Monday August 29, 2022
Khmer Times —
An endangered dugong was caught in illegal fishing nets and killed raising concerns in Kep province’s fishing community that a protected animal was netted and slaughtered with the fishermen planning to butcher the animal for its meat.
Kep’s Angkaol fishing community found the 12-kilogramme dugong’s carcass on August 24, while authorities apprehended the fishermen who caught the animal and made them sign a commitment not to repeat the offence.
Dugongs are listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as “vulnerable” but in Cambodia are considered “endangered”.
Meas Va, chief of the Kep fishing community, said yesterday that he was “deeply saddened” by the fact that a dugong was trapped in a net and butchered by fishermen for its meat, which should never have occurred because dugongs are a protected and endangered species.