Besieged by illegal trawlers from both Vietnam and Cambodia but mostly from neighbouring Phú Qu?c Island Khmer fishermen and the workers of the Fisheries Administration (FA) in Kep frequently feel outnumbered and overwhelmed.
But help is on the way, according to officials, following an announcement last week that the FA’s presence in Kep, and their ability to pursue and deal with illegal trawling, is to be bolstered and strengthened.
Expanded Presence
According to a statement issued last Friday during an inauguration ceremony, a new FA outpost will soon be opened in Kep and the number of FA personnel in the province will increase.
The new base will be intended to reinforce Kampot and Kep authorities in their ongoing, and frequently bitter, battle against illegal fishing especially the prevention of banned methods such as trawling and using explosives.
The Fisheries Administration in Kep has also taken an increasingly active role in attempting to prevent violent clashes between Khmer and Vietnamese fishermen, after confrontations earlier this year resulted in injuries and deaths.
Conservationists, local residents and especially fishermen have welcomed the development, stating that the Fisheries Administration typically does a good job in the area but frequently appears overwhelmed and under-staffed.
Anglers & Businesses Worried
Our fishermen here have to go further and further to catch good crab and fish now, one Khmer restaurant owner in Kep’s popular Crab Market recently told Khmer Times.
The Vietnamese have bigger and more powerful boats, with long nets, and they use electric [nets] too, he said of their nearby competitors, who are a huge cause for concern for local anglers, and therefore Kep’s economy.
One fish restaurant owner pointed to a horizon that swarmed with the flickering lights of hundreds of competing fishing vessels and asked: How much longer will this go on?
The strengthening of Kep’s ability to protect their maritime assets and borders are partly due to special attention paid to the issue by Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng, as well as the provincial authorities.
During a brief visit to Sihanoukville recently, Mr. Kheng ordered coastal authorities to properly police maritime borders and crack down on unauthorized fishing.
He had especially sharp words for officials and maritime police accused of taking bribes and allowing Vietnamese vessels into Cambodian waters, saying that a special anti-corruption unit would be placed on the coast to deal with them.
According to the Ministry responsible for the Kingdom’s threatened fisheries, things have improved this year, with officials reporting that the detainment of illegal fishing vessels had increased by 150 percent compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, some activists, including foreigners, who spend their evenings on the waters of Kep and Kampot intercepting and even illegally detaining and questioning fishermen they identify as illegal have been ordered to stop multiple times in recent months.
But with the establishment of a stronger FA presence on Kep’s coast, Cambodia’s waters and vital ocean resources can perhaps begin to feel a little more secure.
2015 Khmer Times | News Portal Cambodia