Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Floating village decamps over fish deaths

Floating village decamps over fish deaths

Floating houses sit near a riverbank in Kandal province
Floating houses sit near a riverbank in Kandal province yesterday after being relocated from Phnom Penh’s Russey Keo district. Hong Menea

Floating village decamps over fish deaths

Fishermen who have lived off the Tonle Sap river in Phnom Penh’s Russey Keo district for generations were forced upstream recently after hundreds of dead fish mysteriously appeared in local waters.

The 29 families who live on houseboats from which they cast their traps started moving to Kandal province’s Lvea Em district on June 1, said Chea Thol, the district’s police chief. The small floating village’s move to the district’s harbour is temporary, he said. It is currently unclear what is causing the fish to turn up dead, he added.

“Some of the fishermen said water in the location in Russey Keo district, where they caught fish, seems contaminated or lacking oxygen, leading 300 to 500 fish to die each day,” Thol said. “They have decided to move here temporarily to catch fish that are not in [possibly] polluted water.”

Ten families made the eight-kilometre move up the current on June 1, followed by another 19 on Saturday, Thol said. Some families had fished in the Russey Keo location since the fall of the Khmer Rouge.

A sudden skyrocketing of fish deaths in the area has evoked suspicion that industrial factories in Russey Keo district are the cause, Tim Seleh, a representative of the families, said.

“We suspect that some factories are secretly dumping their poisonous waste into the river,” Seleh said yesterday. “[Poison] flowing into the water current this month is killing our fish all the time.”

In a day, more than a tonne of fish there died, a loss that cost Seleh millions of riel, he said. Seleh and other affected families are calling for local fisheries experts to survey the area to find out what’s causing the fish to die in such large numbers.

Russey Keo district Deputy Governor Ly Rozamie said shallow water and hot temperatures are likely depleting the water of oxygen and suffocating the fish.

“However, we would like to ask environmental and fishery experts to examine the water to find the cause,” Rozamie said.

MOST VIEWED

  • 12th Cambodia int’l film festival to see return of Hollywood star

    Phnom Penh is set to come alive with the magic of cinema as the highly anticipated 12th Cambodia International Film Festival (CIFF) takes centre stage. Boasting an impressive line-up of 188 films from 23 countries, including captivating shorts, feature films, documentaries and animation, the festival promises an

  • Bareknuckle champion wants Kun Khmer fighter

    Dave Leduc, who is the current openweight Lethwei boxing champion in Myanmar, has announced that he will travel to Cambodia this year to challenge SEA Games gold medallist Prum Samnang any time that is convenient, after their planned match later this month in Slovakia was

  • Brawl marrs football final as Indonesian take gold in seven goal thriller

    The Indonesian men's U22 men national football team were crowned champions of the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia, defeating Thailand 5-2 in extra time on May 16 at Olympic National Stadium in Phnom Penh. The match was marred by an ugly incident that occured in the 91

  • 1.4 billion dollar Phnom Penh-Bavet expressway due in four years

    The Government, through the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, has officially signed a public-private partnership agreement with a private company for the construction of a Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway project that will connect the capital to Svay Rieng province. The budget for the project is

  • Fresh Covid warnings as Thai hospital fills

    A senior health official reminds the public to remain vigilant, as neighbouring countries experience an increase in Covid-19 cases, with the latest surge appearing to be a result of the Omicron XBB.1.5 sub-variant. Or Vandine, secretary of state and spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health,

  • New Law on Taxation comes into effect

    Cambodia has enacted the eagerly-awaited new Law on Taxation, which aims to improve the national tax regime’s compliance with present and future international standards and economic conditions; encourage accountability, effectiveness and transparency in the collection process; and promote investment in the Kingdom. King Norodom