Preah Sihanouk provincial Fisheries Administration director Em Phea said yesterday that authorities are not stopping fishermen going about their business, but asked them to keep a close eye on the weather when out on the sea as stormy weather is on the way.
The Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology has warned of stormy weather across the Kingdom from April 20-26, especially in the coastal provinces.
“Authorities will be on standby next week to rescue any fishermen who run into trouble during the stormy weather,” Phea said, adding that, “fishermen are experienced with the weather and stay close to shore when they see bad weather is on the way.”
Director of Koh Kong Provincial Department of Agriculture, Y Meng Leang, said there are about 720 fishing boat in the province and there has been no accident involving fishermen caused by bad weather in the early part of this year.
“We still allow fishermen to work on the sea as normal because they are experienced with this kind of bad weather as past experience has shown us,” he said, noting that authorities aren’t ignoring them, but on the contrary have people stationed by and ready to provide assistance.