PERSONAL: With warmer ocean, Cambodian crab fishermen catch less to save the species

Record ID: 1741789

  • Title: PERSONAL: With warmer ocean, Cambodian crab fishermen catch less to save the species
  • Date: 15th September 2023
  • Summary: ANGKOAL VILLAGE, KEP PROVINCE, CAMBODIA (RECENT - AUGUST 18, 2023) (REUTERS) FISHERMAN UNG BUN, STARTING ENGINE OF BOAT TO CATCH FLOWER CRABS, ALSO KNOWN AS HORSE CRABS IN CAMBODIA, IN EARLY MORNING POINT-OF-VIEW SHOT OF SAILING OUT TO SEA UNG BUN DRIVING BOAT LIGHT ON BOAT FLASHING VARIOUS OF FISHERMAN PULLING IN FISHING NET UNG BUN SITTING NEAR MOTOR OF BOAT WHILE EMPTY
  • Embargoed: 29th September 2023 01:56
  • Keywords: Cambodia business climate change crab bank crabs environment fishing flower crabs sea sea temperature sustainability
  • Location: ANGKOAL VILLAGE, KEP PROVINCE, PREK THNAUT VILLAGE, KAMPOT PROVINCE, CAMBODIA
  • City: ANGKOAL VILLAGE, KEP PROVINCE, PREK THNAUT VILLAGE, KAMPOT PROVINCE, CAMBODIA
  • Country: Cambodia
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Environment,Nature/Wildlife
  • Reuters ID: LVA001893703092023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: On an early August morning, hours before the break of dawn, 39-year-old fisherman Ung Bun started his boat and set out to sea from Cambodia's southern Kep province, ready to collect a good catch of flower crabs in his net.
    Metre by metre, as the net was being pulled in, Ung Bun was faced with a dismal sight - there was only one tiny flower crab, also known as "horse crab" in Cambodia. Instead of keeping the small crustacean, Ung Bun did something which would be considered unusual a few years ago - he dropped the crab back into the sea.
    Ung Bun is one of many crab catchers from the Angkoal community whose livelihoods depend on the sea in the provinces of Kampot and Kep, areas famous among locals and foreign visitors for their delicious crabs.
    Once rich with crabs, sea water in the region has become warmer in the last five years, majorly depleting their numbers and the size of their catch, fishermen said.
    "I feel despair that I cannot harvest even one crab after a day, when about five years ago, I would have caught about 10-20 kg (22-44 pounds) of crabs. Yesterday morning I caught about four to five crabs," Ung Bun said.
    Data shows that ocean temperature spikes above normal have become increasingly common in oceans that encompass Cambodia's coastline since 2010, according to the Climate Change Institute of University of Maine.
    Escalating carbon emissions also result in higher levels of carbon dioxide being dissolved in the sea, lowering its pH level. Together with higher temperature, the warmer and more acidic water reduces the concentration of carbonate, a compound necessary for shellfish to create their shells.
    Overfishing is also preventing the crabs from naturally replenishing their population as demand from consumers increases. To make matters worse, some fishermen resort to illegal fishing methods such as using electric pulse equipment and dredging nets with smaller holes, Ung Bun said. These fishing practices not only end up catching smaller crabs but also damage the sea grass, which is a food source for these crustaceans.
    Now, as part of conservation efforts to ensure a more sustainable future for crab catching in the region, Ung Bun and some members of his fishing community have joined a campaign launched by the government and non-profit organisation Wild Earth Allies to release gravid female crabs back to the ocean. On top of that, fishermen like Ung Bun also stopped using fishing nets with holes that are no bigger than three fingers wide in order to protect the younger crabs.
    However, in the face of financial difficulties, such practices are not easy to adhere to.
    Ung Bun said he still carries a bank debt of around $10,000 from a loan undertaken to buy his fishing boat. The second-generation fisherman also has two young daughters whose school fees amount to 1 million riels ($240) each month, a quarter of his income on a good month. Today, returning from the sea with only a few fish caught, he was only able to earn 40,000 riels ($9.62), money that he used to pay for a litre of gasoline for his boat.
    "My living condition is extremely difficult now because we can’t catch as many crabs or fish. I can hardly afford to buy the gasoline for going out to fish or pay for my children's school fees, and so I face problems with my family," Ung Bun said.
    Even so, Ung Bun believes in the value of the crab release programme.
    Within a year since the "Say No To Gravid Crab" campaign launch, Ung Bun said he has released hundreds of female crabs, as well as thousands of baby crabs from his "crab bank" - a home setup where crab larvae are allowed to hatch from their mothers before being returned to the sea. Such crab bank participants are paid 50,000 riels ($12) a month by the local fishery administration, an official said.
    Even though the fishermen are not paid monetarily for releasing the crabs, the campaign aims to continue spreading awareness of a more sustainable fishing practice by giving out free T-shirts and bags. People are also encouraged to post pictures and videos on their social media accounts when releasing the animals in order to encourage online engagement of such practices.
    "If the villagers see my work, many would not understand what I’m doing. However, if I continue to do this as a symbol for the younger generation, they can follow my action when they see what I do and that will help to preserve the crabs so we can harvest them in greater numbers again," Ung Bun said.
    Officials are hoping such conservation efforts will help with the reproduction of the crabs and sustain an industry that so many locals are dependent on.
    "I think that flower crab meat is delicious, it's a bit sweet and I would be happier if I could have bigger flower crabs with more meat," 16-year-old local tourist Thun Sokunchanpimien said while tucking into a meal with her family at a beachfront restaurant in Kep.
    (Production: Thomas Suen, Chantha Lach, Jacinta Goh)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register