SBR- Content.pmd - INBO

7 - Fisheriescaught in holes in rice fields, or on the edge of drying ponds or streams. Although the frog catch issporadic and much smaller than in the rainy season, together with snails and crabs, they provideimportant supplementary food for rural people throughout the dry season.4.1.5 Reptiles - turtles, snakes and lizardsA number of snakes and turtles are hunted forconsumption or sold for food or medicine in localmarkets. In the past decade, income from theseanimals has increased as Cambodia, Lao PDR andViet Nam have adopted market economies.Bocourt’s watersnakes (Enhydris bocoti), pufffacedwatersnakes (Homalopsis bacata), waterdragon (physignathus), reticulated phython(Phython reticulatus) and the Tonle Sapwatersnake (Enydris longicauda) are allcommonly hunted for food and trade. Turtles,which are sold for meat and for medicine, aremostly caught in Cambodia and Lao PDR, as wildstocks in other parts of Asia have diminished.Turtles are sold for meat and medicine4.2. Aquatic plants as foodAt least 20 kinds of aquatic plants are commonly harvested by basin residents for food, and somesurpluses are sold in local markets. These plants give fishers and farmers a supply of fresh vegetablesnearly all year round.The tuber, stems, and seeds of lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) are collected and consumed basin-wide.Young seeds of lotus are sold fresh as snack food, and mature lotus seeds are processed into a sweetby glazing them with sugar. These are important commercially for communities around Tonle SapLake in Cambodia. Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) flowers are eaten fresh as salad or withsauce or paste made from fish. Young riang leaves (Barringtonia acutangula) are collected andcommonly eaten with a meal of fish and rice, or as a condiment in noodle soup. Throughout thebasin, water morning glory (Impomoea aquatica) is the most frequently consumed aquatic vegetable.Water hyacinth is eaten as a vegetable and alsofed to livestockIn seasonally-flooded areas along theSongkram River and its tributaries,bamboo shoots are of significant value,both for food and for income generation.This harvest is 200-500 kg/family/year.For rural households in this area, bambooshoots and other wetland productscontribute more food and income thanrice production. Each year, tonnes offresh and canned bamboo are sold in bothlocal and regional markets. Canning andtrade in bamboo shoots are the mainincome generation activity undertaken byseveral women’s groups and villagecooperatives in the Songkram Basin.129