Volunteers, fishermen clash in ‘naval battle’ off Kep’s coast
A group of foreign conservation volunteers sailing off the coast of Kep province late on 12 February were set upon by a flotilla of illegal fishermen who attempted to pelt them with rocks and other projectiles, only disbanding after Cambodian maritime police fired warning shots into the sea.
According to Paul Ferber, founder of Marine Conservation Cambodia (MCC), an oceanic research group that also monitors illegal fishing in Kep Bay, the incident occurred while a boat of seven foreign, mostly young volunteers were out on the bay for a stargazing cruise after 10pm.
