SBR- Content.pmd - INBO

7 - FisheriesThe surveys found that people in the region are consuming less than 20 kg per person in mountainousareas that have limited access to fish resources, and about 60 kg per person in floodplain areas ofCambodia and Viet Nam where fish is abundant most of the year. 46 In Northeast Thailand, home toabout one-third of the population in the basin, annual fish consumption is about 35 kg per person. 47The overall average total for fish and other aquatic products consumed in the LMB, is 36 kg/person/year (see Table 1).The results of other household consumption and expenditure surveys conducted by the nationalstatistical authorities in Lao PDR and Cambodia between 1998-2000 are largely consistent with thehousehold consumption figures given above.2.4 Size and value of the fishery in the Lower Mekong Basin.Estimating the yield of the fishery in theLMB is extremely difficult usingtraditional fisheries statistics collectionmethodologies. In the LMB, the fisheriesare widely dispersed, effectively operatingalong the lengths of all the main rivers andmost tributaries. There are no centralisedlanding ports where data can be easilycollected. There are numerous species, thecatch of which varies seasonally and withthe many different types of gears. Mostimportantly, the fisheries operate at acommercial, semi-commercial andsubsistence level. Statistics on family orsubsistence level fisheries have not beenA busy market where many species of Mekong Riverfishes are tradedcollected in the past by fisheries authorities in the LMB, and this has led to serious underestimationsof fisheries yields, and hence the economic and nutritional importance of the fisheries.*Sjorslev 48 used these data and regional population figures to determine regional consumption offish and other aquatic products. For the 15 surveyed provinces, mean fish consumption figures andcensus population data were used to calculate total annual provincial fish consumption volumes.The 72 provinces that were not surveyed were classified according to area and type of water resourcesand fish habitats, before being assigned the mean consumption figure of the most similar surveyedprovince. Extrapolation of the household survey findings as above gives an annual total consumptionof freshwater fish, fish products and other aquatic animal products in the LMB of about 2,033,000tonnes (see Table 1).To use fish consumption data as an estimate of fisheries yield requires the assumption that theimport and export of fisheries products in the region are similar in magnitude. Unfortunately, thereare no reliable data on the import and export of fishery products in the LMB. However, export isconsiderable: for instance in Cambodia, at least 50,000 tonnes of freshwater fish are exported toThailand annually. 49 We do not know regional import levels. Nevertheless, one can reasonablyassume for the present purposes that import into the LMB is approximately equal to export out ofthe LMB.* The data presented here are preliminary and are currently being re-analysed to provide a more accurateestimation of the size and value of the fishery.107