PRIMARY PRODUCTION
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catchment were planted up before the end of July. In the Tai Lam catchment 38 acres of plantation destroyed by fire in 1962 were cleared and replanted and over 100,000 plants were used to replace previous failures, particularly on the eroded hillsides of the Tai Tam, Tai Lam Chung and Fu Shui areas.
During the dry season from October to March there is a constant threat of fire in the plantations and careful precautions have to be taken. Fire lookouts are placed strategically on hills and are con- nected by field telephone to control points where men, equipment and transport stand by during particularly hazardous periods. The winter of 1962-3 was exceptionally dry and hill fires were of daily occurrence. Forestry staff were wholly occupied with fire control duties and 633 fires were suppressed by fire crews during the 12-month period ending on 30th June 1963. Damage to village forest lots was very extensive and in Government afforestation areas 867 acres of plantation were affected.
FISHING
Administration. Government's aim is to foster the orderly expan- sion and development of the fishing industry, to increase supplies of fish to meet the needs of an expanding population and to improve the economic status of those engaged in the industry. A fisheries division was established in 1952 under the administra- tion of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Department and, in the same year, a fisheries research unit was formed by the University of Hong Kong. A fisheries advisory committee, on which both were represented, 'co-ordinated matters of common interest; the Co-operative Development Department, which was responsible for the supervision of fishermen's co-operative societies and the administration of the Fish Marketing Organization, also took part.
This divided responsibility gave rise to many disadvantages and Government decided, with the agreement of the University, to set up a single authority to direct fisheries activities. In July 1960, the fisheries division was transferred to the renamed Co-operative Development and Fisheries Department and was joined one month later by the fisheries research unit, now known as the fisheries research station. As fresh water pond fisheries in Hong Kong are closely connected with land utilization, extension work on