Saturday, August 1, 2009

Cambodian government enters crustacean trade

01/08/2009
ABC Radio

The Cambodian government is entering the crustacean trade by planning to hatch some one million freshwater lobsters to meet local demand and cut imports.

The plan is to hatch one million juveniles which would be sold to domestic farmers looking to rear them for the local market.

Currently just 10 to 20 tonnes of wild freshwater lobsters are caught locally each year, with 3 tonnes a day brought in from Vietnam to satisfy demand.

Haing Leap, the deputy director of the Department of Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries says the Takeo provincial fisheries department has hatched 300 thousand baby lobsters since June.

He blames the low number of locally caught lobsters on environmental changes and the loss of sheltered areas for breeding females.

No comments: