Researchers are interviewing fisherpeople from villages in the Kampong Khleang commune to understand peak bycatch seasons, the diversity of bycatch, and the current state of the market for watersnakes. SFS
The Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB) is working with the School for Field Studies (SFS) to follow up a 2019 study on Tonle Sap watersnakes as fishing bycatch. The research is being conducted at the end of the dry season.
The ACCB said that researchers – with support from the Siem Reap Provincial Department of Environment, local authorities, and students from the Siem Reap campus of Pannasastra University of Cambodia – are interviewing fisherpeople from villages in the Kampong Khleang commune to understand peak bycatch seasons, the diversity of the bycatch, and the current state of the market for watersnakes.
Researchers are also examining watersnake specimens, identifying species and measuring weight and length. The study aims to investigate changes in watersnake diversity, size, and count through the lens of seasonal variation and overall population declines due to unmonitored bycatch.
