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Impacts and Implications of Deep Fisheries Reforms on the Governability of Small-Scale Fisheries in Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia

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Interactive Governance for Small-Scale Fisheries

Part of the book series: MARE Publication Series ((MARE,volume 13))

Abstract

For over 100 years, auctioned “fishing lots” dominated the fisheries in Cambodia’s Great Lake, Tonle Sap. As part of the world’s largest single managed freshwater fishery, these large scale pre-colonial aquatic resource concessions enabled elite stakeholders to strictly control access to lake resources and to extract large aquatic resource rents, paying little in tax, and not being subjected to any truly effective upward accountability to the Fisheries Administration. In 2012, in conjunction with past reforms, the Prime Minister of Cambodia finally removed all remaining lots via a unilateral sub-decree known locally as the “deep fisheries reforms”. Using the interactive governance framework and governability assessment methodology, the chapter first outlines the historical context of the fishing lot system and small-scale fishing, and the causes for their often tumultuous and violent relationship. It then begins to unpack the underlying raison d’etre for this profound top-down decree. We explore potential impacts and outcomes of what their rapid removal means for any real system reform and increase in aquatic system governability. We examine the important cross scale and organizational level challenges now facing the multiple stakeholders and players in lake management as they try to coordinate and implement these “deep reforms”.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This following section is based on many personal communications the first author has had over the past 3 years with diverse sets of actors working in government, research and civil society organizations, media and the NGO-Donor community on the causes and implications of the 2011–2012 process initiated by PM Hun Sen to cancel of the remaining Fishing Lots in Cambodia under the rubric of “Deep Fisheries Reforms”. They were often tacit, informal, emotionally speculative and always anonymous sources.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Learning Institute, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

    Ronald W. Jones

  2. Royal University of Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

    Say Sok

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  1. Ronald W. Jones
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  2. Say Sok
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Correspondence to Ronald W. Jones .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Norwegian College of Fishery Science, UIT – The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

    Svein Jentoft

  2. Department of Geography, Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

    Ratana Chuenpagdee

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Jones, R.W., Sok, S. (2015). Impacts and Implications of Deep Fisheries Reforms on the Governability of Small-Scale Fisheries in Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia. In: Jentoft, S., Chuenpagdee, R. (eds) Interactive Governance for Small-Scale Fisheries. MARE Publication Series, vol 13. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_28

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