Fish is one of the most popular foods in the country. With this in mind, a growing number of Cambodians – especially young people – are trying their hand in the field of fish farming. They hope to fill the needs of the market. However, not all of those who have tried have been successful. For example, Leang Roath, who graduated with a degree in fisheries science from the Royal University of Agriculture, has already experienced what he calls an “unsuccessful test” in fish farming.

In Roath’s attempt, he tried to breed three kinds of fish: Nile tilapia, striped catfish and silver carp.

“I learned that a lack of fresh water to pump into your fish pond is a major problem,” says Roath, explaining the first difficulty he faced. Water quality is another challenge which he says can limit the size and weight of the fish that can be bred.

Roath undertook the fish farm experiment with his classmates, and they all paid their own money to cover the costs. Roath says that they could not mix the food for the fish by themselves and instead had to buy it. The high price of the fish food was yet another problem. “The price of the food is very expensive and we had difficult affording it.”

The final problem that Roath and his classmates faced was keeping the fish from being caught by the public. “We didn’t have a fence around the fish pond,” he recalls. The theft of the fish was very upsetting to the team, especially after they worked so hard on the project for four months.

Now Roath is a volunteer at a fish farm at the Royal University of Agriculture.

Despite the unsuccessful experiment, Roath’s goal is still to work in the aquaculture industry – specifically in the field of fish cross-breeding.

In the next issue of Lift we have an expert help Roath toward his goal.