ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Conservation and Sustainability
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1656017
This article is part of the Research TopicBlue Economy: Opportunities and Challenges in South East AsiaView all 5 articles
Strengthening a Blue Economy after habitat loss: assessing anti-trawling structures and small-scale fisheries impacts in Cambodia's Mission Blue Hope Spot
Provisionally accepted
- Marine Conservation Cambodia, Koh Ach Seh, Kep Province, Cambodia
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This study introduces the potential of fisheries productivity structures (FPSs), as passive conservation infrastructure, to enhance habitat recovery and promote sustainable small-scale fisheries, as they are critical pillars of a resilient blue economy. The Cambodian coastline is devastated by illegal unregulated fishing activities and lacks reliable historical data, complicating monitoring and conservation efforts. By providing the only comprehensive benthic distribution data in the region, this study evaluates the placement of innovative anti-trawling FPSs within the protected Kep Marine Fisheries Management Area (MFMA), in order to support these sustainability strategies for widespread future use. A grid survey was conducted across four survey zones at 250 m intervals covering 62,146 ha: 1) Kep MFMA, 2) Outer Kep, 3) Kampot, and 4) Koh Seh. These data are the first documentation of habitat decline in the region showing a 39% reduction in seagrass coverage in Kampot between 2013 and 2023. Although quantitative increases in fisheries productivity have not yet been recorded, observations of seagrass regrowth near FPSs indicate recovery and possible fisheries benefits. Ongoing monitoring will be necessary to document productivity trends in response to FPS implementation. Our results demonstrate that FPSs show early signs of supporting seagrass recovery and offer a scalable, low-cost conservation tool that could support blue economies not only in Southeast Asia, but also in other coastal regions facing similar challenges.
Keywords: fisheries productivity structures, FPSS, anti-trawling structures, small-scale fisheries, blue economy, Benthic distribution, Seagrass recovery
Received: 29 Jun 2025; Accepted: 08 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ho, Macdonald, Rétif, Lor and Freneat. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Amanda Claire Ho, Marine Conservation Cambodia, Koh Ach Seh, Kep Province, Cambodia
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