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dam-l LS: MRC Submission on Fisheries in Cambodia
MEKONG RIVER COMMISSION/DoF/DANIDA
Project for Management of the Freshwater Capture Fisheries of Cambodia
c/o Department of Fisheries, 186 Norodom Blvd., P.O.Box 582, Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
Fax/Tel: (+855-23) 427048, Tel: 723275, E-mail: MRCFISH@bigpond.com.kh
Written for the World Commission on Dams
Consultations in East and South-East Asia
25 26 February 2000
Cambodia’s Inland Fisheries and the Dams of the Mekong Basin
by
Nicolaas van Zalinge1, Nao Thuok2 and Sam Nuov2
1Mekong River Commission Project for Management of the Freshwater Capture
Fisheries of Cambodia
2 Department of Fisheries, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Abstract:
Cambodia has reached the stage where a serious debate has begun about the
positive and negative effects of dams, flood controls and irrigation
schemes. This is also the concern of the Mekong River Commission, whose
mandate is to promote and coordinate sustainable management and development
of water and related resources for the riparian countries’ mutual benefit
and the people’s well-being. A sound decision making and planning process
requires sound information. This has been particularly weak in the fishery
sector. The Project for Management of the Freshwater Capture Fisheries of
Cambodia has now been working for a number of years with the purpose to
reduce the gaps in knowledge and increase management capacities.
The paper attempts to show the importance of fisheries in Cambodia. It then
discusses the possible effects dams and other water regulatory works may
have on them. Finally, it presents a brief overview of other fisheries
management issues.
Fishery yields and fish migrations
Cambodia ranks fourth among the world’s top freshwater capture fisheries
with an annual production of 300,000 400,000 tons. The high fish yields
stem from the annual inundation by the Mekong River of the large
floodplains found in central Cambodia around the Great Lake, Tonle Sap, and
the plains south of Phnom Penh. The level and duration of the (peak) Mekong
floods determine the extent of the inundation of the floodplains and this
is positively related to fish productivity. Extensive migrations occur
between the floodplains and the river. The river is used as a dry-season
refuge and spawning area for the so-called “white” fish, which were found
to contribute more than 60% of the total catch. The migratory range of some
stocks extends across the borders of the Lao PDR and Viet Nam. The
migrations of “black” fish species are much more localised and mainly
limited to movements between the floodplain and the nearest deeper water.
Effects of water management
Dam building for hydropower and irrigation purposes started in earnest in
the sixties and is still continuing. Several thousand large and small dams
and associated reservoirs and irrigation schemes were built in the Mekong
watershed, mostly in northeast Thailand. Obviously, this has led to
fragmentation of aquatic habitats and the blocking off of fish spawning and
nursery areas to migratory species.
The Mekong watershed above Pakse is mainly affected, as so far the
Cambodian dams are tiny and for irrigation only. In the 17-year period from
1982 to 1998 the average wet season flow (June September) at Pakse (Lao
P.D.R.) was 15% lower than in the 34-year period from 1923 56. There was
also a significant increase in year-to-year flow variability.
On the other hand there were no trends apparent in rainfall data from Luang
Prabang between 1923 and 1998. It suggests that the cumulative effect of
these water management schemes may have caused the observed reduction in
average peak flows in the last two decades. This may have lead to an
approximately 20% lesser inundation of the floodplains and may have reduced
the sustainable exploitation levels of the Cambodian fish stocks compared
to their pre-1960 levels. Recent evidence suggests that variations in
maximum inundation levels are roughly proportional to the variations in the
size of the “white” fish yield. Thus, losses may have been in the order of
some 40-50,000 tons annually (presently valued at US$ 10-15 million). In
addition, there are (less well known) losses in “black” fish yields.
So far only one dam has been built on the Mekong main stream itself. This
dam is located in Yunnan province, China, where presently a second one is
under construction. However, many more potential sites in China, the Lao
PDR and Cambodia have been identified, including 10 on the main stream.
Implementation of only a part of these schemes will have further
consequences for the fisheries in the basin. Main stream dams, especially
in the Lao PDR and Cambodia, would block vital migratory pathways, and
access to spawning areas, as would dams on major tributaries, such as the
Srepok and Sesan. Assessments are being carried out to quantify fishery
losses in terms of their likely impact on food security and employment.
Progress is being made toward hydrological modeling of the Mekong River
flow with the aim to simulate the cumulative effects of past and future
water management works on maximum flood levels and the extent and duration
of the inundation at various river locations. The model will be linked to
the size and distribution of habitats in the floodplains and their fish
yields in order to relate an (average) decrease in maximum flow with the
subsequent loss of floodplain area and fish yield. Studies to determine the
botanical and (fish) faunal diversity of floodplains, as well as fish yield
by habitat type are being carried out.
Fishery management issues
Fish is an important part of food security in the country and especially so
for the rural poor. A household survey (1995/6) representative of 4.2
million people in central Cambodia found that the average fish consumption
rate was 67 kg/capita/year and full-/part-time employment was as high as 45%.
The main internal threats to the fish resources are the destruction of
flood plain habitats (due to conversion for agricultural uses) and the
open-access situation prevailing in the middle- and family-scale fisheries,
which has induced increasing numbers of people to take up full- or
part-time fishing.
Access to the most productive parts of the Cambodian fisheries domain has
been limited for many decades through a system of government leases, the
“fishing lots”. Many fishing lots comprise of relatively large areas of
floodplain containing flood forest habitats essential for feeding and
breeding of many species. Lots provide some habitat protection. Open-access
fisheries have been expanding rapidly in recent years, catch rates are
falling, and conflicts over fishing rights are increasing.
A strategy is being developed to provide solutions to these conflicts and
stop the decline in fish catches. It aims at (1) highlighting the
importance of fisheries for food security, employment and exports, (2)
elucidating their vulnerability to water management schemes, (3) increasing
management capacities and well-targeted research, (4) revising and adapting
fishery laws, and (5) environmental sensitization of stakeholders and
broadening participation in the management of the lots.
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Aviva Imhof
South-East Asia Campaigner
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley CA 94703 USA
Tel: + 1 510 848 1155 (ext. 312), Fax: + 1 510 848 1008
Email: aviva@irn.org, Web: http://www.irn.org
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