Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake: where fishermen have no fish and no hope

As far as bodies of water go, Cambodia is mostly known for the Mekong River. It provides fish and transport for millions of people and has become a romantic locale within Indochina. But there’s another body of water, 130km north of Phnom Penh, that deserves just as much attention. The Tonle Sap Lake, whose annual flood cycle is a crucial part of the Cambodian ecosystem, is buckling under the weight of climate change and unsustainable fishing practices. Water volume has fallen, leading surrounding wetlands to dry up, and fish have become harder and harder to find for the many people who rely on the lake to survive. This 2,700 sq km lake – one of the world’s most productive freshwater fisheries – has been hit by a host of factors including overfishing, hydropower dams on the Mekong River that affect Cambodia’s ecosystem, loss of quality floodplain fish habitat, pollution from surrounding towns and fishermen using the body of water as a dumping ground for spent equipment. The Tonle Sap is said to have once been teeming with fish. But due to ecological ruin and general mismanagement by the government, many who depend on the lake are finding it increasingly difficult to make a decent living. Apart from rice, fish is Cambodia’s most vital food source, accounting for more than 75 per cent of the population’s animal protein intake, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation. And for a body of water that provides a large portion of the country’s 800,000-tonne aquaculture production, this is no small issue. “Many people on the lake see a future with fewer opportunities and less capacity to provide for their family,” said Taber Hand, founder and director of Wetlands Work!, a Phnom Penh-based environmental organisation. Angkor temple restorers face financial ruin after French funding ends, but want to finish job Fishermen resort to tactics such as sneaking out at night to fish or using illegal nets that contribute to overfishing. In August last year, there was a large-scale police crackdown in Pursat province that resulted in more than 5,300 nets being seized. Cambodia is one of Southeast Asia’s poorest countries. But rapid population growth at a rate of roughly 1.5 per cent – more than two times faster than the United States – and rising cost of living pressures have forced fishermen to do whatever they can to survive. “Today, people living on the water near tributaries with flowing water are resorting to ‘farming’ with fish cages and feeding with pellets rather than wild-caught small fish,” Hand said. “Meanwhile, illegal off-season fishing has become more common as people simply need to eat.” Bin Bunthong, 48, has been fishing on the Tonle Sap Lake since he was 18 years old. But the ageing fisherman, who lives in the Kampong Luong floating village on the lake’s shores, said earning money from fishing here has changed dramatically over the years. Now, those using illegal nets maintain a stranglehold on the local industry. When people put the big net they will catch every kind of fish and they don’t care Fisherman Bin Bunthong “Before it’s easy because there were a lot of fish,” he said. “Now there are a lot of nets, which makes it harder because I use small equipment to catch the fish. The small fish or the big fish, they won’t come to my equipment. So when people put the big net they will catch every kind of fish and they don’t care.” History by numbers: Hun Sen’s lesson in leadership lost on Cambodia’s youth There are also a number of dams with Chinese involvement that threaten Cambodia’s ecosystem. Backwater flooding from the Chinese-funded Lower Sesan 2 Dam has led to more than 5,000 villagers being forced to flee roughly 74,000 acres of forest and farmland. A proposed dam in Kratie province, also with Chinese backing, could decimate the Mekong River, according to a report commissioned by the government in Phnom Penh and leaked in May 2018. Any negative effect on the Mekong will inevitably harm the Tonle Sap wetlands, which depend on the river’s flood cycles. During the rainy season, the Mekong floods, reversing course and flowing northwards into the Tonle Sap. Un Borin, a programme coordinator at Conservation International, said Cambodians who rely on the Tonle Sap often find themselves stuck in a cycle of poverty with no opportunities for upwards mobility. Base instinct: how Chinese visit to Cambodia reignited rumour of navy port plan Fishermen like Bin “have limited education, capital, food to switch to another livelihood”, Un said. For Bin, it is a hopeless situation. In a country like Cambodia, where those with money enjoy power – and often operate above the law – there is frequently a sense of defeatism among the country’s poorer citizens, who spend much of their time worrying about where next week’s money will come from. “We can’t say or do anything,” Bin said about the lake’s many problems. “We want to do something, but how can we do it, or what can we do? Because we are under rich people.” Additional reporting by Peou Sophoan

Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake: where fishermen have no fish and no hope

The body of water, which relies on the Mekong reversing its flow to replenish supplies, provides most the country’s protein production. But overfishing and climate change threaten life on the lake