PRIMARY PRODUCTION
113
D 1967, which provides mechanization loans for fishermen. There is close co-operation with the Fish Marketing Organization, which administers two other fisheries loan funds and investigates applica- tions for loans from all four funds. Together they provide capital of nearly $8,400,000 for the development of the industry. The department also takes part in the activities of the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council of FAO.
The fisheries research station has a position in Hong Kong com- parable with other national and regional institutes studying fisheries resources. Its activities now centre on a biological and ocean- ographical investigation of the continental shelf within a radius of approximately 500 miles of the Colony, extending from Formosa to the Gulf of Tongking. For this work the station operates the research trawler Cape St Mary of 240 tons, a gift from Her Majesty's Government. As the programme develops, the scope of research and exploration will be enlarged to include the whole of the South China Sea. Studies of pearl oysters are also carried out by the research staff of the station, as is taxonomic research and investigations into the economic aspects of the fishing industry.
Fisheries. Marine fish is one of Hong Kong's main primary products and the fishing fleet is the largest of any port in-the Commonwealth. Nearly 10,000 fishing junks of various sizes and designs and 26 Japanese-type trawlers, 14 of which are British registered, are based in the Colony. There is a sea-going fishing population of about 80,000 chiefly Tanka people, and the main fishing centres are Aberdeen and Shau Kei Wan on Hong Kong Island, and Castle Peak, Tai Po and the Tolo Channel area, Sha Tau Kok, Sai Kung, Tai O and Cheung Chau in the New Terri- tories. Junks are built locally from imported timber, China fir being the most popular material, but in recent years continued shortages of fir have led to the increased use of teak and yacal. About 95 per cent of the fleet is owner operated, while the rest are directed by fish dealers and fishing companies.
Purse seiners, gill netters, shrimp trawlers and other inshore vessels operate mainly to the south of the Colony inside the 20 fathom line. The larger junk-type trawlers and long liners have gradually extended their operations and now work mainly in 30 - 70 fathoms along the coast of Kwangtung. Some of these deep- sea vessels still depend on sail and their activities are severely