catch culture vol11.3. 2005archive.iwlearn.net/mrcmekong.org/download/... · species. among the 115...

Songkhram River Fish Festival

Pressure eases on catfish fry

Tonle Sap Lake education campaign

Mobile hatcheries

Illegal fishing in the Songkhram

Volume 11, No. 3 ISSN 0859-290X December 2005

Fisheries Research and Development in the Mekong Region

INSIDE

Catch and Culture is published three times a year by the Mekong River Commission Secretariat in Vientaine, Lao PDRand distributed to over 650 subscribers around the world. Free email subscriptions to Catch and Culture are availablethrough the MRC website, www.mrcmekong.org For information on the cost of hard-copy subscriptions, contact theMRC's Documentation Centre by email to [email protected]

Contributions to Catch and Culture may be sent to [email protected]

© Mekong River Commission 2005

Editorial panel

Dr Chris Barlow, Fisheries Programme Manager

Dr Suchart Ingthamjitr, Fisheries Programme Officer

Khamtanh Vatthanatham, Fisheries Programme Officer

Virginia Addison, MRC Secretariat Communications Officer

Editor: Peter Starr

Design and cover illustration: Phannavanh Anoulack

All stories by Peter Starr unless otherwise noted.

December 2005 Catch and Culture Volume 11, No. 32

3

Edi tor ia l

E d i t o r i a l

Everyone knows Mekong catfish and barbs can grow to enormous sizes. But until last Octoberno one had set eyes on anything like the 12 monstrous species that descended on NakhonPhanom in northeast Thailand. Up to eight metres in length, some were larger than the trucksthey were hauled in on. Of course, on closer inspection, they were found to be false fish, withscales and fins constructed of paper, plastic and other materials. Nevertheless these grandcreations helped to fan the curiosity and lively spirit of the Songkhram River Fish Festival, whichdrew record-size crowds this year. The annual three-day event - which highlights the river'sproductivity, species diversity and the need for conservation - hosted a lavish mix ofentertainment and education. In addition to a feature article, a special insert in this issue of Catchand Culture offers a colourful glimpse of the festival’s array of activities.

This issue also examines the effects of increased hatchery operations on the fishery for wildcatfish fry in Cambodia. Studies have found that while pressure on these fish has eased slightlyin recent years, management problems remain for both the related wild-catch and aquacultureindustries.

Further north, another study, based in Thailand's Nongkhai province, is revealing the potentialbenefits of capturing fish and transporting fish around barriers such as dams to aid theirmigration - a surprisingly simple and effective solution dubbed the “human fishway”.

Meanwhile, monks in Cambodia have helped to kick off an education campaign targeting theenvironmental, economic and social aspects of the Tonle Sap Lake as it relates to local foodsecurity. The 18-month campaign is a joint project of the Asian Development Bank, UnitedNations agencies and the Royal Government of Cambodia.

Other features of this issue include the United States' decision not to lift anti-dumping duties ontsunami-affected Thai shrimp farmers; the recent design of a mobile fish hatchery which will allowthe expansion of aquaculture to previously difficult locations; a regional action plan for fisheriesco-management in 2006; a workshop examining the conflicts over illegal fishing in theSongkhram river; and the latest MRC Fisheries Programme staff changes.

Selected articles from this issue of Catch and Culture are being translated into Khmer, Lao, Thaiand Vietnamese. The PDF files can be downloaded from www.mrcmekong.org as can all thefeatures in English.

Happy New Year and best wishes for 2006.

The Editors

Catch and Culture Volume 11, No. 3 December 2005


Festival highlightsimportance of fisheries in the Songkhram River

A three-day carnival in Northeast Thailandsees giant fish fill the streets

With annual floodwaters usually peaking inSeptember, October tends to be a special month forpeople living along the Mekong and its tributaries.Boat racing and kite flying are popular this time ofyear, and the cooler weather also heralds the start ofthe wedding season.

This year was particularly special with the fastingmonth of Ramadan coinciding with traditionalBuddhist festivals across much of the Lower Mekong

Basin in October. But one festival this time of year isunique to northeast Thailand - the annual SongkhramRiver Fish Festival, an increasingly popular event heldevery year since 2000 in Nakhon Phanom Province.

In terms of fisheries, the Songkhram is the mostproductive river in the Thai part of the basin (seeCatch & Culture Vol. 10, No. 2). With flooded forestslike those around the Tonle Sap providing richspawning grounds for many species, it may also haveone of the most fragile river ecosystems. Localresearchers reckon the Lower Songkhram River Basinhas a complex ecosystem with at least 28subsystems.

By Peter Starr and Suchart Ingthamjitr

C u l t u r e

You should see the ones that got away! The giant fish get ready to start their passage through the town.

5

In addition to 208 plant species, a recent Thai Baansurvey recorded 124 fish species including nine exoticspecies. Among the 115 indigenous species were 57that migrated from the Mekong to spawn. The surveyalso recorded 10 snail and six insect species alongwith five species of turtle, four shrimp species andanother four species of crab that are targeted byfishers. In the flooded forest area, 79 types of fishinggear have been recorded, both traditional small-scalegear and more modern commercial gear.

“The origins of this festival go back to our wish toconserve fish because fish is the main product of thisregion,” said Wallapa Nilchet, a retired school teacherin Sri Songkhram district in Nakhon Phanom province.The district, which includes large areas of floodedforest, is where the Nam Oon tributary flows into theSongkhram River just before it reaches the Mekong.

Since Wallapa and other members of a local culturalassociation arranged the first festival in 2000, theannual gathering has grown in size. The first day ofthe three-day festival this year, for example, featurednationally-televised boxing matches between fightersfrom Thailand and the Philippines. ChaowalitYongchaiyudh, a retired general and former primeminister who hails from the northeast, presided overthe Friday afternoon sporting event which wasfollowed by a beauty pageant in the evening.

All this, however, was secondary to the main attraction

on Saturday - a raucous afternoon parade through thestreets of the district capital by more than a thousandmen, women and children. Accompanied by dozens ofmusic trucks and floats with local musicians andartisans, the two-hour parade featured 12 enormousmodels of catfishes, barbs and other Mekong speciesincluding a spotted featherback and an ingeniously-crafted archer fish. With moving eyes, gills, fins andtails, these brightly-coloured creatures measured up toeight metres in length and are said to be a localadaptation of model birds from elsewhere in Thailandthat use painted rice straw for feathers.

“It's very different this year,” Wallapa said the nextmorning as people milled around an inauguralexhibition of ornamental fishes. “We had boxing andthere were many more people.” Back in 2000, sherecalled, the first festival was mostly sponsored bylocal groups and didn’t even have any fish floats. “Itwasn't so developed and animated as it is now.” Orcommercial. Advertisers for the televised boxingincluded Red Bull, a local brandy and a sports drink.

In addition to political patronage and corporatesponsorship, the World Conservation Union (IUCN)sponsored its own fish float. Meanwhile, the MekongWetlands Biodiversity Conservation and SustainableUse Programme - an initiative of the MRC, the IUCNand the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) - hosted a small stage off the main stagearea.


C u l t u r e

This oversized Notopterus chitala swam through the streets on its own wave of glory.

C u l t u r e

6

As this year's festival drew to a close, the main stagewas prepared for the final event on Sunday night - aconcert by leading pop star Tai Ora Thai, a local girlfrom the northeastern city of Udon Thani who is now anational icon.

When small-town festivals get this big, it's difficult foran eight-metre hard-lipped barb to be the starattraction.

Further readingThai Bann Research, 2005, Ecology and History ofFlood Forest in Lower Songkhram River Basin (inThai), Thai Bann Research Network at LowerSongkhram River Basin

Floats at the Songkhram River FishFestival featured the followingfishes:

Pangasius larnaudii (black ear catfish or tey po)

Barbonymus altus(red tail tinfoil barb or tapien tong)

Cyclocheilichthys enoplos(soldier river shark or tan joke)

Osteochilus hasselti (hard-lipped barb or i-tai)

Notopterus chitala (spotted featherback or pla krai)

Pangasius bocourti (basa catfish or pla yang)

Toxotes chatareus (common archer fish or sua ponnam)

Barbonymus nemurus(yellow mystus or kod luang)

Hampala dispar(spotted eye barb or pla kra soopjud)

Wallago leerii (type of catfish known as kao dum)


7

W i l d c a t f i s h f r y

Falling Vietnamese demandeases pressure on wild stock of catfish fry By Lieng Sopha and Kent G. Hortle

Viet Nam's catfish hatchery output is upand large-scale trawling for the wild fry of

one species has been outlawed in bothCambodia and Viet Nam. But monitoring

is still needed for a recently-legalisedsmall-scale fishery in Cambodia whichtargets the wild fingerlings of anotherpopular species used in aquaculture.

Pangasiid catfish are popular in aquaculture. Twospecies - tra catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus)and basa catfish (Pangasius bocourti) - are the mostcommonly reared in the Mekong region. P. bocourti isusually grown in cages, while P. hypophthalmus isfarmed in both cages and ponds. Adults spawning inthe rivers formerly provided all the seed for theaquaculture operations, illustrating one of the manylinks between aquaculture and capture fisheries in theMekong region. Nowadays, hatcheries are providingmuch of the seed, but the capture fishery is stillsignificant in Cambodia.

At the start of the annual flood around May and June,these and other pangasiid species spawn in largenumbers in the Mekong and its tributaries in northernCambodia. As they feed and grow, the larvae driftdownstream. By the time they reach Phnom Penh,many are well-developed fry. They drift into the TonleSap (which reverses its flow during the flood) orcontinue downstream via the Bassac and Mekongrivers into the delta in Viet Nam.

Using fine-mesh dai nets (stationary trawls),fishermen in both Cambodia and Viet Nam used totarget this annual drift of fry which were sold live tofish farmers in the delta. The dais mainly caught tracatfish, which are most abundant on the surface, andsmall numbers of basa and other catfish species. InCambodia, this fishery began around 1980. Althoughit was outlawed in 1994, the nets continued tooperate. By 1998, the annual haul of 948 nets wasestimated at about one billion tra fry and the death ofup to five billion fry of non-target species.

Today, there are few fry dais in Cambodia asVietnamese hatcheries are now producing enough fryfor the local aquaculture industry (Viet Nam's fry daisstopped operating in 2000). But hatcheries inCambodia are unable to meet the demands of



8

Cambodia's small aquaculture industry. Moreover, thequality of wild-caught fry is considered superior tohatchery fry. So demand for wild fry continues inCambodia, and some fish are possibly still being sent toViet Nam.

Demand for wild basa fry is met by a type of fishing gearthat Cambodia legalised for small-scale fishers on theMekong, Bassac and Tonle Sap rivers in 2002. Thisspecies is uncommon in dai catches as it lives near thebed of the river where it eats snails and other benthicanimals (hence its Khmer name, trey pra k'chau or snail-eating catfish). In this fishery between 30 and 60 hooksare arrayed on V-shaped frames which are baited andweighted near the bottom of the river. Each fisher usesthree or four sets.

Baits include red-ant eggs and bee larvae as well as seaworms imported from Viet Nam at a cost of between20,000 and 40,000 riel ($5 and $10) per kilogram.

The hook fishery was surveyed in 2001, 2003 and 2004under the Assessment of Mekong Capture FisheriesComponent of the MRC's Fisheries Programme and theFisheries Department of Cambodia's Ministry ofAgriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The surveys aimedto assess its status and its possible impact on stocks bycollecting information about the number of boats andgears and the price of fry. Other information was alsocollected in 2004.

Fishing effort and catch both decreased between 2001and 2003 (see Table 1). Prices also fell as Vietnamesedemand was met by hatchery-produced fish. The extentof fishing has also been reduced. In 2001, the fisherywas operational in Prey Veng, Kratie, Phnom Penh,Kandal and Kompong Cham. By 2004, the fishery wassignificant only in Phnom Penh, Kandal and KompongCham.

In 2004, there were 380-470 boats, each with one or two

Year No. Boats No. Fry (millions) Price per fry (riel) Value (riel, millions)

2001 2,850 6 100 - 250 389

2003 572 3 50 - 100 257

2004 380-470 3 80 - 200 330-650

Source: Department of Fisheries, Deap Loeung (pers comm.)

Table 1Cambodian basa catfish hook fishery (2001-04)

Location No. Boats No. Fry(millions)

Price per fry(riel)

Value (riel,millions)

Daily yield (fryper boat)

Daily incomeper fisher

(riels)

Phnom Penh * 200 2.00 80-200 200-300 100-350 8,000-45,000

Kandal ** 100-150 0.55 100-140 100-300 50-200 5,000-40,000

Kg. Cham * 80-120 0.45 100-130 30-50 50-200 5,000-25,000

Total: 380-470 3.00 80-200 330-650 50-350 5,000-45,000

Table 2Status of basa catfish hook fisheries, Based on interviews in October 2004

* July to September, 2004 ** August to September, 2005


9


fishers, and basa catfish comprised between 70 and90 percent of the catch. Other species includedPangasius conchophilus, Pangasius larnaudii andPangasius pleurotaenia catfishes as well as Mystusmysticetus and Arius species. Basa fry fromKompong Cham were smaller than those from PhnomPenh, suggesting multiple spawnings and growth asthey move downstream.

The latest survey highlighted several issues whichshould influence management and monitoring.Between 40 and 50 percent of the fish died while theywere transported to farms. Diseases caused byhandling and crowding included red spot and ulcers.If the fishery is allowed to continue, improvedhandling is needed to reduce mortality.

The study also concluded that the fishery providedimportant income to poor people, supporting about400 families who operate the gear as well as tradersand suppliers of bait and gear. Depending on fishinggrounds and skills, fishers can earn up to 45,000 riel(US$ 11) a day, a significant income in Cambodia.

The impact on the species is not yet clear. Comparedto the fry dai fishery which used to take largequantities, the hook fishery catches very smallnumbers of fry. But the effect on basa catfish is notknown as the monitoring of catches (by the Tonle Sapdai fishery, for example) groups it as trey pra withthree other similar species including P.hypophthalmus. Data from the Tonle Sap dai fisheryshow large fluctuations but no overall trends incatches of the various pangasiid species.

The study concluded that the fishery should continueat a small scale, and that annual monitoring of boatsand catches should show over time whether anyspecific management actions are needed to reduceimpacts.

Further reading

Deap, L., Degen, P., and Van Zalinge, N. P. (2003)Fishing gears of the Cambodian Mekong, InlandFisheries Research and Development Institute ofCambodia (IFReDI), Technical Paper Series IV, 269pp., Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Deap L. (2001) Report of the Hook Fisheries Survey,Management of the Capture Fisheries Project,Department of Fisheries/Mekong River Commission,Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Department of Fisheries (2003), Internal Report onthe Hook Fisheries Survey, Department of Fisheries,Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Ngor, P. B. (1999) Catfish fry collection in the MekongRiver of Kandal/Phnom Penh, pp 124-134 in VanZalinge, N. P., Nao, T., and Deap, L. (eds), PresentStatus of Cambodia's Freshwater Capture Fisheriesand Management Implications, Department ofFisheries, Cambodia & MRC/Danida, Phnom Penh,Cambodia

Trong, T. Q., Hao, N. V., and Griffiths, D. (2002)Status of Pangasiid aquaculture in Viet Nam, MRCTechnical Paper No. 2, 16 pp., Mekong RiverCommission, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Van Zalinge, N. P., Lieng, S., Ngor, P. B., Heng, K.,and Valbo-Jorgensen, J. (2002) Status of the MekongPangasianodon hypophthalmus resources, withspecial reference to the stock shared betweenCambodia and Viet Nam, MRC Technical Paper No.1,29 pp., Mekong River Commission, Phnom Penh,Cambodia

One little catfish is hooked and on its way to a hatchery.


T e c h n i c a l s y m p o s i u m

10

“A human fishway” - simplesolution to complex problem

By Kent G. Hortle, Lieng Sopha, Em Samy and Zeb Hogan


Human fishways can make economic aswell as scientific sense

Fishways, designed to help fish move past barrierslike dams, come in many shapes and sizes. Somestructures, like rock ramps, are cheap and need littlemaintenance. But they are only effective at heights ofup to two metres. Others, like low-cost channels fortaller barriers, require a bit more maintenance butonly cater to faster species. At greater heights, locks

and elevators can accommodate many species butare expensive to run. Choosing the best design cantherefore be difficult, especially in the absence of afish monitoring programme.

One option is to simply trap fish migrating upstreamand transport them to waters behind the barrier. Butdoes this labour-intensive system make economicsense? A recent case study* of such a trap andtransport system in northeast Thailand suggests that itdoes. Moreover, such a “human fishway” makes

Giving fish a helping hand to overcome physical barriers can help improve the quality of the wild breeding stock.


11Catch and Culture Volume 11, No. 3 December 2005

scientific sense too as it maintains genetic diversityand provides better quality fry compared with thosefrom hatcheries.

The study - by Kent Hortle, Ubolratana Suntornratanaand Paveena Nedchum at the Inland FisheriesResearch and Development Centre in Udon Thani -focused on the Huai Mong Dam in Nongkhaiprovince. The Huai Mong used to flow directly into theMekong before it was dammed at the confluence in1987 to store water for irrigation during the dryseason and control flooding during the wet season.

Based on knowledge of similar tributaries, the authorsassumed that Mekong fishes used to migrate into the

system to access favourable floodplain habitats duringthe annual floods. Surveys in 1989, 1990 and 1996found up to 17 families of fish living in the Huai Mong.But the system, which has a watershed area of 2,600square kilometres, now has few mainstream speciesfrom the Mekong and overall fishing has reportedlydeclined.

But fish still migrate to the base of the dam at thestart of the annual flood season. This attractsfishermen who deploy large lift nets mounted on boatsto catch fish that gather as waters rise below thedam's gates. Between June and August this year,Paveena Nedchumin, the operator of one of thesenets, was paid to collect fish in the morning and in the

By Tim Burnhill

Subjects as diverse as fish yields on floodplains,gender in fisheries management and theeconomics of small-scale aquaculture wereamong the topics presented at the MRCFisheries Programme's 7th TechnicalSymposium on Mekong fisheries. A recordaudience of over 150 fisheries workers attendedthis year's meeting, held from the 15th to 17thNovember in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand.Participants came from as far afield as Australia,Norway and the Netherlands as well as from thefour MRC member countries.

“We were delighted by the large attendance,especially the large numbers of counterpart stafffrom the national fisheries line agencies whowere able to be present,” said Dr Chris Barlow,MRC's Fisheries Programme Manager. Heexplained that in addition to providing a forumwhere fisheries professionals from across theregion can meet to discuss recent developments,the symposium gave young scientists from theriparian countries an occasion to present theirresearch to an international audience.

“Helping young fisheries scientists develop andhone their technical skills is a very importantaspect of the Fisheries Programme,” Dr Barlowexplained. “Presenting and publishing are vitalparts of research and, indeed, career

development. The technical symposium givesour counterpart staff an opportunity to developtheir communications skills. Preparing for thesymposium also benefits their future research.The process makes researchers think clearlyabout the problems they set out to investigate,how they studied them, what they discoveredand what these discoveries mean. For manyyoung scientists, presenting the results of theirresearch to a large and expert audience is achallenging, and possibly overawing, proposition.That is why I am so pleased that over 60scientists from the national line agencies eitherpresented papers or displayed posters.”

The programme this year included 26 oralpresentations and 37 poster displays. Dr Barlowsaid he believes the standard of both improvesevery year. “The subjects increasingly reflect anunderstanding of the regional character of thefisheries resource and the quality of the slidesand the delivery of the talks are increasinglyprofessional.”

Recognising the effort the young scientists putinto their presentations is also important. Everyparticipant received a Certificate of Appreciationand the presenters who gave the six best paperswere recognised with special awards.TheFisheries Programme will publish a volume ofpapers from the symposium in mid-2006.

Record numbers attend the 7th TechnicalSymposium on Mekong Fisheries

The MRC Fisheries Technical Symposium provided an international forum foryoung scientists to present their work


12 December 2005 Catch and Culture Volume 11, No. 3

A workshop held during this year'sTechnical Symposium on Mekong

Fisheries reaches importantconclusions

Fisheries agencies and National MekongCommittees from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailandand Viet Nam have agreed on the need forregional management of deep-pool fisheries. Arecent workshop in Thailand found that deeppools were a “genuine trans-boundary concern”and that conservation was “critical” to fisheriesand livelihoods. Using workshop presentationsas a starting point, participants urged the MRCTechnical Advisory Body (TAB) on FisheriesManagement to ask the Fisheries Programme todevelop a specific proposal for regional deep-pool management. Since its inception in 2002,the TAB has been actively promoting greaterunderstanding of the pools.

The workshop, held during the TechnicalSymposium on Mekong Fisheries in UbonRatchathani in November 2005, followed therecent publication of an MRC report on deeppools in Cambodia and Lao PDR (see Catch &

Culture, Volume 11, No. 2). The report called fora series of measures to protect the pools, whichplay an important role as dry-season habitats forcommercially-important species.

“At present, our knowledge of the pools and howthey relate to the surrounding environment isinadequate,” noted an agreed statement from theworkshop. “Further research is needed on thelocation and classification of deep pools, theirfaunas and productivity and their importance inthe social fabric of the basin.” The statementalso highlighted the need to publicise theimportance of the pools and how they aremanaged while developing and testingmanagement practices in selected areas.

“Above all, a regional approach is essential toconserve the vitality of the deep pools anddevelop their appropriate and sustainablemanagement,” the statement said. “This willinvolve trans-national planning, collaboration,networking and information production andsharing in order to achieve a commonunderstanding of the issues involved and actionsrequired.”

late afternoon. Of the total catch of more than 13,000fish in a 56-day period, 72 percent were fry orfingerlings. The study also identified 83 species from18 families, especially cyprinids (48 species) as wellas pangasids and silurids (nine species each). Afterthe species were identified, almost 10,000 healthyfish were stocked in waters behind the dam's fourgates which usually open at the end of the flood.

The study found that the cost for catching andtransporting each fish was about 0.2 baht, or about2,000 baht ($50) for 10,000 which is comparable tohatchery-produced fry. But the two-month exercisealso yielded some species whose value could not beestimated as they cannot be produced in hatcheries.These included one type of catfish, severalsheathfishes and some endemic species. Apart fromthe competitive cost, range of species and better fry,it was found that the human fishway had other

advantages in that local fishermen were involved andno capital was required. The development of a senseof responsibility for the resource was one of theimportant outcomes of the activity.

The authors concluded that the system should beconsidered as a viable option for moving fish pastbarriers in areas where wild fry are being activelycaught and killed. They also noted that thealternatives - stocking hatchery-produced fry orbuilding fishways - were capital intensive and moreappropriate for richer countries.

* “A Human Fishway Case Study: Huai Mong Dam”byKent G. Hortle, Ubolratana Suntornratana andPaveena Nedchum, presentation made to the MRC'sTechnical Symposium on Mekong Fisheries in UbonRatchathani in November 2005.

Move for regional management ofdeep pools takes shape

E d u c a t i o n


Monks lead the way in meeting challengeto improve environmental education

Cambodia has launched a National EnvironmentalEducation and Awareness Campaign under a projectjointly financed by the Asian Development Bank(ADB), United Nations agencies and the RoyalGovernment of Cambodia.

The 18-month campaign aims to focus on theenvironmental, economic and social aspects of theTonle Sap lake as a source of food in an area withspecial hydrological features and specific threats. Thecampaign comes under the Tonle Sap EnvironmentalManagement Project which is overseen by theCambodian National Mekong Committee.

Among its first activities, the campaign arranged thegovernment's first National Forum on EnvironmentalEducation involving almost 90 stakeholders in PhnomPenh in November. Jady Smith, a former Food andAgriculture Organisation volunteer in Siem Reap whois now an education advisor to the campaign, saidmonks from Battambang were the highlight of theforum. “Monks in Cambodia are leading the way ininnovative approaches to environmental educationbased on cooperation and efficient use of resources,”the Australian biologist said.

A report to the ADB last year found that most peopleliving in the Tonle Sap region had “good tocomprehensive environmental knowledge” but lackedthe power or money to do anything about it. Moreover,the concept of sustainable development of the TonleSap was found to be poorly understood. Thecampaign is now expected to promote greaterunderstanding of the Tonle Sap region amongdecision makers, religious leaders and governmentofficials.

Most of the Tonle Sap project is being financed by anADB loan of $10.9 million, with the Cambodiangovernment providing the equivalent of $3.9 million in

local currency. The Global Environment Fund of theUnited Nations has offered a $3.9 million grant. Theremaining grant aid is from the United NationsDevelopment Program (UNDP) and the ADB.

Further readinghttp://www.idea.org.au/liveandlearn/

New education andawareness campaign forTonle Sap lakeBy Peter Starr

Information

New Tonle Sap database

Cambodia's Fisheries Action Coalition Team (FACT)is scheduled to release a compact disc in January aspart of its Tonle Sap Community Database project.The CD will be available in Khmer and English andpublished on the Internet. Following a year ofdevelopment, the database aims to facilitate the flowof information from all stakeholders involved infisheries around the lake, notably NGOs and localcommunities as well as other organisations working inthe area. FACT was set up in 2000 as a coalition ofNGOs working on fisheries and environmental issueson the Tonle Sap.

Villages like in Koh Chivaeng rely on the lake for their livelihood.

S h r i m p f a r m e r s

Despite tsunami damage to Thailand'sshrimp hatcheries, America decides tocontinue controversial anti-dumping

duties on Thai exporters

Following a six-month review triggered by the IndianOcean tsunami, the United States announced inNovember that anti-dumping duties on imports ofshrimp from Thailand and India would remain in placeafter all. “Revoking the existing orders would be likelyto lead to continuation or recurrence of material injurywithin a reasonably foreseeable time,” theInternational Trade Commission (ITC) said.

The original ITC ruling in January imposed anti-dumping duties on shrimp exporters from Viet Nam,China, Brazil and Ecuador as well as Thailand andIndia (see Catch & Culture, Volume 11, No. 1). In lateApril, however, the commission announced “changedcircumstances” reviews for Thailand and Indiafollowing the December tsunami which devastatedmany shrimp-farming communities across the region.

In the November 2 ruling, all six commissioners werein favour of a shrimp industry alliance centred on thesouthern states of the US along the Gulf of Mexico.The ruling did not mention the impact of HurricaneKatrina on the industry in Louisiana and Mississippi,the two states hardest hit. But Richard Gutting, formerpresident of America's National Fisheries Institute,said the September hurricane had “lowered the bar”for future injury findings. Writing in the October editionof Global Aquaculture Advocate, he noted thatdomestic producers conceded they would “bounceback” from the hurricane damage but argued theywere “particularly vulnerable to further injury fromrising fuel costs.”

Gutting said that issues raised during Octoberhearings at the commission were “quite different” fromthe earlier probe. “In the original investigations, the

commissioners looked backward at past sales and theeffects imports were having on the US shrimpindustry,” he said. “In the changed circumstancesreview, however, the central issue concerns theimpacts future sales might have on domesticindustry.” Moreover, he said, the original investigationassessed the cumulative impact of imports from all sixnations. “Now, only exports from the two countries arebeing reviewed and the commission can choose toevaluate the exports from each country separately.”

The extent of tsunami damage to Thailand's fisheries,agriculture and forestry sectors was still unclear sixmonths after the disaster. In June, the regional officeof the United Nations Food and AgricultureOrganisation (FAO) in Bangkok noted that its damageestimates “tend to differ” from government estimates.For example, it said, the existence of illegalaquaculture installations may have led to under-reporting of damages. “On the other hand, unfoundedclaims for compensation may have led to over-reporting of damages.”


No change of heart forThailand's tsunami-affectedshrimp farmersBy Peter Starr

Last year’s tsunami wreaked havoc on Thailand’s coast.

M o b i l e h a t c h e r i e s


The health of the Mekong and its aquatic biodiversityis under increasing pressure from loss of naturalhabitat, barriers to migration and introduced speciesdisplacing native fish. Fish and aquatic animals fromthe Lower Mekong Basin are vital to the livelihoods ofmany rural households, both as an essential part oftheir diets and an important source of income. Oneway to support current and future demand is to stockrivers, reservoirs and lakes with threatenedindigenous species and mobile fish hatcheries areone of the tools now being used to do this work.

In many remote rural areas, long distances and poorroads hinder access to fish hatcheries that providesuch stocks. To help overcome this problem, theAquaculture of Indigenous Mekong Fish Species(AIMS) component of the MRC's FisheriesProgramme designed and built a mobile hatchery atthe Nakhon Phanom fisheries station in Thailand in2002. The hatchery allows aquaculture to bepractised in areas where transporting fingerlings fromcentral hatcheries is difficult if not impossible.

The mobile unit is small and simple - a water tank oftwo cubic metres, a pump, an air blower and a mobile

generator along with hatchery and some specialisedequipment needed for breeding the fish. The pumpand blower are run by a 7.5 HP diesel engine or a 5 HP electric motor. When disassembled, thehatchery can fit into the back of a pickup truck andeasily transported to various locations.

In terms of egg production, fertilisation, and hatchingrates, the mobile unit compared favourably withstandard hatcheries. It was also more flexible thanexpected and generated local community interest.Apart from aquaculture, it can also be used for fish-breeding demonstrations including egg productionand fertilisation using local broodstock to ensuregenetic similarity to the wild population. Suchdemonstrations have been given at Nakhon Phanom,Udon Thani and Mukdahan in Thailand and NamHoum in Lao PDR.

Following the success of the project, the FisheriesProgramme gave financial support to the LivingAquatic Resources Research Center (LARReC) todevelop a second mobile hatchery in Lao PDR inearly 2003. Based on the original prototype butadapted for local requirements, this hatchery was setup at Huey Siet reservoir in April 2004. District staffand fisheries officers from across the border inNakhon Phanom helped the local fisheriescooperative develop the second mobile hatchery.

Restocking the basinBy Tari Bowling

Mobile fish hatcheries are one of the tools now being used to restock native species and help poorer people improve their lives.

Fishing communities are playing alarger role in the sustainablemanagement of their resource

I l l e g a l f i s h i n g

16

Songkhram stakeholdersaddress future ofdegraded resourcesBy Wolf Hartmann

A recent workshop highlights the need for urgent action to help resolve

conflicts over illegal fishing and topromote job opportunities outside the

agricultural sector

The Songkhram River in northeast Thailand is one ofthe country's major tributaries to the Mekong and oneof its most productive in terms of fisheries. It’s also theheart of frequent conflicts over the use of illegal anddestructive fishing gear (see Catch and Culture,Volume 10, No. 2).

In an initial step towards finding a solution to these

problems, the MRC Fisheries Programme and theThai Department of Fisheries held a three-dayworkshop in Nakhon Phanom in August. The 86participants represented government and non-government agencies, small and large-scale fishers,local community leaders and members of tambonadministrative organisations. Representatives ofinternational agencies and the department's headoffice took part as observers.

The workshop concluded that management measureswere urgently needed to sustain the fishery, whichprovides major livelihoods and sources of income forlocal people. Although the resource has beenexceptionally productive, heavy fishing pressure in


Workshop participants agreed that there was an urgent need to introduce management measures to sustain the fishery.


recent decades has taken its toll and few communitymembers either understand or follow existing rulesand regulations.

Some participants blamed greed for illegal fishingwhile others pointed to an absence of alternative workin an area where agriculture is limited by floods anddroughts. Indeed, the household incomes of mostsmall-scale fishers in the lower basin are below thepoverty line and education levels are inferior to otherparts of Thailand.

Illegal fishing mostly involves large-scale gear andfishing with electrical devices, explosives and poison.At the same time, illegal encroachment hasdiminished important fishing grounds and habitatssuch as flooded forests. Combined with over-fishing,these activities have increasingly degraded thefisheries resource. Furthermore, marketing ishampered by seasonal production, fluctuations in

quality and quantity, and weak bargaining power.Participants also noted insufficient and outdatedfisheries information, ineffective communicationchannels and inadequate coordination andcooperation.

Although integrated planning has recently beenintroduced, it has not yet been fully carried out.Communication between stakeholders also remainsinsufficient, partly due to limited manpower andbudgets.

Among three ideas to emerge from the workshop wasa suggestion to review fisheries legislation and makeamendments if necessary to reduce conflicts in thebasin. To ensure full understanding and compliancewith the law, participants suggested that effectivecommunication be strengthened and recommendedthat clear demarcation of boundaries was needed,along with coordinated measures to improve themanagement and conservation of critical habitats.

The workshop also highlighted the need forstakeholders to draw up management measures tosustain fisheries resources. Some noted that genderissues should be more fully considered and thatefforts should be made to take into account allscientific, social, economic and local knowledge.

Participants also stressed the importance ofdeveloping alternative job opportunities outside theagricultural sector. In addition to small-scale businessactivities such as handicrafts and cottage industries,participants suggested services such as beautysalons, repair shops and tailoring. They alsomentioned valued-added activities like foodprocessing, packaging, eco-tourism and aquacultureinvolving indigenous species.

Recommended activities included developing fisherieslegislation as a tool for conflict resolution, assessingfisheries resources and developing alternativesources of income. Other possible measures includerehabilitating and conserving the flooded-forestecosystem, developing an effective fish-marketingsystem, enhancing co-management and improvinginformation and communication systems. TheFisheries Programme plans to take up some of theseactivities in an integrated, multi-component projectfrom 2006 onward.

I l l e g a l f i s h i n g

Poor people in the region need to find alternative sources of work.

C o - m a n a g e m e n t


Regional action plan forfisheries co-management By Peter Starr

Regional body seeks to break nexusbetween overfishing and survival

The Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) hasdrafted an action plan to mainstream fisheries co-management in the region and plans to consult withfishing communities and donors before adopting it in2006. The draft plan, discussed at an APFIC workshopin Siem Reap in August, includes eight specificstrategies as well as key actions to be taken bygovernments, regional and inter-governmentalorganisations, researchers and non-governmentalorganisations.

Because the workshop was not representative offishing communities or donors, participants agreedthat these two groups should be consulted to developthe various actions proposed.

The workshop, chaired by Cambodia's FisheriesDepartment Director-General Mr Nao Thouk describedpoverty as one of the main challenges to thesuccessful co-management of fisheries. Other

challenges include a lack of awareness of potentialbenefits, a lack of power sharing, legislativeconstraints, a lack of empowerment, insufficientinstitutional linkages and inadequate human capacity.The workshop also concluded that co-managementshould be cost-effective and integrated intogovernmental development strategies such asdecentralisation and poverty reduction.

Given the failure of many projects when donor fundingdries up, APFIC is trying to promote co-managementas a mainstream practice for government and non-government agencies as well as fishing communities.It says a “more holistic livelihoods approach” needs tobe taken to “break the nexus between overfishing andthe need to survive.” In addition to empoweringcommunities to have more say in issues affecting theirfuture, the idea is to deal with problems in sanitation,education and water supply before addressing themore lofty issues associated with responsible fishing.

Further readingwww.apfic.org/modules/xfsection/article.php?articleid=16


Staff movements

Kent Hortle

resigned ascoordinator of theprogramme'sAssessment of MekongCapture Fisheriescomponent inNovember to return toAustralia to be with hisfamily. But he willremain involved withthe programme infinalising reports onactivities over the past couple of years. Kentjoined the programme in November 2001 andwas initially based in Lao PDR before moving toCambodia. Staff from line agencies greatlyappreciated his knowledge of all aspects offisheries, and the time he devoted to assist withplanning and report writing. His friendly mannerwill be missed by all. We wish him everysuccess and happiness back in Australia.

IncomingPham Mai Phoung is scheduled to start as a junior programmeofficer with the Fisheries Programme in January. Pham comes from theResearch Institute for Aquaculture No. 2 (RIA2) in Ho Chi Minh City whereshe has been working with the programme's Assessment of MekongCapture Fisheries component in addition to other duties with the institute.She has a B.Sc. in biology from the University of Ho Chi Minh City and aM.Sc. in international fishery management from the University of Tromso inNorway. We welcome her to the fisheries programme.

DongdavanhSibounthong

completed herassignment as anassistant programmeofficer in Decemberto return to the LaoDepartment ofLivestock andFisheries. Dongjoined theprogramme inDecember 2000 andwas based in Cambodia before moving to LaoPDR with the MRC Secretariat in June 2004.She contributed to many aspects of theprogramme's administrative work and was agood friend to all. We wish her every success inher future work and life.

S t a f f c h a n g e s

Outgoing


F i s h e r i e s I n d e x

20

Six breeding centres plannedViet Nam News, 24 September 2005The Ministry of Fisheries will open six nationalbreeding centres in different parts of the country in2006 to boost production and the aquaculture sector.These research centres will implement newtechnologies, preserve genes and increase productionof marine products. They will reintroduce originalbreeds and supply them to provincial and districtbreeding centres. The centres will also providetraining to technicians and fisheries workers.

Phu Yen residents profit from sea eelsViet Nam News, 24 September 2005Living standards have risen among villagers of PhuYen in the southern province of An Giang following theintroduction of a sea eel breeding programme. Thevillage is considered poor, but local farmers havefound it easy to raise and sell the eels in cages andponds and earn four times their capital investment.Local authorities have helped by setting up teams toraise the sea eels and providing the farmers withloans to buy stock and build cages. The eels are nowalso being exported to mainland China and Taiwan.

Officials expect high yield this fishing seasonCambodia Daily, 1 November 2005Fisheries officials expect this year's fish catch to be agood one as the Mekong River floodwaters took along time to recede, allowing for nutrients to enrichthe river's waters and allowing a high survival of fishfry. Mr Nao Thuok, Director of the Fisheries

Department for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheriesand Forestry said that while the flood was slightlylower than the previous year, it lasted longer so fishcould spawn and live in a larger wild area. He said atleast 40 fishing areas in Phnom Penh, Kandal andTakeo waters would be opened for commercial fishingand each was expected to collect an average of20,000 tonnes of fish during the year. Fisheriesexperts say more effective government crackdownson illegal fishing will help boost catches.

NA considers law to regulate fishing sectorCambodia Daily, 2 November 2005A draft law to govern the nation's fishing sector is nowin the National Assembly and several fisheries officialssay it is important for the proposed law to besubmitted for approval by the Assembly early nextyear. An FAO representative said there was a “senseof urgency” among fisheries officials to see the newlaw, which would give more management control tolocal authorities, approved. The prior fishing law wasoutdated and the new draft is said to contain enoughmeasures to ensure the sustainability of the fisheriessector in Cambodia.

Mekong catfish death sparks rethinking of lawCambodia Daily, 16 November 2005The death last week of a 2.5m long Mekong giantcatfish has spurred fisheries experts to set in motion arevision of the policy regarding their catch. EngCheasan, deputy director of the Fisheries Departmentfor the Ministry of Agriculture said that officials had

Mekong FisheriesIndex

21

floated a new proposal to fine fishermen who don'timmediately turn over rare giant catfish alive. “Whengiant catfish are caught the fishermen must releasethem by law, but it has been difficult to enforce this,”he said. Zeb Hogan, a research biologist andcoordinator of a specialist group on the catfish for theMekong Wetlands Biodiversity Programme saidfishermen were previously compensated for themarket value of the catfish if they could prove theyhad caught one and released it alive. Governmentofficials are still determining what the new policy andpunishment will be.

Catfish whets US appetitesViet Nam News, 17 November 2005Viet Nam will have the opportunity to make furtherinroads into the American market following a visit byrepresentatives of the two large seafood companies,Mazzetta and Amanda, that trade Vietnameseseafood in America. Mazzetta is the main supplier ofMcDonald's and has bought Vietnamese shrimp forfour years. The representative visited An GiangFisheries Import Export Joint Stock company (Agifish)to research putting Vietnamese basa catfish into thefast food distribution system.

Aquaculture farms need monitoring systemViet Nam News, November 2005The Fisheries Ministry has asked the Government toissue a directive to regulate chemicals and antibioticsused in breeding and processing aquaculture farmingproducts. The regulations are also expected to clearlydefine and allocate ministerial responsibilityconcerning the issue. Under this directive the fisheriesauthorities will issue a list of banned antibiotics andchemical agents. It is also expected to requireorganisations that import, manufacture and sellantibiotics to supply labels with information andinstructions on their use. Processing facilities will berequired to buy only those supplies which havealready been tested and meet veterinary standards.

Mekong river delta develops sea crab aquaculture Nhan Dan, 24 November 2005Can Tho University has been successful in a pilotinga project to raise sea crabs which will open a newdevelopment direction for aquaculture in the coastalareas in the Mekong river delta. According to experts,sea crabs are easy to raise and take a short time,only four months, to be harvested. Currently,Vietnamese fishermen catch around 400 tonnes ofsea crabs a year naturally. Soft-shelled crab is anproduct of high export value and is currently in highmarket demand. Last year, Viet Nam earned US$25million from exporting 6,000 tonnes of sea crabs.

Decline in freshwater fish stocks threatens ruralpoorSciDev.Net, 30 November 2005Overfishing of the world's lakes and rivers is anunrecognised threat to the economy, biodiversity andhealth of developing countries, warn researchers inthe December issue of BioScience. Inland waters area crucial source of income for rural communities indeveloping countries, particularly in Africa and Asia.They constitute a major source of dietary protein forthe poorest. “There is very heavy pressure on riversand lakes over much of the world, mainly in Africa andAsia,” says Robin Welcomme, one of the study'sauthors. “Overfishing is changing the composition ofspecies, with larger species being reduced andsometimes eliminated.” Eric Baran, of the WorldFishCenter in Cambodia, says fish catches in the MekongRiver have increased over the last 60 years, despitevery intensive fishing. “Big valuable species arebecoming rare, and are being progressively replacedby short-life, small-size, low-value opportunists,” hesaid. Among a series of case studies, the BioSciencepaper points out that in the Mekong River, the giantcatfish is close to extinction. Slowing the decline instocks is “crucial to avoid disruption of the naturalfood supply to the poor,” says Baran.

F i s h e r i e s I n d e x



MRC Fisheries Programme gains US$5 millionsupport from Denmark MRC press release, 1 December 2005The Government of Denmark, through its aid armDanida, will provide 30 million Danish kroner(approximately US$ 5 million) to fund the first threeyears of the second phase of the Mekong RiverCommission Fisheries Programme. The new fundingagreement was signed by H.E. Mr Peter LysholtHansen, Ambassador, Royal Danish Embassy, and DrOlivier Cogels, Chief Executive Officer MRC at theconclusion of the 10th Donor Consultative GroupMeeting held in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The funding willbe spread over the years 2006-2008 and represents acontinuation of the solid support Danida has given theMRC Fisheries Programme in the past. The MRCFisheries Programme aims to manage the productiveMekong fisheries so as to sustain their high yield andeconomic output well into the future. The programmeundertakes research into capture fisheries, trainsfisheries managers, promotes aquaculture ofindigenous Mekong fish species and disseminatesinformation to policy makers and planners in the fourLower Mekong countries. It has been operating sincethe MRC was formed in 1995 and has developed awide range of programme activities throughout thefour member countries.

Man, wife electrocuted while fishing togetherCambodia Daily, 3-4 December 2005A couple was electrocuted in Kompong Champrovince while using electrical equipment to fish. Thecouple died in a rice paddy in Prey Chord district'sBoeung Nay commune, according to the district'spolice chief. “We found them clinging together in thewater,” he said.

Southern province sustainably develops catfishproduction Vietnam News Agency, 15 December 2005

The Agriculture and Rural Development Department(ARDD) of southern An Giang province plans tosimultaneously conduct five projects on sustainabledevelopment of the local catfish raising practice. Theprovince is located in the Mekong River Delta, whichboasts the largest production of tra and basa catfish inViet Nam with an annual output of 300,000 tonnes.Catfish prices have slightly rebounded recently after along period of decline. This positive sign of priceincreases is attributed to the avian influenzaoutbreaks in many localities and seafood taking theplace of poultry in every family's daily menu.According to the Viet Nam Association of SeafoodExporters and Processors (VASEP), Viet Nam's basafish products have been exported to Australia inaddition to the existing large markets of the UnitedStates and Japan. Australia is projected to consume7,000 tonnes of ba sa fish imported from Viet Nam in2005.


Published by the Mekong River Commission Secretariat

P.O. Box 6101, 184 Fa Ngoum Road, Unit 18, Ban Sithane Neua,Sikhottabong District, Vientiane 01000 Lao PDR

Phone: 856-21-263 263 Fax: 856-21-263 264Website: www.mrcmekong.org

Mekong River CommissionP.O.Box 6101, 184 Fa Ngoum Road, Unit 18, Ban Sithane Neua,

Sikhottabong District, Vientiane Lao PDRTelephone: (856) 21 263 263 Facsimile: (856) 21 263 264

E-mail: [email protected]: www.mrcmekong.org

Processions of traditional fishinggear, accompanied by skitsdisplaying their techniques, addedto the festival’s spirit and madefish conservation a key theme.

“The origins of the festival go backto our wish to conserve fish.”

--Wallapa NilchetSri Songkhram district, Thailand

A tradition of conservation


Northeast Thailand’s Songkhram River got a special tribute this year as singers, dancers, beauty contestants, boxers and thousands ofspectators converged for a lively three-day

celebration in honour of its fisheries.

It was the festival’s fifth anniversary, and its popularity climbed to new heights with more

performances and people than ever.

Crowds flood to Nakhon Phanom’s annual fish festival

S o n g k h r a m R i v e r F i s h F e s t i v a l

SS pp ee cc ii aa ll ii nn ss ee rr ttSS pp ee cc ii aa ll ii nn ss ee rr tt


Mammoth models ofcatfish, barbs and otherMekong species were thehighlight of the festival’ssecond-day parade. Morethan 1,000 spectators weretreated to an afternoon ofentertainment andeducation focusing on theregion’s most importantasset - its fisheries.

Monster fish parade


Representatives from the World ConservationUnion and the Mekong River Commissioncontributed to the effort to raise awareness about the River Basin’s complex ecosystem andits vital importance to the region’s people.

People and partnerships


catch culture vol11.3. 2005archive.iwlearn.net/mrcmekong.org/download/... · species. among the 115...

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