Eng Cheasan succeeds Nao Thuok as head of fisheries agency

 

PHNOM PENH (The Cambodia Herald) -- Fisheries Administration Deputy Director-General Eng Cheasan  was appointed by Royal Decree Monday to succeed Nao Thuok who is retiring as head of the government fisheries agency.

As delegate of the Royal Government of Cambodia responsible for the Fisheries Administration, the decree states that Eng Cheasan holds a rank equivalent to secretary of state.

Under a separate Royal Decree, Nao Thuok has been promoted to the position of undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. 

As head of the government fisheries agency, Nao Thouk oversaw the first phase of fisheries reforms introduced in 2000 with the aim of ending anarchic practices in the inland fisheries sector, mainly on the Tonle Sap Lake. 

He was also responsible for implementing the second phase of reforms in 2012 in which the government terminated the system of commercial fishing lots established by the French in 1908.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has described the second phase as "radical, final and irrevocable."

Cambodia is among the world's top producers of freshwater fish along with China, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Overall production rose 7 percent to about 728,000 tonnes in 2013 including about 528,000 tonnes of freshwater fish.

Fisheries is also one of the key sectors of the Cambodian economy, accounting for roughly 8 to 12 percent of gross the country's domestic product (GDP) since 2000. 

In recent years, however, its contribution to GDP has decreased with the rapid expansion of other sectors, notably tourism and the manufacturing of clothing and footwear.