Laos targets sustainable fishing practices
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The Lao government will no longer allow destructive fishing practices or the placement of traps along the various Mekong channels near Don Sahong in the Siphandone area of Champassak province, to preserve fish stocks and migration routes.
The move comes as the government vows to push for the sustainable use of fishery resources, which are considered essential for local livelihoods.
Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines Viraphonh Viravong told Lao media recently that the fish population in the Mekong River has been declining in the area where the Don Sahong hydropower project is planned.
The declining fish population has been attributed to several factors including overfishing, destructive fishing practices, pollution, a growing population and climate change.
In the past, most villagers caught fish for family consumption but now they fish for market sale. “The pressure on fish stocks is too much and it is not sustainable,” Viraphonh said.
In the past, traps set to catch fish migrating upstream blocked the Hou Sadam channel. The removal of these traps aims to promote more sustainable fishing practices.
“We will encourage villagers to breed fish for commercial purposes. We believe this will help to sustain their livelihoods,” Viraphonh stressed.
He said the government is trying to make sure the planned hydropower project will not affect fish population or migration. The government will help villagers to ensure the sustainability of the fishing industry.
Foreign fishery experts are confident that once the dam is built, fish will be able to migrate upstream through alternative channels, mainly Hou Sadam and Hou Xangpheuak.
The developer has removed rocks and other barriers from Hou Sadam as a trial before trying out the same process in the Hou Xangpheuak channel.
Champassak Governor Sonexay Siphandone said the government was aware that it is important to limit the negative impacts of the dam on villagers.
“We know that the people of Khong village like to set traps in various channels including Hou Sahong and Hou Sadam, which prevent fish from migrating upstream for reproduction.
“This province will work with project developers on ways to ensure that fishing is done in a sustainable manner. We will not allow the use of equipment that leads to overfishing or the setting of traps,” Sonexay said.
The governor also said the government will partner with the hydropower project to provide skills training for local people and set up fish breeding centres in the region.
These centres would supply fingerlings which villagers could breed on their farms, while some would be released into the Mekong.
