Once the stretch of the Mekong river in Kandal province was full with fish but for the last few years the number of fish in the river has definitely been going down. The depletion of fish 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.
The Cambodian government is considering the introduction of stringent fishing controls, a move that some believe would only further disadvantage the poor. The situation has become so grim that the price of prahok, a fish paste, is rising enormously due to declining fish catches. Nao Thuok, director general of fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Phnom Penh, said that the situation of fish depletion has arise as early as 1995 but the authorities pay no heed to that.
According to Thuok 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. Mak Sithirith, executive director of the Fisheries Action Coalition Team, is critical of the accuracy of the government’s figures, which he said only examined the catch from commercial fishing lots.
Eric Baran, research scientists with the World Fish Centre in Phnom Penh, told that it is difficult to rigorously document a decline in overall catches. He added that the catch of individual fishers is declining but this has to be balanced by the fact that there are many more people fishing.
The International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), in its report mentioned that 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.
