Officials Expect High Yield This Fishing Season

Because the fish yield in Cambodia is directly proportional to the extent of floodplain overflow during the monsoon season, officials said that they expect this year’s fish catch to be a good one.

Mekong River floodwaters took a long time to recede this year, which allowed for nutrient enrichment of the river’s water and high survival of fish fry, experts said.

Nao Thuork, director of the fisheries department for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, said that last year’s monsoon season brought a deeper flood but that it receded faster from the country’s highly productive floodplains resulting in a shorter spawning period for fish species. “Compared with the flood level last year, this year’s flood was 2 centimeters lower [than last year’s 9.97 meters]. But we saw the flood lasting longer this year so fish could spawn and live in a larger wild area,” he said.  Nao Thuork confirmed that at least 40 fishing areas in Phnom Penh, Kandal and Takeo waters would be open to commercial fishing activities.

The areas are each expected to collect an average of 20,000 tonnes of fish for the year. Other areas north of the Chaktomuk waters in Phnom Penh, which were opened to commercial fishing on Oct 1, have brought in a total of at least 16,000 tonnes of fish so far. (The Cambodia Daily, Nov. 1, 2005)