Seeing that the problem of commercialization and harvesting from natural resources is not a small matter as big as the size of the forest, Dr. Sok Touch, President of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, issued an open warning, stating that current harvesting practices are destructive.
In a message posted on the afternoon of February 24, 2025, Mr. Sok Touch said that the illegal trade, which is a national treasure, is in a worrying state. He stated that “They say that fishing for food is just an excuse […] If people just catch it to eat it, there will be no shortage of fish, but if they do it like this, it will disappear […].
The doctor openly shared that fishing for fish in Tonle Sap Lake has the aspect of destroying natural resources.
The doctor mentioned that those who are doing fishing for fish now are not fishers, they use machines and boats to drag them on a large scale to use as fish feed. and grind it into other animal feed.
The doctor expressed concern that such a business is causing a loss of food for humans and warned that when we become extinct The neighbors will bring us some to eat. The doctor emphasized that the fish and the snail are a biodiversity that exists in Tonle Sap Lake, creating an ecological balance. The doctor stated that “all these points, after the research of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, have provided input to relevant institutions to prevent and suppress them. “So the kidnapping is done in this way, not as a family kidnapping.”
He continued: If we just fish for food, there will be no shortage of lias. But if we do this, it will be destroyed, as happened in history, in the case of the Banteay Longwek bamboo forest, which was destroyed by the dollar. In fact, lias resources today are really scarce, which is why its price on the market is quite expensive.
A dried fish seller named Than Nuen briefly said that dried fish is now expensive, so a can of dried fish now sells for 6,000 to 7,000 riels, and sometimes even 10,000 riels, especially the large, delicious ones.
Thanuen said that this business cannot make you rich because she takes it from others and sells it, that is, she spends her energy and costs money, and the profit is only to feed her family.
According to reports published by local media, approximately 20,000 tons of lyas are fished annually from the four provinces surrounding Tonle Sap Lake: Pursat, Battambang, Siem Reap, and Kampong Thom. According to research by the Institute of Freshwater Fisheries Research and Conservation of the Cambodian Fisheries Administration, concerns have also been expressed about overfishing of this species.
The species in this family include snails, clams, and snails, and the loss or extinction of these animals is a threat to the ecology or natural balance. Because these species are also food for other birds besides humans, the harvesting of these species should be clearly defined and controlled to avoid loss.
