Specialist officials of the Kep Fisheries Administration Cantonment say sea turtles, locally referred to as ល្មិច, are threatened marine animals that require strong protection. They say fishermen’s handover of accidentally caught rare marine animals for release is important for conservation and marine ecosystems, and reflects awareness and responsibility among fishing communities.
The report says another sea turtle was tagged for identification and released after personnel at Koh Por (កោះពោធិ៍) Security Post received it from a local fisherman. It describes this as the eighth release operation, with more than ten turtles caught accidentally by Koh Por fishermen having been handed to the post’s personnel and returned to safe waters in total.
The release took place over the preceding weekend, with participation by Kep Deputy Governor ហ៊ួរ មិថុនា, ឧត្តមនាវីទោ លី ហួត, commander of the Forward Command of the General Secretariat of the National Committee for Maritime Security, and representatives of Marine Conservation Cambodia.
Koh Por fisherman សៀក ណាំ says the turtle became accidentally entangled in the cord of his fishing trap as he hauled it up as usual. Recognising it as a rare animal, he decided neither to keep nor sell it, but to hand it to the personnel for release. He adds that local fishermen have often encountered other rare animals around the area as well as turtles.
ភឿន ផល្លា, a specialist official of the Kep Fisheries Administration Cantonment, says that, since the establishment of the approximately 10,000-hectare marine fisheries management area around Koh Por and កោះទន្សាយ, several kinds of rare marine animals have been observed returning to Cambodian waters in recent years. Fishermen frequently spot or accidentally catch such animals and hand them to specialist officers for release into safe waters.
By Pai Sokhim
