Chapter 1: Cambodia’s Coast and the Communities Who Depend on It

Chapter 1: Cambodia’s Coast and the Communities Who Depend on It

Introduction: The Paradox of the Cambodian Coast

When people think of Cambodia, they often picture Angkor Wat, the wide floodplains of Tonle Sap Lake, or the strong flow of the Mekong River. But on the country’s southwest edge is a lively and important coastline. This area, next to the Gulf of Thailand, is full of ecological variety and is crucial for many people’s lives. Here, the tides shape daily routines for hundreds of thousands, and the health of the sea is closely linked to Cambodia’s food supply and economy.

But this coastline faces serious challenges. It is home to some of Southeast Asia’s richest and most diverse shallow-water habitats, yet it suffers from overuse, fast and unplanned development, and the growing effects of climate change. For families living in stilt houses over mangroves or fishing from small boats, the ocean is much more than a place on the map—it is where they work, get food, and keep their traditions alive.

To really understand Cambodia’s marine laws, which we’ll look at in later chapters, we first need to see what life is like on the coast. Laws and rules are meant to guide real people as they interact with real environments. If these laws don’t match the daily struggles of fishers or fail to protect seagrass beds from harm, they are just words on a page.

This chapter concentrates on Cambodia's marine and coastal environment. We will examine the country’s coastline and marine ecosystems, explore the complexities of coastal livelihoods and gender roles, investigate the increasing threats these environments face, and amplify the voices of communities living these realities daily. By focusing on water, mud, and the daily hardships faced by coastal communities, we show why marine governance is crucial to their survival.

 Part 1: The Geographic Canvas of Cambodia’s Coastline

Cambodia’s coastline extends about 435 to 440 kilometers along the eastern edge of the Gulf of Thailand. The country’s maritime territory includes an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of approximately 55,600 square kilometers, a large area with great potential for fisheries, transportation, and energy resources. This maritime region is bordered by Thailand to the west and north, and Vietnam to the east and southeast. The coastal area is divided into four distinct provinces and municipalities: Koh Kong, Preah Sihanouk (Sihanoukville), Kampot, and Kep. Each of these regions has unique geographic and demographic traits.

• Koh Kong Province: The largest of the coastal provinces, Koh Kong covers 1,160 square kilometers and features expansive, dense mangrove forests, intersecting estuaries, and the towering Cardamom Mountains in the background. It contains some of the region's most pristine and remote coastal environments, making it an ecological sanctuary.
• Preah Sihanouk (Sihanoukville): This is the economic and industrial hub of the coast, home to Cambodia’s only deep-water seaport. It features a mix of sandy beaches, rocky headlands, and rapid urban and industrial expansion, making it a center for both tourism and maritime commerce.
• Kampot Province: Famous for its vast estuaries, salt flats, and farmland, Kampot stretches along a 73-mile coastline. Its shallow, protected waters support some of the most extensive and important seagrass beds in the entire South China Sea.
• Kep Municipality: The smallest of the coastal districts, Kep is known for its crab fisheries and growing seaside tourism. Despite its small size, its nearshore waters serve as vital habitats for seagrass and coral reef ecosystems.

Scattered across Cambodia's territorial waters are between 60 and 69 offshore islands, ranging from large, forested landmasses like Koh Rong and Koh Thmei to tiny, rocky outcrops. These islands form the backbone of the country's coral reef ecosystems and are increasingly becoming hotspots for marine tourism and conservation efforts.

The Oceanographic Context

The Gulf of Thailand is a shallow sea, shaped like a large spoon, and is much less deep than the Pacific Ocean. Cambodia’s coastal waters are shaped by two main seasonal forces: the monsoons and large flows of freshwater. In the rainy season, lots of freshwater runs from the land into the sea, lowering salt levels in estuaries and bringing both nutrients and pollution. These changes affect marine animals’ life cycles and, as a result, the fishing patterns and incomes of local fishers.

Part 2: The Triumvirate of Coastal Ecosystems: Mangroves, Seagrasses, and Coral Reefs

Most of Cambodia’s marine life is found in three main shallow-water areas: mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coral reefs. These ecosystems support each other and are key to the country’s ocean-based economy.

 1. Mangrove Forests: The Coastal Guardians

Mangrove forests are probably the most important coastal ecosystems in Cambodia. They cover about 78,405 to 85,100 hectares. These strong trees grow in tough, salty areas where land meets the sea. Most of these forests—around 63,700 hectares—are in Koh Kong Province, especially in the Peam Krasaop Wildlife Sanctuary. This sanctuary is one of the biggest and best-preserved mangrove areas in Southeast Asia.

Ecologically, mangroves are very important. They act as homes and feeding places for young fish, crabs, shrimp, and mollusks. The tangled roots of trees like Rhizophora apiculata and Avicennia give young marine animals a safe place to grow before moving to seagrass beds or coral reefs. Without these nursery areas, both shore and offshore fishing could fail.

Mangroves also shield the coast. Their roots hold soil in place and help absorb the force of storms and waves, protecting nearby communities and farms from erosion and damage. As climate change gets worse, this natural defense is even more valuable. Mangroves also filter out pollution and heavy metals before they reach coral reefs.

Economically, these forests bring great benefits. Some studies estimate that Cambodian mangroves provide a net value of about $882.35 per hectare per year from fishing, coastal protection, and carbon capture.

However, they are under serious threat. For many years, mangroves have been cut down to make charcoal, though this has slowed recently. More harmful is the clearing of mangroves for shrimp farms and salt production. In Kampot, salt farms clear mangrove land completely, and after the dry season, salty waste is often dumped back into the forests, poisoning the trees. Large-scale sand dredging and unchecked coastal development also destroy these vital forests, putting the lives of many people who depend on them at risk.

 2. Seagrass Meadows: The Submerged Nurseries

Just beyond the mangrove roots, in the shallow, sunlit waters of the coast, lie Cambodia's seagrass meadows. Covering approximately 33,814 hectares, primarily in the sheltered waters of Kampot Bay and Kep, Cambodia boasts some of the most extensive seagrass habitats in the South China Sea. 

Seagrasses are flowering plants that form dense underwater lawns. Ecologically, they share a symbiotic relationship with mangroves and coral reefs. They provide critical habitat for many species of locally consumed and commercially traded fish and shrimp. They are also the primary feeding grounds for globally endangered marine mammals, including the Dugong (Dugong dugon) and green sea turtles. Because they require clear water to photosynthesize, seagrasses trap suspended sediments, thereby improving water clarity for neighboring coral reefs.

The economic contribution of seagrass is immense, estimated at $1,186 per hectare annually, making it one of the most valuable ecosystems per square meter in the country. Local fishers rely heavily on these meadows, often using masks and snorkels to collect high-value invertebrates, crabs, and bivalves.

But seagrasses are very sensitive to damage and poor water quality. The biggest threat comes from illegal fishing methods like motorized push-nets and shallow-water trawling, which drag heavy gear across the sea floor and rip up the seagrass. More sediment from construction and farming also makes the water cloudy, blocking sunlight and causing the plants to die. Studies show that seagrass in Kampot shrank by 39% between 2013 and 2023, showing a fast decline.

 3. Coral Reefs: The Fragile Oases

Further offshore, surrounding Cambodia's 60-plus islands, are the coral reefs. Covering approximately 2,805.5 hectares, these reefs are concentrated around islands such as Koh Rong, Koh Sdach, and Koh Tang. While relatively small in total area, Cambodian reefs boast remarkable biodiversity, supporting at least 111 species of hard corals and over 520 species of marine fish, as well as high-value species such as groupers, sea cucumbers, and lobsters. 

Reefs are the bedrock of the burgeoning marine ecotourism industry, particularly in Preah Sihanouk province, where diving and snorkeling generate critical revenue. They also provide vital feeding and breeding grounds for pelagic and demersal fish species that coastal communities rely upon.

Unfortunately, most of Cambodia’s coral reefs are in bad shape. Up to 90% of reef areas are under serious threat, and much of the coast has damaged or dead reefs, with only 23% to 58% still alive. The reefs are harmed directly by dynamite fishing, cyanide, and trawling, and indirectly by sediment from deforestation and dredging.

Most terrifying of all is the existential threat of climate change. Rising sea surface temperatures have triggered repeated, severe coral bleaching events, particularly in 2010, devastating sensitive branching coral species such as Acropora. Because the Gulf of Thailand is shallow, it heats up quickly, making these reefs particularly vulnerable to marine heatwaves. 

 Part 3: The People of the Coast and the Fabric of Livelihoods

These coastal ecosystems are not untouched wild places—they are busy workspaces for many people. To understand how the sea is managed, we need to look closely at who lives here, how they make a living, and what their daily lives are like.

Demographics and the Drive of Migration

The four coastal provinces account for roughly 5% of Cambodia's total population. However, the demographic makeup of the coast is highly dynamic. Many residents of coastal Cambodia are not multi-generational fishing families; they are economic migrants and internally displaced people from inland agricultural provinces who moved to the coast in search of security or economic opportunity. For instance, in Kep, an estimated 20% of the residents are recent immigrants. 

This high level of migration has big effects on how resources are managed. Many newcomers do not have traditional ties to the coast or knowledge of how to use mangroves and fisheries sustainably. Because they are often poor and need to survive, they may put extra pressure on these fragile environments, leading to faster overuse.

The Lifeblood of the Nation: Fishing as Survival

In Cambodia, fish are synonymous with life. Across the nation, fisheries provide employment—full-time, part-time, or seasonal—for an estimated 1.2 to 6 million people. For the average Cambodian, aquatic resources are the second-largest food source after rice, providing 76% to 81.5% of total animal protein intake in the national diet. 

While the inland freshwater fisheries of the Tonle Sap and Mekong River produce the vast majority of the country's catch, the marine sector is critical to the coastal economy. The marine capture fishery yields roughly 60,000 to 60,500 metric tons annually. Economically, the marine catch is valued between $50 million and $63.5 million per year, forming the absolute backbone of the provincial economies of Koh Kong and Sihanoukville. 

Most coastal fishers work on a small scale. They use small wooden boats, often with little or no motor power, and rely on traditional tools like gillnets, crab traps, and fishing lines. They catch many types of fish and seafood, such as mackerel, groupers, squid, crabs, and shrimp. Because they don’t have the money or big boats needed to fish far from shore, they stay in shallow waters near mangroves, seagrass beds, and reefs. Their daily survival depends directly on the health of these habitats.

The Hidden Economy: Post-Harvest Processing and Gender Roles

The story of coastal livelihoods does not end when the boat reaches the shore; in fact, a massive secondary economy begins at the landing site. Post-harvest processing is a major industry. Families and small commercial enterprises process thousands of tons of fish into fish sauce, dried shrimp, dried squid, and fermented pastes. 

Crucially, this post-harvest sector is overwhelmingly driven by women. While men predominantly handle the offshore and nearshore capture fishing, women are the architects of the coastal economy on land. Women account for up to 50% of labor in pond management, processing, and marketing. They mend nets, paint boats, sort the catch, painstakingly extract meat from crabs, and manage household finances. 

During the dry season, many fisherwomen work more than 10 hours a day on fishing-related jobs, on top of unpaid work like raising children, cooking, and gathering firewood. About 20% of households are led by women, who face extra challenges as they must earn money and run the home. Even though women play a key role in the coastal economy, they often face cultural barriers that keep them from getting training, loans, or a say in fisheries decisions. Good management of the sea must include the needs and well-being of women.

Poverty and the Trap of "Malthusian Overfishing"

Widespread poverty is a key feature of Cambodia’s coastal communities. For many people, fishing does not bring much money; it is often the last option when farming fails or debts grow.

This deep poverty leads to a harmful cycle called "Malthusian overfishing." As fish numbers drop because of overfishing and habitat loss, poor small-scale fishers—who have no other way to earn money—cannot just stop fishing. To survive and pay debts, they fish even harder, sometimes using illegal or damaging gear like fine-mesh nets or homemade explosives. The people who most need a healthy ocean are forced by poverty to harm it. Since this problem comes from poverty, not bad intentions, strict law enforcement alone will not fix it. People need other ways to earn a living and better overall management.

 Part 4: The Convergence of Threats: Why the Coast is in Crisis

Coastal communities in Cambodia are facing many serious threats from both people and the environment. The decline of the ocean is not just a future worry—it is happening right now.

1. The Scourge of IUU Fishing and Destructive Gear

Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is rampant. While Cambodian law officially bans destructive gear in shallow waters, enforcement in practice is starkly different. Small-scale fishers frequently compete with heavily capitalized, illegal commercial bottom trawlers that encroach on shallow inshore waters. These heavy trawlers act like underwater bulldozers, indiscriminately scooping up all marine life and physically destroying the seagrass and coral habitats. Furthermore, foreign vessels from neighboring countries frequently cross into Cambodian waters, exploiting the lack of maritime enforcement capacity. The result is severe biological overfishing, where top predators are removed from the food chain, leading to trophic imbalances.

2. Coastal Development and Habitat Erasure

The coast’s natural landscape is disappearing because of poorly controlled development. Economic growth and foreign investment have led to the filling in of large areas, including important mangroves and estuaries, for ports, resorts, and factories. Widespread sand dredging removes sand from estuaries for construction or export, damaging sea habitats, making the water cloudy, and ruining traditional fishing areas. Untreated sewage, factory waste, and farm runoff with pesticides flow into the sea, causing harmful algal blooms and killing marine life.

3. The Climate Change Multiplier

Superimposed on all these local issues is the existential, global threat of climate change. Cambodia is consistently ranked among the world's most climate-vulnerable nations. The Gulf of Thailand is already experiencing the severe impacts of a warming planet. 
Sea-Level Rise: Sea levels in the Gulf are rising by 3 to 19 millimeters per year. This escalating water level leads to severe coastal erosion, the physical destruction of shoreline homes and infrastructure, and the intrusion of saltwater into coastal freshwater aquifers and rice paddies, destroying agricultural yields.

Extreme Weather: Storms, monsoons, and floods are happening more often and are more severe. In late 2025, major floods hit southern Thailand and Cambodia’s coast, destroying property and stopping people from fishing. When fishers cannot go out because of dangerous weather, their families go without food.

Ocean Warming and Acidification: As greenhouse gases dissolve into the ocean, the water becomes more acidic and drastically warmer. This has already triggered mass coral bleaching and mortality, and has altered the migratory patterns and survival rates of critical fish species. For a community whose entire economy is based on the predictable behavior of fish, these ecological shifts are devastating. 

 Part 5: Why Governance Matters for Everyday Survival

When we see the mix of environmental decline and poverty, it is clear why managing the sea well is so important. Good governance is not just a topic for politicians in Phnom Penh—it decides whether coastal families can survive or not.

If there are no rules, or if rules are not enforced, the ocean becomes a free-for-all. The most powerful groups—like big commercial trawlers, corrupt developers, or foreign fishing fleets—take everything, leaving small-scale fishers with nothing.

The Evolution of Fishing Rights in Cambodia

Historically, Cambodia's inland and coastal fisheries were dominated by a system of privately auctioned "fishing lots"—large, exclusive commercial concessions granted to wealthy operators. This system systematically excluded local, small-scale fishers from their traditional fishing grounds, leading to severe marginalization, poverty, and violent, sometimes armed, conflicts between local communities and lot owners. 

Recognizing that this system was deeply inequitable and failing to protect the resource, the Royal Government of Cambodia undertook historic, sweeping fisheries reforms in the early 2000s, culminating in the abolition of the fishing lot system between 2001 and 2012. The state decommissioned vast areas of commercial waters and transferred the management rights to the public, officially establishing the legal framework for Community Fisheries (CFi). 

Under the 2006 Law on Fisheries and subsequent Sub-decrees, Cambodian citizens were granted the formal legal right to voluntarily establish CFis to co-manage, protect, and sustainably use their local marine resources. This represented a monumental shift toward a "rights-based approach" to fisheries governance, theoretically empowering the people who live on the coast to act as the primary stewards of their environment.

The Gap Between Written Law and Lived Reality

But just making a law does not guarantee fairness. Even though the legal system (which we’ll look at in Chapter 3) looks good on paper, actually managing things on the water is full of problems.

First, there is a massive enforcement deficit. The law grants Community Fisheries the responsibility to protect their designated areas and draft management plans, but it rarely grants them the actual power or resources to do so safely. When a local CFi patrol, operating a small wooden boat, encounters a large, illegal commercial trawler using destructive gear, they generally do not have the legal authority or physical capability to arrest the offenders. They must rely on state authorities—the Fisheries Administration (FiA) or the maritime police—who often lack the fuel, boats, coordination, or political will to intervene effectively. 

Second, jurisdictional overlap creates confusion. A single stretch of coastline might fall under the mandate of the FiA (for fish), the Ministry of Environment (for mangroves and protected areas), the Ministry of Land Management (for coastal development), and local provincial governors. For a local community seeking to stop a corporation from dredging their fishing grounds, navigating this bureaucratic labyrinth is nearly impossible.

Finally, while the reforms gave people more rights, they did not solve the deeper social and economic problems. Many fishers do not know about their rights under the 2006 Law or the Cambodian Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CamCode). You cannot protect a right you do not know you have. Without secure access to resources, better job options, and real support from the state, the law often seems far away and unhelpful to poor coastal communities.

 Part 6: Community Voices and Lived Experiences

To ground this discussion, we must listen to the voices of the people actually casting the nets. When researchers and NGOs conduct fieldwork in the coastal provinces of Kep, Kampot, and Koh Kong, the narratives from the communities are strikingly consistent and deeply concerning.

Bearing Witness to Decline

Fishers know the ocean very well, often better than official reports. Many say their daily catch is dropping, the fish are getting smaller, and valuable species are now rare. They do not need scientific studies to see the changes—they notice it in their empty nets and lower incomes.

They also acutely observe the degradation of their environment. In interviews, coastal residents point directly to the clearing of mangroves for salt pans, the discharge of toxic water from inland agriculture, and the physical destruction of seagrass by push-nets as the direct causes of their declining fortunes. They are witnessing sea level rise, noting that the high tides now reach further into their villages, bringing saltwater into places it never used to reach.

The Frustration of Powerlessness

Perhaps the most pervasive sentiment among small-scale fishers is a profound sense of helplessness. While many communities have successfully organized into CFis and express a strong desire to stop using unsustainable gears themselves, they feel entirely powerless to stop "outsiders." 

Local fishers express deep frustration when they see large, illegal trawlers—often originating from other provinces or neighboring countries—sweeping through their community-managed areas under the cover of darkness. When the local community sacrifices their short-term income by refusing to fish in a conservation zone, only to watch a commercial vessel illegally pillage that exact same zone without facing any legal consequences, trust in the governance system evaporates. 

These experiences make people lose trust. When the state does not enforce the law, the poorest people end up carrying the burden of conservation, while the rich and powerful take the benefits.

The Plea for Genuine Support

Coastal communities are not just complaining—they want real partnership. They are asking the state to enforce the boundaries promised by law. They want access to other ways to earn a living, like community ecotourism or sustainable fish farming, so they do not have to take the last fish from the sea. They want their knowledge to be respected in policy decisions, and they want their rights to be protected in practice, not just on paper.

Conclusion: Why This Chapter Matters

As we continue this series and look at the complex laws, treaties, and systems that make up Cambodia’s marine legal framework, we need to keep these real-life stories in mind.

The law is not an abstract puzzle; it is a tool for survival. When we discuss the Sub-decree on Community Fisheries Management, we are discussing the mechanism by which a village in Koh Kong might save its mangrove nursery from being bulldozed. When we analyze the licensing requirements in the Law on Fisheries, we are looking at the only shield a small-scale fisher in Kampot has against an illegal commercial trawler. 

By learning about the delicate mangroves, seagrasses, and coral reefs—and by recognizing the poverty, gender roles, and daily challenges of the people who depend on them—we make sure our study of marine law stays connected to real life. What is written in the law books in Phnom Penh will decide the future of Cambodia’s coast and the millions who rely on it.

Disclaimer: This series is designed purely as a community learning journey for educational and awareness purposes. It is intended to build general legal literacy regarding marine governance. It does not constitute formal legal advice, nor should it be used as a substitute for professional legal counsel.