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On June 30, a group of six local fishermen from the small southern Cambodian village of Phnom Sralao confronted an illegal commercial fishing vessel that had been using large nets that destroy locals’ gear. 

Armed guards on the trawler shot and killed two of the men and wounded a third. When the police went to the village the next day to investigate, they weren’t interested in gathering information about the killers, but instead accused the local men of trying to rob the larger boat. 

“They did not come to investigate but they came to ask for money and threaten to arrest if we did not pay them,” said Phin Sour, the wife of one of those killed. 

The mother of Dem Yon, who was not killed, paid B 3500 to the police to protect her son from prosecution. “I sold my land for 2800 baht ($66) and my boat for 800 baht ($19) to pay them,” she said. 

The conflict is the result of tensions caused by the privatization of Cambodia’s once communal fishing areas. The transformation of the industry is part of a package of reforms the Cambodian government is carrying out as it prepares for its 2005 accession to the World Trade Organization, which requires developing countries to promote foreign trade and eliminate domestic protections. But rapid changes to this fragile economy are threatening the country’s stability. 

Shootings, arsons, seizures and arrests in the fisheries, as well as conflict, indebtedness, migration and malnutrition are increasing among the 90 percent of Cambodians who live in rural areas. Millions here rely on fishing for their protein and livelihood, but it is becoming harder for them to do so. 

The village of Anlong Raing consists of a few dozen floating houses on the edge of the Great Tonle Sap Lake, the largest lake in Southeast Asia. Fishers here used to catch enough fish to eat, plus some to trade for rice. But, because of commercial competition and the degradation of the lake itself, the fish they now catch are too small to sell, and must be kept in cages until they are big enough to market. 

“We cannot make enough money to buy rice...There are fewer fish now that big fishermen come and fish this area, and we cannot do anything about them,” said Veng Thy Viet, a mother of five. 

The commercial fishermen are supported by Cambodia’s fishing ministry and other authorities, said Mao Vanna, head of the Anlong Raing community fishery. “The ministry and police are involved in illegal fishing; they take a cut of the profits.” 

The commercial vessels use illegal methods: electrocution, poisons, explosives, water pumping, scoops, nets and fences. These practices overfish the lake, destroy aquatic life and wreck locals’ gear. 
In defiance of a law that guarantees family fishers open access to communal areas within the commercial fishing lots, lot owners frequently post guards and charge fees. 

The prime minister attempted to resolve the growing conflict in late 2000 by restoring more than half of the privatized fishing lots to the communities. But without Department of Fisheries officials monitoring the field and without maps demarking the newly-drawn boundaries publicly available, the situation became chaotic. Confrontations between family and commercial fishers increased. 

In a country still shaped by the murderous Khmer Rouge era and ensuing years of uncertainty, there are few community organizations to connect local fishers, leaving them weak. Thanks to grassroots organizing and the support of non-governmental organizations, notably OxFam USA and the Fisheries Action Coalition Team, circumstances for small fishers in Anlong Raing have begun to improve. In some areas, a decline in illegal fishing has mitigated local conflict. 

But that has led to a large influx of people from areas where things have been getting worse. 

In 1990, there were 43 families in the village; now there are 90. Population pressure combined with a declining catch rate for locals threatens the structure of this community. 

Related environmental dangers resulting from liberalization reforms are also becoming a menace. The booming timber industry — another newfound export for Cambodia — is resulting in deforestation and soil erosion around the Tonle Sap, silting up the lake. Hoping to export rice, the Cambodian government has promoted more intensive agriculture that requires pesticides and fertilizers that seep into the freshwater system. 

But if the Sre Ambel killers are not pursued, the main problem for Cambodia’s small fishers will be that commercial fishers will assume they can act with impunity. And the violence will escalate.



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<P><FONT color=black size=-1>By Joshua Breitbart </FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=black>*** Photos Available on Request ***</FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=black>From August 2002 Indypendent</FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=black>On June 30, a group of six local fishermen from the small southern Cambodian village of Phnom Sralao confronted</FONT> an illegal commercial fishing vessel that had been using large nets that destroy locals’ gear. <BR><BR>Armed guards on the trawler shot and killed two of the men and wounded a third. When the police went to the village the next day to investigate, they weren’t interested in gathering information about the killers, but instead accused the local men of trying to rob the larger boat. <BR><BR>“They did not come to investigate but they came to ask for money and threaten to arrest if we did not pay them,” said Phin Sour, the wife of one of those killed. <BR><BR>The mother of Dem Yon, who was not killed, paid B 3500 to the police to protect her son from prosecution. “I sold my land for 2800 baht ($66) and my boat for 800 baht ($19) to pay them,” she said. <BR><BR>The conflict is the result of tensions caused by the privatization of Cambodia’s once communal fishing areas. The transformation of the industry is part of a package of reforms the Cambodian government is carrying out as it prepares for its 2005 accession to the World Trade Organization, which requires developing countries to promote foreign trade and eliminate domestic protections. But rapid changes to this fragile economy are threatening the country’s stability. <BR><BR>Shootings, arsons, seizures and arrests in the fisheries, as well as conflict, indebtedness, migration and malnutrition are increasing among the 90 percent of Cambodians who live in rural areas. Millions here rely on fishing for their protein and livelihood, but it is becoming harder for them to do so. <BR><BR>The village of Anlong Raing consists of a few dozen floating houses on the edge of the Great Tonle Sap Lake, the largest lake in Southeast Asia. Fishers here used to catch enough fish to eat, plus some to trade for rice. But, because of commercial competition and the degradation of the lake itself, the fish they now catch are too small to sell, and must be kept in cages until they are big enough to market. <BR><BR>“We cannot make enough money to buy rice...There are fewer fish now that big fishermen come and fish this area, and we cannot do anything about them,” said Veng Thy Viet, a mother of five. <BR><BR>The commercial fishermen are supported by Cambodia’s fishing ministry and other authorities, said Mao Vanna, head of the Anlong Raing community fishery. “The ministry and police are involved in illegal fishing; they take a cut of the profits.” <BR><BR>The commercial vessels use illegal methods: electrocution, poisons, explosives, water pumping, scoops, nets and fences. These practices overfish the lake, destroy aquatic life and wreck locals’ gear. <BR>In defiance of a law that guarantees family fishers open access to communal areas within the commercial fishing lots, lot owners frequently post guards and charge fees. <BR><BR>The prime minister attempted to resolve the growing conflict in late 2000 by restoring more than half of the privatized fishing lots to the communities. But without Department of Fisheries officials monitoring the field and without maps demarking the newly-drawn boundaries publicly available, the situation became chaotic. Confrontations between family and commercial fishers increased. <BR><BR>In a country still shaped by the murderous Khmer Rouge era and ensuing years of uncertainty, there are few community organizations to connect local fishers, leaving them weak. Thanks to grassroots organizing and the support of non-governmental organizations, notably OxFam USA and the Fisheries Action Coalition Team, circumstances for small fishers in Anlong Raing have begun to improve. In some areas, a decline in illegal fishing has mitigated local conflict. <BR><BR>But that has led to a large influx of people from areas where things have been getting worse. <BR><BR>In 1990, there were 43 families in the village; now there are 90. Population pressure combined with a declining catch rate for locals threatens the structure of this community. <BR><BR>Related environmental dangers resulting from liberalization reforms are also becoming a menace. The booming timber industry — another newfound export for Cambodia — is resulting in deforestation and soil erosion around the Tonle Sap, silting up the lake. Hoping to export rice, the Cambodian government has promoted more intensive agriculture that requires pesticides and fertilizers that seep into the freshwater system. <BR><BR>But if the Sre Ambel killers are not pursued, the main problem for Cambodia’s small fishers will be that commercial fishers will assume they can act with impunity. And the violence will escalate.</P><p><br><hr size=1><b>Do You Yahoo!?</b><br>
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