No licensed vessels from Cambodia are committing illegalities in international waters, according to Prof. Nao Thuok, Rural Development Management and Social Work Director-General, Fisheries Administration, Cambodia.
Prof. Nao Thuok was responding to recent reports of the European Union warning eight nations (Belize, Cambodia, Fiji, Guinea, Panama, Sri Lanka, Togo and Vanuatu) to improve their fight against illegal fishing or risk sanctions.
In a communication, Prof. Nao Thuok clarified that those vessels committing illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing are actually Cambodian-flagged vessels who never had fishing licences from the Fisheries Administration of Cambodia.
“They fly a Cambodian flag but practice illegal fishing on the high seas without our knowledge nor our control,” he said.