Cambodia’s dwindling fish stocks put spotlight on changing rivers
Cambodian fisherman Tin Yusos tucks into a meal of the previous day’s catch with his wife and granddaughter aboard a boat which doubles as their home moored by the banks of the Tonle Sap River.
They plan to set out for another day of fishing in the area of the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers, though his expectations are low.
“There are no big fish anymore,” said Tin Yusos, 57. In the past, he could get a haul of about 30 kilogram (66 lb) of fish a day. Now he often catches just over one kilogram, worth about 15,000 riel ($3.69).
Experts blame hydropower projects, sand mining, deforestation, wetland conversion and climate change for dramatic drops in water levels in the region’s rivers, severely disrupting fishing and threatening food supplies for millions.
The Mekong typically swells in the rainy season where it converges with the Tonle Sap River, causing an unusual reversed flow into the Tonle Sap Lake, filling it up and providing bountiful fish stocks.
Prak Chan Thul, Lach Chantha
