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Address at the National Fishery Day Veal Vong Dike, Phnom Leav Village,
Pong Tek Commune, Domnak Changeer District, Keb Province
1
July 2009
Your
Venerable Buddhist Monks,
Your
Excellencies Ambassadors to the Kingdom of Cambodia,
Your
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished National and International
Guests,
Dear
Compatriots and Students!
Today, I have a
great pleasure to join you all in the celebration of this auspicious 7th National Fishery Day and I would like to pay my respect to the all Venerable
Buddhist Monks and extend my greetings to all our compatriots, students and all
level of civil servants who are here today. Every year, I highly value this
event and join in this meaningful event which is organized by the Ministry of
Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (MAFF) to appreciate its officials and share
my vision and recommendations in order to promote fisheries sector.
Also, in this
occasion, let me express my sincere appreciation to the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries, especially the Fisheries Administration for their close
collaboration with the Secretariat of the National and International Ceremony
Organizing Committee and provincial authorities in their efforts to organize the 7th National Fishery Day in order to promote the protection
and conservation movements as well as the development of our invaluable aqua
resources, in particular to raise the awareness among all citizens, civil
servants, government institutions and the private sector on the importance of
fishery resources and to ensure its sustainable use and management.
Cambodia is very rich in fresh water fishes and the Tonle Sap
Lake, which exists for approximately 5000 – 6000 years, is the heart and
breeding ground for those essential fishes in our country. The production of our
fresh water fishes is ranked 4th in the world after China, India and
Bangladesh according to the data from Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations. However, with respect to the annual fish consumption for each
citizen, Cambodia ranks 1st because on average, each Cambodian
citizen consumes around 52.4 kg per annum, more than three times compared to
global consumption per capita of 16.5 kg. Moreover, the fishery sector provides
full-time employment to around 1.4 millions fishermen and to approximately 6
millions people in fisheries-related activities and part-time fishing. Thus, we
could consider Cambodia as the fish eating society since fishes are the
source of more than 81.5% of total protein that Cambodians received in general.
River fishery contributed around 80% to Cambodia’s total fish production and 1/3
of Cambodia’s population earn revenue through fishing and fish sales.
Furthermore, we can consider fish and other aqua life stock as an
essential staple food for Cambodians after rice and in addition, rural
inhabitants could get easily with little efforts and cheaply from nearby rivers,
pounds or lakes. In addition to domestic supply, Cambodia has a long history of
exporting aqua products abroad. Beside this, it should be noted that fishery
production contributed around 25% to the country’s agricultural production,
while subsidiary crop production, animal production and forestry production
contributed 52.7%, 15.5% and 6.9% respectively.
Cambodian population currently rise to 14 millions and 80% of
whom live in rural areas. Most of them are involved in fisheries or other
natural resources exploitation to feed themselves. In the fishery sector, the
number of fishermen has increased rapidly. This surge, coupled with limited
capability to provide education on the usage of modern technology in fishery
sector, and limited public awareness on the importance of natural resources,
environment, regulation and the concept of sustainable development, leads to
lower aqua resources and other resources, and is still the main constraint to
achieving the policy of sustainable use and development of fishery resource and
other natural resources in general. National research revealed that Cambodian
natural resources have undergone dramatic changes for the last 5 years,
especially fishery and forestry resources.
To enable people participate in the management and sustainable
use of fishery resources, the Royal Government, in late 2000, implemented the
reform in fishery sector by transferring control to rural communities to enable
them participate in decision-making and formulate action plans and development
programs for their own localities, and assume responsibility of natural resource
management. In particular, the reform has transferred more than 500,000 hectares
of fishing space to local communities, 468 fishing communities have been
established and the poor can now benefit from this reform.
However, after assuming responsibility, fishing communities still
need technical assistance to organize community structure to ensure sustainable
use of the resource and better welfare. This reflects the Royal Government’s
effort in poverty reduction, promotion of sustainable use of natural resources
and equitable distribution of growth by strengthening community-based resource
management. Through the establishment and creation of fishing communities,
fishery resources have been improved, and that is the starting point of
participation from the community in natural resource management and
decentralization. We can regard this as a successful accomplishment of the Royal
Government’s Rectangular Strategy.
Currently, we are working hard to promote agricultural production
growth, in terms of quantity, quality, competitiveness and efficiency. Moreover,
the Royal Government has considered a number of sectors relating to natural
resources management and biodiversities, including fishery sector, as a priority
sector among other sectors in the reform program.
Along with that,
we have recognized that the inundated forest is the life of fishery sector and
without the inundated forest we cannot be rich in fishes. On the other hand, we
all have known that fish is a main source of protein for the people living in
the community and of course, all communities have used fishing for food or for
earning additional income. Moreover, due to rapid growth of the population
around the Tonle Sap River as well as along the Mekong River we have witnessed
the over-fishing, which is seriously threatening the types of fishes, which are
economically vital. Beside this, there have also been other anarchic actions,
causing the loss and degradation of the fish’s shelters. The building of dams,
digging of canals for illegal land ownership, resettlement, the transformation
of the forest land into agricultural land, the burning of natural forest, and
the increase in illegal fishing pressure are also the most serous threatening
factors.
Nevertheless, we
have to consider that the efficient and sustainable management of natural
resources is attached to the appropriate business and will also have to consider
about the conservation of fisheries. Reforestation of the inundated forest and
the protection of fisheries environment are the significant tasks and most
valuable to sustain human lives, animals, plants and other biodiversities for
serving the current consumption as well as for our next generations.
In this sense,
the increase of willingness, commitment and high responsibility of the
authorities at all level, civil servants in the related ministries, especially
the local authority and the participation from the local people through the
support in all form from the related technical institutions, which have to pay
high attention to, under a single vision, which is poverty reduction of the
people and the sustainable reservation of the fisheries resources.
Taking this
opportunity, I would like to thank friendship nations, international
organizations and all development partners, who have actively participated in
the agricultural development projects, especially this important fisheries
sector for the cause of development and poverty reduction of the people.
For the basis of
consideration on the management and development of the fishery sector, I would
like to provide some recommendations to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries as well as the fisheries administration, local authorities and
concerned ministries for implementation as follows:
1. Although, we have actually achieved many positive achievements, we
should not forget the cooperation from local authorities and the joint report
from people to the nearby competent authority aiming at contributing to crack
down on illegal fishing and other related fishery offenses. In this spirit, we
have to continue to preserve the conservation areas appropriately, and continue
to curb illegal fishing and take all measures to cooperate with relevant
agencies to comprehensively prevent those highly dangerous fishing offenses such
as the use of electric instruments and nets.
2. Take firm measures against offenders, who destroy the inundated
forest at every place, particularly, in the areas around Tonle Sap Lake, by
pushing to create the map for identifying, educating the people about, and
protecting the inundated forests, because they are very vital for the fishery
sector. At the same time, we must prepare fields for growing inundated trees and
set up annual ceremony for replanting inundated trees. We should also consider
the building of paths inside the inundated forest to prevent fire on the forest,
which always happen yearly.
3. Encourage farmers to dig a small pond for their families, aiming
to preserve water for family’s usage, vegetable watering, animal and fish
raising, in all places, particularly at places where there is shortage of water
and fishes, by encouraging and promoting small scale family fish farming across
the country.
4. Encourage the establishment of ore fish ponds communities at
local villages-communes across the country, because it is a strategy to increase
the amount of fish. Strengthen the existing fishery communities and establish
the reservation sites at each community to well protect the natural fishes for
long-term use. The fishery sector is sustainable and stable, depending on the
fundamental fishery resources; it means that we have to safeguard fish spawning
areas, so that the amount of fish could be reproduced and increased. On the
other hand, we must pay attention on establishing additional reservation sites
at public fishing sites as well as fishery communities, because the reservation
site is the last safe place for fish breeding.
5. The Fisheries Administration should provide guidance and
techniques to all owners of fishing lots to set up an appropriate reservation
site in their lots, aiming at conserving some main fish seeds for upgrading fish
stock for years to come. At the same time, according to past experiences, all
stream and lake fishing lot businesses have formed their fish hatching sites,
aiming to release small fishes into their lots to increase the fish amount and
production.6. Competent agencies have to use their utmost effort to collect the
revenues from the fishery sector and all resources, taking strong measures on
lot owners, who violate the agreement and the record books.
Once again, I would like to highly evaluate the achievements of
the Ministry of Agriculture, forestry and Fishery as well as the Fishery
Administration has recently achieved. Please continue the tradition of close
cooperation with agencies concerned, local authorities, development partners and
the local people.
Finally, I would like to wish Your Venerable Monks, Excellencies,
Lok Chum Teav, Ladies, Gentlemen, National and International Guests, Students
and Compatriots the 4 Gems of Buddhist Blessings: Longevity, Nobility, Health and Strength.
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