There has been no letup in illegal fishing in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province and relevant authorities are cracking their heads to finds ways to stop the “fearless” fishermen’s activity.
Secretary of State of the Ministry of Agriculture Nao Thuok said large-scale illegal fishing was no longer the issue “but it’s the small timers who are of concern”.
“When there are many of these small timers, it is a big problem,” he said, adding that fishermen involved in illegal activities have no fear of the law.”
Thuok said authorities were also taking concerted efforts to end electrofishing, a technique uses electricity to stun and then collect fish that have floated to the water surface.
“Many fish are being killed this way, not just the adult fish but the babies too.”
“There have also been cases of fishermen electrocuted and killed when using this method to catch fish.”