News

Fish production in Cambodia’s great Tonle Sap Lake is on track to reach last year’s level, an official said Wednesday, despite concern from fishermen that yields are dwindling due to environmental problems. Nao Thouk, director of the Fisheries Administration under the Ministry of Agriculture, said that ...

Villagers on Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia, who depend on fishing for subsistence, say their livelihoods are threatened by illegal commercial fishing, which continues after a government ban. And they say authorities in charge of enforcing the ban are being bribed to look the other ...

A fisheries official accused of involvement in the clearing of an area of protected flooded forest in Kampong Thom province in July was questioned at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday. Korn Chanseiha, chief of the Fisheries Administration’s Stong district office, is one of about 20 officials ...

In an attempt to replenish the nation’s shellfish stocks, the Fisheries Administration has released seven million young lobsters into Cambodian rivers and the Tonle Sap Lake this year, officials said. Cambodia harvests about 100 tons of wild lobsters annually, although the market demand is for about ...

The Ministry of Agriculture’s fisheries administration announced yesterday that the seasonal nationwide ban on commercial fishing is now in effect, according to a statement. Signed by the director general of the fisheries administration, Nao Thuok, the announcement states that the fishing ban north of Phnom Penh’s ...

In an effort to increase fish stocks, the Ministry of Agriculture on Wednesday adopted a sub-decree to create four conservation areas in Kandal, Kompong Cham, Prey Veng and Takeo provinces where all fishing activities will be prohibited. Signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on April 6, ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered the release of all prisoners serving sentences and suspects facing charges related to illegal fishing, officials said yesterday, though it was unclear when the directive would take effect. Nao Thuok, director general of the Fisheries Administration, said the prime ...

Officials and environmentalists yesterday agreed to draw up new measures to save the endangered Mekong dolphin and find more information on why the species is disappearing. At the end of a three-day workshop in Kratie province, officials and representatives from the World Wildlife Fund signed a ...

Government officials sent conflicting messages yesterday over how they would handle the complaints of about 50 businessmen from Kompong Cham province who continued to protest at the Fisheries Administration over Prime Minister Hun Sen’s decision to cancel their bids to operate fishing lots. Por Try, secretary ...

About 60 businessmen from Kompong Cham province protested at the Agriculture Ministry yesterday over Prime Minister Hun Sen’s decision to cancel their bids to operate fishing lots. Mr Hun Sen on Friday annulled the results of an October bidding process for companies interested in operating fishing lots ...

An official with the Fisheries Administration predicted yesterday that the annual fish catch would increase this year by about 20 percent over last year, saying that recent efforts to reduce illegal fishing practices around the Tonle Sap lake had contributed to the jump ...

Cambodian crocodile farmers have blamed the falling price of the reptile on flooding, which they say has turned away Thai and Vietnamese buyers – the market’s cornerstone. Prices for young crocodiles have dropped 25 per cent since August, Kandal breeder Kaing Sarin said. His reptiles fetched ...

The Kingdom’s fish exports declined 48 per cent in the first nine months of 2011, as a result of growing local demand, according to Ministry of Commerce figures. The statistics showed that Cambodia’s export of fish totalled 1,099 tonnes from January to September, compared to 2,123 ...

Environment Minister Mok Mareth yesterday asked China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to provide more details on the environmental impact of its project, though he said that exploration for oil and gas would likely begin later this month. At a meeting at the Ministry of Environment, ...

Villagers on Koh Kyong island in Preah Sihanouk province are preparing a complaint over more than 300 allegedly unlicensed fishermen who they say are illegally operating in local waters. Loung Bunny, chief of the Association for Natural Protection in Ochroy commune, said yesterday  that fishermen from ...