Mekong River Commission –
Existing dams on the Mekong mainstream are not causing major impact on fish production or lowering water levels in Cambodia’s Tonle Sap River and Tonle Sap Lake, says the Mekong River Commission (MRC).
Though a Mekong forum held in March this year heard that existing dams in China, Lao PDR, and Cambodia have caused “significant decline in fish stocks and even the disappearance of many species” and made water levels in the Tonle Sap Lake lower, MRC’s analysis on fish production and water levels in both the Tonle Sap River and Tonle Sap Lake shows otherwise.
The analysis indicates that the change in fish production in the Tonle Sap Lake is due to three key factors: fishing activities, infrastructure development, and climate change. For example, based on MRC fisheries monitoring since 1994, there has been no compelling evidence of the disappearance of any fish species or a reduction in total annual fish catch from the lower Mekong River basin in general or from the Tonle Sap River and Tonle Sap Lake in particular.