Cambodia Territorial Sea

To establish national maritime boundaries and manage fisheries resources.

Species of Concern: multiple

Restrictions

Cambodia has sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of these waters. Fishing restrictions, such as bag limits, seasons, and size restrictions apply. Following is a non-exhaustive list of restrictions that apply in these waters:
-Middle-scale fishing shall be operated only in the open access area of the inland or marine fishery domains by using middle-scale fishing gears. Industrial fishing shall be operated only in fishing lots of the inland or marine fishery domains by using large-scale fishing gears. Refer to the proclamation of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for more information on these various gear types. All types of fishing exploitation in the inland and marine fishery domains, except subsistence fishing, require a fishing license and payment of applicable taxes and fees.

Use of the following fishing gears is prohibited throughout the fishery domain:
- Electrocuting devices, explosives, or any kind of poison.
- All means of pumping, bailing, drying any part of the fishery domain, which cause disaster to the fishery resources.
- Brush park, Samras or other devices to attract fish and other aquatic animals.
- Spear fishing gears, Chhbok, Sang, Snor with projected lamp.
- Fixed net or any kind of boa nets.
- Pair trawler or encircling net with attractive illuminated lamp for fish concentration.
- Any kind of bamboo fence with mesh size of less than 1.5 centimeters.
- Any kind of transversal string and any measure which makes fish escape.
- Dam with any kind of fishing gears.
- Any kind of modern fishing gears; newly invented fishing gears or fishing practices leading to the destruction of fish, fishery resources and fishery ecosystems, or which are not listed in the proclamation of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The following activities are also prohibited:
- Demarcation to create a new fishing lot without permission.
- Changing, removing, burying or destroying demarcation poles of fishery management areas.
- Any type of fishing which blocks fish migration routes in the Tonle Sap bottleneck region.
- Fishing by arrow-shaped-trap or Rav outside of the authorized zone.
- Transferring of any types of licenses without permission from the Fishery Administration.
- Other activities in the fishery domain causing damage to aquatic resources.- Middle-scale and industrial fishing during the closed season.
- Using fishing net, seines or metal strips of less than four centimeters of mesh size as a barrier or instead of bamboo fence.
- Fishing by bag net or freshwater prawn Dai net in the wrong location, defined for Dai fishing lot or freshwater prawn Dai net.
- Middle-scale fishing by seine nets in public fishing areas, in fishing areas which cause disturbance to exploitation of fishing lots and fishing areas where small-scale fishing gears are normally used. Such fishing areas shall be determined by proclamation of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
- Fishing fortification or establishing any types of fishing gears extending to disturb the passage of all vessels. Fishing fortification or establishment of any type of fishing gears across the streams or coastal waterways shall keep a one third space or at least two third of watercourse for navigation within the period of low tides. Such fishing fortification or fishing gears shall be removed not later than 15 days after the expiration of license.
- Fishing or any form of exploitation which damages or disturbs the growth of seagrass or coral reef, without permission from the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
- Collecting, buying, selling, transporting and stocking of corals without permission from the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
- Making port calls and anchoring in a coral reef area without permission from the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.- Producing, buying, selling, transporting and storing any electrocuting devices, any type of mosquito net fishing gear, mechanized motor pushed nets, and inland trawler that are used for fishing purpose.
- Disposing, discharging, dumping or littering toxic substances (solid or liquid) in fishery domains, which were determined by law and other juridicial legislations of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and Conventions or International Treaties on Environmental Poisoning, and any agreements or any activities that cause toxic or harm to aquatic animals.
- The stowing by any fishing vessels which are not licensed to fish in the marine fishery domain of trawl fishing gears in a manner that they are readily for fishing.
- Establishment of middle-scale or large-scale fish landing sites to buy, sell, stock, process fishery products contrary to a license.

Please consult the local fishing laws, some of which are referenced on this page, for more information.

Allowed

Ships of all States, whether coastal or land-locked, enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea. Please consult local laws for information on allowed activities.
Subsistence fishing may be operated at anytime in the open access area and in the family-scale fishing areas, in freshwater fishing lots during the closed season or in marine fishery domains by using small-scale fishing gears.

The following activities are allowed, with permission:
1. Catching, selling, buying, stocking, and transporting fingerling or fish eggs and other aquatic animals’ offspring or eggs.
2. Transporting, processing, buying, selling, and stocking endangered fishery resources.
3. Growing or maintaining lotus in the fishery domains.
4. Expanding farm lands or salt fields in the fishery domains.
5. Any other activities of digging for stone, sand or mines containing in the fishery domains.
6. Buying or selling ornamental shells of rare species.
7. Fishing by gears namely Manh, Chon, Neam, Mong Krolok, Mong Os, Chhneang Os Leas/Kchao in inland fisheries, and Chhneang Os Kreng Chheam in coastal fisheries, which are dragged or pushed by engine power. The sizes of fingerlings, aquatic animals and ornamental shells of rare species shall be determined by the proclamation of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.