Fishing and fisheries

In 2015, 751,546 tons of fish were caught, representing an increase of 6,236 tons compared with 2014. Of total output, 487,905 tons (65%) were from fresh water, 120,500 tons (16%) from salt water and 143,141 (19%) from fish farms.²²

While the government’s research for development planning expects this to increase to 910,000 tonnes by 2018,²³ there are also simultaneous reports of falling fish numbers due to considerable pressure from environmental changes and population growth. One study cites predictions of a 40-60 percent decline in inland fishery yields for both Vietnam and Cambodia “in the foreseeable future”.²⁴

Aquaculture is expected to grow quickly, from 143,141 tons in 2015 to 171,000 by 2018.²⁵

Cambodia exports fish, prawns, crabs, and other seafood to China, Japan, Russia and some ASEAN countries. The EU has banned fish imports from Cambodia, citing Cambodia’s failure to implement and comply with international legal obligations. Examples are that Cambodia does not act against illegal fishing by non-Cambodian vessels flying the Cambodian flag,²⁶ and also lacks a legal framework, and effective monitoring, inspection and catch certification schemes.²⁷

The government began to reform its fisheries management system in 2001 by reducing the number of commercial lots, culminating in in 2012 with the abolition of all commercial lots on the Tonle Sap.²⁸ The change was intended to conserve fish stocks and support subsistence fishermen. Some NGOs, however, say that illegal fishing has increased in recent years.²⁹ The government confirms this: officials said cases of illegal fishing continued to rise in 2015, when almost 4,000 illegal fishing offenses were stopped and 181 were sent to court.³⁰

Another challenge facing freshwater fisheries is the development of dams such as the Lower Sesan II dam. Numerous studies have cautioned that dams will have a major impact on fish migration, fish breeding and fish stocks, and that there is little prospect of mitigating these effects.³¹