A Review on Development of Aquaculture in Cambodia

Abstract

Aquaculture in Cambodia is gaining popularity due to growing anthropogenic pressures. Policy discourse is promoting its development as a viable alternative to fisheries. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reports that aquaculture contributes to the daily livelihoods of rural poor farmers and employment. Fish is a significant source of animal protein, and aquaculture-based fisheries offer enormous potential for fish culture production. NGOs and other organizations are playing a significant role in developing aquaculture and managing aquatic resources in Cambodia. This study is to review on the development of aquaculture sector in Cambodia. The result showed that fish is the most important source of animal protein in Cambodian people’s daily diet. There is enormous potential in fish culture production from floating cage culture, earthen pond culture and rice-fish culture and other fish culture activities in small water bodies or aquaculture-based fisheries in Cambodia. Moreover, fish does not only play a major role in the daily diet, but also in the employment, economy of the rural poor farmer and improvement of women role in aquaculture