Perry has started to settle into his job with the Fisheries Administration. His title is Provincial Planning Advisor. Sounds good, but there are one or two wee snagettes with providing advice to the provincial fisheries departments. First, none of them speak English. Second, there can be anywhere from 1 to 97 staff within the department (no, not joking) to do the same job. Third, none of them has any experience of planning. Fourth, very few of them have ever seen a computer, let alone used one. Just the environment that Microsoft Project was designed for. Perry is now starting to understand why his department in the Headquarters went pale when he produced some Gantt charts recently. Still, at least there's only one direction to move in - forward. Oh yes, and some of the provincial fisheries departments apparently take a couple of days just to get to from Phnom Penh. Oh well, we wanted fresh challenges.
Enough waffle, time for some pix. These show some of the ways that Cambodian people actually catch fish, with or without the assistance of the Provincial Planning Advisor.
This is probably pretty much as you would expect to see: a small boat with nets and most of the effort done by hand. It's pretty typical; although there are quite a few larger boats on Tonle Sap lake and along the coast, this is still how most Cambodian fishing people sustain themselves and, if they're lucky, make a living.
These are the sort of larger boats that are used on the coast. Bear in mind that a lot of other nations in the area are using large trawlers (often illegally), and you can see that the Cambodians have a struggle on their hands
Perhaps more surprising is that a lot of the fishers spend pretty much all of their lives on the water. This is a small floating village on the Mekong. On Tonle Sap Lake, these villages are widespread and sometimes of considerable size.
Cages like this are also used, both to catch and to rear fish. Aquaculture (fish farming) is becoming increasingly important in Cambodia, as fish catches at best remain level, whilst population continues to increase.
But what do you get as a result? Ah yes, fish. The Giant Mekong Catfish can grow up to 4 metres long, but you're more likely to find something a little smaller in the market. The fish below went from river to market to barbecue all in the same day. Tasted pretty good, too.
So why the title for this post then? Well, while Perry has been learning about fish, the shocking truth is that Sarah has been riding a bicycle and has even taken delivery of one of her very own from VSO's Arthur Daley concession lot. Here's the evidence of her pedalling prowess, taken on the bamboo bridge near Kampong Cham - one false wobble and she's in with the fish, hence completing the cycle (sorry).
It may take a few moments for the clip to download, so please be patient.
More soon from the Mekong. In the meantime, please don't forget the need to keep supporting VSO through our Justgiving page at www.justgiving.com/jagoteers.
Enough waffle, time for some pix. These show some of the ways that Cambodian people actually catch fish, with or without the assistance of the Provincial Planning Advisor.
This is probably pretty much as you would expect to see: a small boat with nets and most of the effort done by hand. It's pretty typical; although there are quite a few larger boats on Tonle Sap lake and along the coast, this is still how most Cambodian fishing people sustain themselves and, if they're lucky, make a living.
These are the sort of larger boats that are used on the coast. Bear in mind that a lot of other nations in the area are using large trawlers (often illegally), and you can see that the Cambodians have a struggle on their hands
Perhaps more surprising is that a lot of the fishers spend pretty much all of their lives on the water. This is a small floating village on the Mekong. On Tonle Sap Lake, these villages are widespread and sometimes of considerable size.
Cages like this are also used, both to catch and to rear fish. Aquaculture (fish farming) is becoming increasingly important in Cambodia, as fish catches at best remain level, whilst population continues to increase.
But what do you get as a result? Ah yes, fish. The Giant Mekong Catfish can grow up to 4 metres long, but you're more likely to find something a little smaller in the market. The fish below went from river to market to barbecue all in the same day. Tasted pretty good, too.
So why the title for this post then? Well, while Perry has been learning about fish, the shocking truth is that Sarah has been riding a bicycle and has even taken delivery of one of her very own from VSO's Arthur Daley concession lot. Here's the evidence of her pedalling prowess, taken on the bamboo bridge near Kampong Cham - one false wobble and she's in with the fish, hence completing the cycle (sorry).
It may take a few moments for the clip to download, so please be patient.
More soon from the Mekong. In the meantime, please don't forget the need to keep supporting VSO through our Justgiving page at www.justgiving.com/jagoteers.
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