Cambodia

Life on and around Tonle Sap

Name: Chea Doeum
Age: 76 years old
Occupation: Fisherman on Tonle Sap

Chea Doeum

My name is Chea Doeum and I was born in the Jounkeles Commune in Siem Reap. I am a fisherman, just like my parents were. When I was 15 the water of Tonle Sap was clear, we could drink the water and swim. There used to be a lot of fish in the water, big cat fish. The fishermen of the village used to catch cat fish that weighed between 40 to 80 kilograms. During that time the forest came all the way down to the banks of Tonle Sap, the area was covered in forest. In this time (1940s) 300 families lived in this area

I still fish today, but the fish are much smaller and there are fewer types. The fish I catch today only weigh around 1 – 2 kilos. I think the fish numbers started to decline around 1986, as there were many fish during the Pol Pot regime. For example, in the 1960's you could still see the Irrawaddy dolphin, it used to swim down from the Mekong into Tonle Sap. Now we cannot find this dolphin, it has disappeared.

I think that there are fewer fish because the population on and around the lake has increased. Many people use illegal fishing gear, for example, nets with very small grids. The nets catch the small fish, so there will be no more big fish. The habitat for the fish is also disappearing. The forest provides shelter for the fish, this is an ongoing problem and I think we need to plant more trees and protect the existing forest. It is hard though, as people are very poor and they don't have enough to eat so they steal the wood from the forests.

The water of Tonle Sap is now very dirty, the water is polluted. Many people use motor boats and the oil goes into the water. When I was a child we would drink the water straight from the lake, but now I have to treat it. Many fishermen still drink the water, but I think it is dangerous as it can cause diarrhea. Some children also swim in it, but it causes skin rashes. The fish also don't like the polluted water and they migrate to other areas of the lake.

I want to help the fish so I have appealed to the town men to implement laws to manage the fisheries and the lake. We have been catching offenders and hopefully this will prevent people from using illegal fishing gear to catch fish.