The provincial administrations of Battambang and Kampong Thom have warned that they will take legal action against any fisherman who continues to use illegal fishing gear or is found in their possession.

The ban includes freshwater trawls, electrocution devices and motorized devices, as they have led to a dangerous drop in fish numbers in Cambodia.

Chuong Sophea, director of the provincial cantonment of the Fisheries Administration (FiA) in Battambang, told the Post on May 15 that the deadline for voluntarily handing over all types of illegal fishing gear belonging to fishermen in the province had come. .

He said more than 300 families who depend on fishing for their livelihood have made their fishing gear illegal, including hundreds of electrocution devices and tens of thousands of meters of freshwater trawls.

“As of May 11, 2022 – under the FiA – we have received 364 illegal devices and more than 20,000 m of freshwater trawls from fishermen in the freshwater fishing zone of Battambang province.

“It shows the awareness and understanding of the seriousness of the situation by our fishermen and their sincere desire to improve the national fishery resources here,” he said.

Sophea said that now that the deadline has passed, provincial authorities will continue to conduct local inspections to search for and seize all illegal fishing gear. Any fisherman caught using or hiding the banned fishing gear will face legal action without exception, he said.

In addition, the provincial administration of Kampong Thom gave its fishermen two weeks’ notice from May 12.

All anglers must turn in their illegal fishing gear to the police by the May 31 deadline.

“If someone does not follow the instructions, we will take action against them according to the laws,” he said.

He called on everyone to put an immediate end to the use of poisons, chemicals and other environmentally destructive fishing methods that cause serious damage to the Kingdom’s fish resources.