Title
Collection of small-scale artisanal fisheries data using interviews of village fishers on the Sre Ambel River, Cambodia
Author(s)
Neal, J. Wesley; Allen, Peter J.; Marlay, Sarah E.; Phan, Channa; Mahood, Simon; Som, Sitha; Preap, Prathna
Published
2019
Publisher
Cambodian Journal of Natural History
Abstract
Developing countries can benefit from co-management arrangements (i.e., community fisheries) between government agencies and local fishers because the laĴer can provide social and human capital critical for effective resource management and enforcement of fishing regulations, as well as knowledge on the ecology and relative abundance of fish and fisheries. However, limited information on the scope and issues surrounding fisheries can impede establishment of effective agreements between local communities and government agencies. To address this information gap in a proposed community river fishery in Cambodia, we used a semi-structured interview approach which employed public meetings with six villages within the fisheries jurisdiction of the Sre Ambel River system. Our objectives were to 1) determine if semi-structured interviews could generate useful fishery data, and 2) use these data to make recommendations to stakeholders for development of a community fishery. Our approach provided data on local demographics and gender roles, important fishery characteristics and techniques and potential for aquaculture development and also helped identify challenges to be addressed. Eighty-three fish species and 20 aquatic non-fish species were identified as being of potentially high management importance in the Sre Ambel River system. Fishery techniques included diverse types of gear and these and the areas fished varied seasonally. Men and women were both involved in fishing, often in complementary roles. Potential challenges identified included habitat alteration, fishing pressure and lack of regulation. Aquaculture was identified as a possible solution to some of the challenges, but would depend upon land use and require support. Provided its limitations are understood, our semi-structured interview approach may serve as a model for collecting user-based data in other isolated fisheries where the resources needed to collect fishery-independent data are limited.
Keywords
Artisanal; Cambodia; co-management; community fishery; semi-structured interview

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