Fishing lot operators who fail to pay a government tax by next month will have their lots seized and auctioned off by the government, fisheries officials said.
“Now we have to take measures to push for their payments,” said Nao Thuok, director of the Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. “If they don’t pay by the deadline, fishing lot grounds will be taken away for rebidding.”
A ban on commercial fishing began June 1 and runs through September, coinciding with the natural spawning and breeding period. Nao Thuok said operators have paid an estimated 4 billion riel (about $1 million), but another 1 billion riel (about $250,000) remains due. Lot operators in several provinces paid the government after the ban on commercial fishing took effect, but others have not, Nao Thuok said.
One fisheries official in Kandal province said at least 85 percent of the amount due has been paid, with the rest due by Aug 18.
A Battambang fisheries official said lot operators there paid more than 800 million riel (about $200,000). The official said he received no complaints.
Nao Thuok said fishing lots in Banteay Meanchey province were seized because the operator abandoned the fishing grounds, leaving some 305 million riel (about $76,250) in government dues unpaid. Some operators complained that their fishing grounds were encroached on by local fishermen, while others said they had not collected enough money from their fishing lots, Nao Thuok said.
