LEGN delivers specialized fisheries law training in Cambodia

Siem Reap and Sihanoukville, Cambodia, November 2025. The FAO Development Law Service (LEGN) delivered a two-week FAO course on fisheries law enforcement to fifteen professionals including fisheries inspectors, regional resource personnel, and key staff from the FAO Cambodia office to enhance their knowledge of Cambodia’s legal framework and key international instruments for the sustainable management of marine fisheries resources. Held from 14 to 29 November 2025 in Siem Reap and Sihanoukville, the course formed part of FAO technical assistance under the EU-funded CAPFISH-Capture programme. It provided practical and legal training on fisheries law, fisheries enforcement, evidence collection and management, and monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS). Sessions covered recording of enforcement actions, interviewing and collecting witness-statement practices, alongside core MCS modules and risk assessment concepts. Participants also engaged in field trips and a moot court exercise, concluding with a debriefing and the awarding of certificates.

A key objective of the course was to help participants interpret and apply Cambodia’s newly-enacted fisheries law in day-to-day scenarios. It also aimed to situate national enforcement practices within the broader set of international obligations and tools relevant to combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, including port State measures and complementary instruments. The training was part of a broader capacity-building initiative aimed at strengthening public sector competencies in fisheries management and promoting regional knowledge exchange. It also supported the FAO Strategic Framework 2022–31 and contributed to Cambodia’s progress towards SDG 14, particularly targeting 14.4, 14.5 and 14.A.

For more information, please contact Elizabeth Rose Amidjogbe at [email protected].