the rising price of prahok due to declining fish catches. Vandang says that the cost of small fish, known as trey riel, the core ingredient of prahok, has increased nearly 200 percent in the past 12 months.
"This is not the first time that people have talked about declines in fish catches, people were already talking about this as early as 1995," said Nao Thuok, director general of fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Phnom Penh.
He confirmed that the fish catch declined in 2007 to about 12,500 tonnes, down from 28,000 tonnes in 2006, but added that 12,500 tonnes was the average before 2006 and that it was 2007 that was an unusual year. "There is some decrease in big fish but the total amount, especially small fish, is not declining.’
Mak Sithirith, executive director of the Fisheries Action Coalition Team, an organisation working with local communities on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap lake, disagrees.
He is critical of the accuracy of the government’s figures, which he said only examined the catch from commercial fishing lots. "There are 2.1 million people on the Tonle Sap floodplain, most of whom are fishers and many of whom depend totally on fishing for their living. For us, working in the community and looking at the household fishing catch, we can definitely say it is going down, without a doubt."
"Ten years ago they would catch ten kilos of fish a day. Now it is five or less."
"It is difficult to rigorously document a decline in overall catches," said Eric Baran, research scientist with the World Fish Centre in Phnom Penh. "What is clear is that the catch of individual fishers is declining but this has to be balanced by the fact that there are many more people fishing."
"Is it true that each individual fisher is catching less? Yes. Is the river less productive than before? We don’t know because there is no monitoring on a basin wide level."
Experts agree government figures may not be accurate. The Mekong River Commission has only recently started a small-scale effort to monitor catches that will result in some figures in a few years, but this will only provide a micro sample.
"Despite the myth of declining fisheries, fish catches in the Tonle Sap area are greater now than at any other time in the past," Baran stated in a recent article, based on field research he and another consultant carried out. "However, the increase in population has outstripped the increase in fisheries production resulting in a diminishing catch per fisher. Overall, this trend is set to continue."
"There are more people engaged in fishing but you have to acknowledge that people are moving out (of fisheries) as well as in," noted Sithirith. "The flow is going both ways. People are moving out of fishing communities due to declines in catches."
Vandang heads one of 40 fishing families in his village and the number is declining. "There are fewer families here. Many have sold their land and left the village because there are no fish."
Ian Baird, a graduate student at the University of British Columbia in Canada, believes it is not possible to rule out overall declines in fish only by examining the situation in Cambodia.
Research conducted by Baird with fishers in the upper Mekong Basin in Laos points to big declines over the last decade. "The impacts are more serious than people think but you cannot necessarily see them by focusing only on Cambodia," said Baird. "You can see them at the tail end of the migration up river but no one is measuring or monitoring this."
"To say that heavy fishing is not having an impact is ignoring everything that local people in the upper basin are saying,’’ Baird added.
The International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), a major new report by over 400 scientists, launched on Tuesday, referred to increasing conflicts and anxieties over the sharing of natural resources in the East and South Asia and Pacific (ESAP) region.
According to the IAASTD report such anxieties and conflicts were ‘’evident in disputes about fishing rights and water sharing’’ in the ESAP region where there was a ‘’need to develop regional co-operation and conflict resolution systems’’.
The experts all agree on one thing: that the nature of the catch is changing.
Larger species such as cat fish are being replaced by smaller fish like the trey riel that spawn in the Tonle Sap in the wet season, migrating to Laos and Thailand at the end of the west season.
"Undisputedly the nature of the catch is declining with every year," said Baran. "Importantly, big species that live many years are getting replaced by small, short life species that react instantly to environmental change. The system is becoming more and more variable and less and less predictable."
According to Nao Thuok, the situation is prompting the Cambodian government to consider introducing tighter controls on fresh water fisheries.
"We are thinking of introducing limits on fishing gear because there are too many people fishing so that fish cannot migrate upstream for the next years’ spawning. We will discuss this internally and ask the Prime Minister for his approval. It will be very difficult to implement but the only way to keep fisheries sustainable and keep big fish coming back is to limit the catch."
"This is a typical way of dealing with the problem and it does not work," countered Sithirith. "What it will result in is fishers having to pay to fish to get around the restrictions and this will only benefit the wealthy."
"Community management is the best way to stop overfishing. They can protect the resource better than people in Phnom Penh."
"They know what is going on, if people come in with fishing illegal gear they will stop them. If they have no power then they will not care what happens in their area."
Sithirth is also adamant that tighter controls will also not address the key governance issues that are driving reductions in fish captures. These include irregularities in the way that commercial lots are allocated and illegal fishing techniques, including electrocution.
"We know that some of the larger operators bribe local government officials to get a fishing lot. If you have paid a lot of money you have to get your money back and the only way to do this is to maximise the exploitation of fisheries resources."
Although Vandang and his fellow fishers cannot say exactly what is causing reduced catches on their stretch of the Mekong, they believe it has something to do with illegal fishing techniques employed by some fishers who have paid off local fisheries officials.
In addition to overfishing, experts believe that rising pollution levels and increased clearing of flooded forest are also having a negative impact on fisheries. The other major issue is hydropower development on the Mekong mainstream tributaries.
"Dam building will affect the water regime in the Mekong, including the flow in and out of the Tonle Sap," said Sithirith. "We are worried that there will be less water flowing in and out of the Great Lake meaning less flooding of forest areas and reduced fisheries numbers."
"Dams are definitely a major threat to fisheries resources because they block fish migration, reduce water quality and alter flooding patterns," said Baran.
"There is a trade-off between dam construction and hydropower generation and irrigation. The more you gain on one, the more you lose on the other. Fish in the Mekong have a biological cycle. They need to migrate to feed and breed. They cannot migrate if their life cycles are disrupted and there is no replenishment of stock."
Approximately 87 percent of known dominant fish species in the Mekong migrate.
Are governments taking the issue seriously enough? "The major importance of fisheries in the basin is not reflected in national policies, in particular those dealing with infrastructure development,’’ said Baran.
"I am a fisherman but now I have to buy prahok from the market"KIEN SVAY, Kandal Province, , Apr 17 (IPS) - Soldier-turned-fisherman Im Vandang is not sure why there are fewer fish in the Mekong river but he is certain that the situation is getting serious.
"I have been fishing in this stretch of the Mekong for ten years," said Vandang, squatting in his thatched house in Kandal province, east of the Cambodia’s capital. "For the last few years the number of fish in the river has definitely been going down. I used to catch a lot. Now I am lucky to catch three kilos a day. I have just come back from a morning’s fishing and caught nothing."
Vandang’s concerns are part of a bigger debate about the state of Cambodia’s fisheries.
It is a vital food security issue given that fish account for 75 percent of the protein consumed in Cambodia -- 90 percent in fishing communities -- as well as providing livelihood for over a million of people.
So concerned is the Cambodian government that it is considering the introduction of stringent fishing controls, a move that some believe would only further disadvantage the poor.
The road from Phnom Penh to Vandang’s fishing village is filling up with people heading out of the capital, the beginning of a mass exodus as people return to their provinces to celebrate Khmer New Year in mid-April.
"I am a fisherman but now I have to buy prahok from the market," he says referring to the pungent fish paste that is a staple condiment for virtually all Cambodian dishes.
There have been several stories in the Khmer press about the rising price of prahok due to declining fish catches. Vandang says that the cost of small fish, known as trey riel, the core ingredient of prahok, has increased nearly 200 percent in the past 12 months.
"This is not the first time that people have talked about declines in fish catches, people were already talking about this as early as 1995," said Nao Thuok, director general of fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Phnom Penh.
He confirmed that the fish catch declined in 2007 to about 12,500 tonnes, down from 28,000 tonnes in 2006, but added that 12,500 tonnes was the average before 2006 and that it was 2007 that was an unusual year. "There is some decrease in big fish but the total amount, especially small fish, is not declining.’
Mak Sithirith, executive director of the Fisheries Action Coalition Team, an organisation working with local communities on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap lake, disagrees.
He is critical of the accuracy of the government’s figures, which he said only examined the catch from commercial fishing lots. "There are 2.1 million people on the Tonle Sap floodplain, most of whom are fishers and many of whom depend totally on fishing for their living. For us, working in the community and looking at the household fishing catch, we can definitely say it is going down, without a doubt."
"Ten years ago they would catch ten kilos of fish a day. Now it is five or less."
"It is difficult to rigorously document a decline in overall catches," said Eric Baran, research scientist with the World Fish Centre in Phnom Penh. "What is clear is that the catch of individual fishers is declining but this has to be balanced by the fact that there are many more people fishing."
"Is it true that each individual fisher is catching less? Yes. Is the river less productive than before? We don’t know because there is no monitoring on a basin wide level."
Experts agree government figures may not be accurate. The Mekong River Commission has only recently started a small-scale effort to monitor catches that will result in some figures in a few years, but this will only provide a micro sample.
"Despite the myth of declining fisheries, fish catches in the Tonle Sap area are greater now than at any other time in the past," Baran stated in a recent article, based on field research he and another consultant carried out. "However, the increase in population has outstripped the increase in fisheries production resulting in a diminishing catch per fisher. Overall, this trend is set to continue."
"There are more people engaged in fishing but you have to acknowledge that people are moving out (of fisheries) as well as in," noted Sithirith. "The flow is going both ways. People are moving out of fishing communities due to declines in catches."
Vandang heads one of 40 fishing families in his village and the number is declining. "There are fewer families here. Many have sold their land and left the village because there are no fish."
Ian Baird, a graduate student at the University of British Columbia in Canada, believes it is not possible to rule out overall declines in fish only by examining the situation in Cambodia.
Research conducted by Baird with fishers in the upper Mekong Basin in Laos points to big declines over the last decade. "The impacts are more serious than people think but you cannot necessarily see them by focusing only on Cambodia," said Baird. "You can see them at the tail end of the migration up river but no one is measuring or monitoring this."
"To say that heavy fishing is not having an impact is ignoring everything that local people in the upper basin are saying,’’ Baird added.
The International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), a major new report by over 400 scientists, launched on Tuesday, referred to increasing conflicts and anxieties over the sharing of natural resources in the East and South Asia and Pacific (ESAP) region.
According to the IAASTD report such anxieties and conflicts were ‘’evident in disputes about fishing rights and water sharing’’ in the ESAP region where there was a ‘’need to develop regional co-operation and conflict resolution systems’’.
The experts all agree on one thing: that the nature of the catch is changing.
Larger species such as cat fish are being replaced by smaller fish like the trey riel that spawn in the Tonle Sap in the wet season, migrating to Laos and Thailand at the end of the west season.
"Undisputedly the nature of the catch is declining with every year," said Baran. "Importantly, big species that live many years are getting replaced by small, short life species that react instantly to environmental change. The system is becoming more and more variable and less and less predictable."
According to Nao Thuok, the situation is prompting the Cambodian government to consider introducing tighter controls on fresh water fisheries.
"We are thinking of introducing limits on fishing gear because there are too many people fishing so that fish cannot migrate upstream for the next years’ spawning. We will discuss this internally and ask the Prime Minister for his approval. It will be very difficult to implement but the only way to keep fisheries sustainable and keep big fish coming back is to limit the catch."
"This is a typical way of dealing with the problem and it does not work," countered Sithirith. "What it will result in is fishers having to pay to fish to get around the restrictions and this will only benefit the wealthy."
"Community management is the best way to stop overfishing. They can protect the resource better than people in Phnom Penh."
"They know what is going on, if people come in with fishing illegal gear they will stop them. If they have no power then they will not care what happens in their area."
Sithirth is also adamant that tighter controls will also not address the key governance issues that are driving reductions in fish captures. These include irregularities in the way that commercial lots are allocated and illegal fishing techniques, including electrocution.
"We know that some of the larger operators bribe local government officials to get a fishing lot. If you have paid a lot of money you have to get your money back and the only way to do this is to maximise the exploitation of fisheries resources."
Although Vandang and his fellow fishers cannot say exactly what is causing reduced catches on their stretch of the Mekong, they believe it has something to do with illegal fishing techniques employed by some fishers who have paid off local fisheries officials.
In addition to overfishing, experts believe that rising pollution levels and increased clearing of flooded forest are also having a negative impact on fisheries. The other major issue is hydropower development on the Mekong mainstream tributaries.
"Dam building will affect the water regime in the Mekong, including the flow in and out of the Tonle Sap," said Sithirith. "We are worried that there will be less water flowing in and out of the Great Lake meaning less flooding of forest areas and reduced fisheries numbers."
"Dams are definitely a major threat to fisheries resources because they block fish migration, reduce water quality and alter flooding patterns," said Baran.
"There is a trade-off between dam construction and hydropower generation and irrigation. The more you gain on one, the more you lose on the other. Fish in the Mekong have a biological cycle. They need to migrate to feed and breed. They cannot migrate if their life cycles are disrupted and there is no replenishment of stock."
Approximately 87 percent of known dominant fish species in the Mekong migrate.
Are governments taking the issue seriously enough? "The major importance of fisheries in the basin is not reflected in national policies, in particular those dealing with infrastructure development,’’ said Baran.
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