Abstract
Fisheries in Cambodia play an important role in supporting household food security and livelihoods throughout the country. Inland fisheries production is largely dependent on numerous ecosystem services, particularly the floodwaters of the Tonle Sap Lake basin, which has been degraded from increased fishing pressure because of population growth and a rising demand for fish. To address the dual problem of food insecurity and overfishing, an integrated food security and climate change program involved the promotion of small-scale aquaculture through semi-intensive pond management. The objective of this study is to examine perceptions of small-scale aquaculture by participants in this program in order to assess the potential for aquaculture to contribute to household food security and conservation of the Tonle Sap Lake ecosystem. Focus group discussions and a household survey were conducted among current and previous fish farmers. Results demonstrate that most farmers continue to practice small-scale aquaculture as a means to supplement household food availability and income. Numerous barriers to adoption of small-scale aquaculture were identified, including access to water, prices of commercial fish feed, selling price of fish in markets and concerns about profitability. Seasonal water scarcity is the most prominent challenge in promoting aquaculture technologies, so aquaculture development should be expanded in areas where there are abundant supplies of water, or where use of water storage techniques is feasible. Aquaculture technology appears to have the potential to contribute to food security, nutrition and household income and to the conservation of the wild fisheries of the Tonle Sap Lake.
Highlights
Fish and fishing are central to Cambodian culture and fisheries throughout the country play an important role in supporting household food security and livelihoods
The population of the household survey included the clients of the Cambodia Helping Address Rural Vulnerabilities and Ecosystem STability (HARVEST) Aquaculture Program
Aquaculture is dependent on numerous ecosystem services, including water provisioning and nutrient cycling
Summary
Fish and fishing are central to Cambodian culture and fisheries throughout the country play an important role in supporting household food security and livelihoods. Cambodians are among the highest consumers of freshwater fish in the world, with annual per capita fish consumption estimated at 52.4 kg [1]. More than 80% of the total animal protein in the Cambodian diet is estimated to come from fish and other aquatic animals, most of which comes from inland water bodies. Inland fisheries production has largely depended upon annual flooding of the plains and wetlands around the Tonle Sap Lake and along the Tonle Sap River, which reverses direction during the monsoon season to flow northward, backing up into the Mekong River. The months of flooding encourages the spawning and growth of fish stocks and other aquatic life, many of them migrating from higher reaches of the Mekong River and down the Tonle Sap River
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