FiA ban equipment that disrupts migration of fish
THE Fisheries Administration (FiA) has instructed fishermen not to employ equipment which will impede the movement of fish from the Tonle Sap Lake to the upper Mekong River.
A recent announcement from the FiA – which operates under the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries – explained that this month, several species of fish are migrating from the Tonle Sap to the upper Mekong in order to seek food and reproduce, as the Tonle Sap flows at high speed.
It added that given this situation, the FiA has banned the use of equipment which will obstruct the movement of fish and has urged all fishermen and other stakeholders to play their part in ensuring the sustainability of the Kingdom’s fishery resources.
Ouk Vibol, director of the FiA’s Fisheries Conservation Department, said that the banned fishing gear includes bamboo strips used by some fishermen to block fish migration lanes. He noted that especially in several bottleneck areas in Kampong Chhnang province, there are many canals around the Tonle Sap Lake where fishermen can easily stop all sizes of fish from migrating.
“If they put barriers in these small canals and hinder the movement of fish, we could be at risk of experiencing a decline in fish stocks in the Tonle Sap next year. If the fish cannot make it to their spawning grounds, there will be no juvenile fish to repopulate the lake,” he explained.
According to Vibol, it is estimated that about 200 species of fish migrate from the Tonle Sap to spawn in the upper Mekong each December. This includes some endangered species, such as the Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas).
Especially in Kratie and Stung Treng provinces, there are 97 canyons along the Mekong, which serve as the spawning grounds.