Authorities confiscated 13 boats and arrested eight men and four women for illegally fishing in Siem Reap town’s Chung Khnies commune yesterday, officials reported.

The arrests are part of a larger crackdown on illegal fishing in the province that began earlier this month, Hak Sok Makara, deputy secretary of state at the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, told the Post yesterday.

The increased enforcement is an effort to preserve the Tonle Sap’s fish resources and ensure sustainable development, he added.

The secretary of state declined to offer an end-date for the crackdown, saying it would “continue…until all illegal fishing operations disappear”.