KOH Kong Vice Governor Dom Yuk Hean said Thursday that the local government was preparing to grant temporary licences for Thai fisherman to work in the province’s waters.

The licences will be valid for six weeks, Dom Yuk Hean said, though he was unsure how many Thai fishermen would be applying for access to the Cambodian fishing grounds.

The Thai News Agency reported Wednesday that about 200 Thai fishermen planned to seek licences from the Koh Kong government Thursday.

Rumours circulated over the past few weeks that the Cambodian government would halt informal fishing rights for Thai fishermen due to the continuing diplomatic row over Cambodia’s appointment of fugitive former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as a government economics adviser.

Thai opposition leader Chavalit Yongchaiyudh publicly made this claim last month, according to the Bangkok Post.

Cambodian officials, however, have since rebutted these allegations.

No problems anticipated

Dom Yuk Hean said he was confident that although many Thai fishermen will seek licences, they will coexist peacefully with their Cambodian counterparts.

“Cambodian fishermen use these waters for fishing, but Cambodian fishermen use small boats for fishing, not big and modern ones, so they cannot fish as far out at sea as Thai fishermen,” he said.

Nao Thuok, director general of the Fisheries Administration, declined to comment Thursday.