Ministry of Interior secretary of state Lam Chea said on Monday that specialists from the ministries of Interior; and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, along with authorities in coastal provinces, had discussed to amend the National Plan of Action for the prevention and elimination of illegal fishing in the Cambodian sea.
The discussion was held during a meeting between the ministries on January 16. Representatives from four coastal provinces and relevant ministry specialists had provided insights to the National Plan of Action to ensure that fishing crimes in Cambodian waters are stopped immediately.
“Sometimes, the authorities find it difficult to monitor the sea and manage fishing activities day and night. We hope the relevant authorities and individuals will cooperate and stop illegal fishing activities not just in national but also international waters.
“Spurred by the revision of the National Plan of Action, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries plans to amend the Fisheries Law. It can prepare a draft sub-decree to strengthen all capacities for the crackdown of all illegal and unregulated fishing.
“Although these operations don’t have a 100 per cent success rate, they still prove to be rather effective,” Chea said.
In a Facebook post on January 16, the Ministry of Interior said the National Plan of Action was in the works. With it comes the revision of the legal provisions, training of inspection officials in fishing ports, and the mandate to record and observe the system of monitoring ships and fishing boats in Cambodian waters.
“The National Plan of Action for the prevention and elimination of illegal, unregulated and unauthorised fishing is based on the international and regional plans of action and the guidelines of the Asean Development Secretariat in preventing the import of fishery production from illegal fishing,” the post said.
It noted that the National Plan of Action aims to enforce comprehensive, effective and transparent measures for the successful implementation of regulations of the fisheries management programme.
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Veng Sakhon declined to comment. Ministry spokesman Srey Vuthy could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Both Kampot deputy provincial governor Pel Kosal, who was at the meeting, and Deputy Navy Commander Tea Sokha also declined to comment.
