Establishment of Fisheries Refugia in Cambodia:
Background and Situation Analysis to Support

---

Priority Fisheries Refugia Areas

The fisheries refugia concept was defined by the RWG-F as “Spatially and geographically defined, marine or coastal areas in which specific management measures are applied to sustain important species [fisheries resources] during critical stages of their life cycle, for their sustainable use” (UNEP, 2005) and was developed as a novel approach to the identification and designation of priority areas in which to integrate fisheries and habitat management. The fisheries refugia concept focuses on the nature of the particular habitat and its critical significance to the life-history of the fished species. Management of refugia therefore focuses on the habitat rather than simply restricting access, either temporally or spatially, to fishing grounds. The process of identifying priority fisheries refugia in Cambodia was initiated via a RWG-F review of the above list of sites in relation to: information on the distribution and abundance of fish eggs and larvae in the South China Sea; and the outcomes of country consultations on the identification of fisheries refugia.

Figure 2. Candidate priority fisheries refugia sites in Cambodia