Assessment of the status of marine fisheries resources and management practices in Sre Ambel Lagoon, Cambodia | |
| Author | Dok Doma |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.AQ-10-04 |
| Subject(s) | Marine resources--Cambodia Marine fishes--Cambodia |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources Management. |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Sre Ambel is the most productive coastal area for marine fisheries in Cambodia. Fisheries and aquaculture play an important role in the national economy and contribute to food security. This sector provides employment and economic benefits to Cambodians involved in its activities. The Sre Ambel area is a low-lying coastal zone located in the Koh Kong Province in the Southwest part of Cambodia. The government made a lot of efforts to improve marine fisheries status in this area. The total fishing area comprised of both the lagoon and the brackish water rivers outside the lagoon is approximately 15,000 hectares. However, there are thousands of hectares where rice field cultivations are likewise being practiced. Notably, the two major occupations in this area are fisheries and agricultural practices. The problem addressed in this research is the decline of fish catch since the last five years. Since 2005 there has not been any solid proof to confirm the cause of this problem. Some people claimed that the current problem is due to the weak enforcement of regulations. They observed that the number of fish has been gradually declining since 2005. Notwithstanding the steady decline of fish supply, a huge number of fishers still fish in the lagoon. Therefore, the research question in this study is “Does the decline of fish resources result from an increase in the use of fishing gears or other factors such as catch restriction, management style, policy inadequacy, etc.? The main objective of this dissertation is to evaluate the factors that contributed to fish decline in the lagoon. This dissertation looked at the exact answers to the above question and tried to solve the problem through various measures. Five specific objectives were formulated: 1) To determine the current fisheries performance in the area, 2) To investigate the linkage between socioeconomic growth and fish catch, 3) To identify the factors affecting the decline of fish catch, 4) To identify the conflicts and solutions across policy level, and 5) To propose a policy alternative for the lagoon management. Two fishing communities were selected for the 210 household interviews. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was the method used to combine various variables into major groups of factors affecting fish decline. Empirical investigation of current marine extractive reserve (MERs) management within its real life context was conducted using multiple sources of evidence. Qualitative data were analyzed using Weighted Average Index (WAI) and quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS. Fisheries data indicate a decline of fish catch over the last five years. Household fish catch decreased from 4 tons per season in 2005 to 2 tons per season in 2009. Two types of fishermen were found: 1) medium scale and 2) large scale with some large scale fishing in the deep water of the lagoon. Based on the survey of fishermen’s perceptions, the decline of fish catch resulted from the following factors: decreasing number of fishing trips, socioeconomic growth, increasing cost of materials, lagoon morphology changes, top-down management style, no social and environmental safeguard measures, use of illegal fishing gears (both local and outsider), foreign vessels, sand excavation and navigation, industrial growth, intensive farming system, water pollution, and global economic crisis. The most important factors were related to the regulations and law enforcement and inadequate policies to control the depletion of marine resources. These factors contributed to the decline of fish catch in the region for the last five years. One of the factors that had a huge impact was the inadequate lagoon fisheries management due to the lack of an appropriate extractive reserve and strict law enforcement. To solve these problems this dissertation proposes the establishment of a Management Forum which would provide a mechanism to address stakeholders’ concerns and possibly provide a multi-faceted solution to the problem. Any single solution would not likely overcome the existing issues. The proposed management model and capacity building alternative are important elements. This dissertation also explored the management concepts of extractive reserve instruments to find the most effective application in the coastal areas of Cambodia. Since there are various extractive models in the world, the most important objective was to determine which extractive reserve model is best suited to real practices where the ability of the fisheries’ residents to apply laws and guidelines vary from one place to another. To reflect these objectives, the study looked at various examples around the world, especially from various Latin American countries. The level of local ability to apply laws and regulations was determined using the Weighted Average Index method. The result shows that the fishers’ education level is sufficient to read and understand the laws and regulations, but their level of compliance is low due to dissatisfaction and lack of trust. Although the level of satisfaction towards existing guidelines is poor, the local people are still willing to establish new appropriate guidelines for future effective application. Therefore, local fishers have the ability to apply laws and regulations under the new extractive reserve aspects. An extractive reserve policy combines all available instruments to manage the lagoon. A management design that builds resilience in social-ecological systems may lead to the sustainable use of resources. Common-pool resource management plans should be participatory and adaptive, and they should provide a match between the scale of management institutions and the scale of the resource itself. In order to be adaptive, management institutions must create opportunity for learning and for building capacity to adapt to change. The best alternative is to develop strong collaboration among the various stakeholders in the area. It transforms an open-access to common property resource use regime. |
| Year | 2010 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources Management (AQ) |
| Chairperson(s) | Yakupitiyage, Amararatne |
| Examination Committee(s) | Gallardo, Wenresti Glino;Perret, Sylvain Roger |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and (SEARCA) |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2010 |