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PRIMARY PRODUCTION
curtailed during the typhoon season from June to October. The restrictions imposed by the Chinese People's Government in 1958, requiring fishermen based on Hong Kong who sail in Chinese inshore waters to land a quota of their catch in China, were con- tinued throughout the year. Quotas were varied from time to time and the restrictions were enforced with varying degrees of rigidity.
There was a substantial increase in the mechanized fleet during the year and 567 vessels, the majority newly built, joined the fleet which is now 5,766 strong.
Landings by the local fishing fleet were generally good through- out 1963. The quota system, under which landings in Hong Kong by foreign registered fishing vessels were restricted, was lifted on 1st February 1960, but there has been no significant increase in landings by such vessels.
Oyster farming. Edible oysters have been cultivated in the waters of the Colony for some 700 years. The principal area of cultivation is Deep Bay where 279 tons of fresh oyster meat, valued at approximately $1,170,000 were produced from 6,060 acres along the New Territories' shores of the Bay. Some of this was processed into dried meat or oyster juice and exported to markets overseas, but the opening-up of this area has greatly stimulated on-the-spot local consumption.
Pearl Culture. Five commercial pearling companies are licensed and operating in the Colony on sites surveyed and licensed by the Co-operative Development and Fisheries Department. Four of the sites are in the Tolo Harbour and Channel area and there is one in Port Shelter. It is still too early to judge the success of their activity, and it is also probable that the Tolo Harbour farms will require re-siting because of construction work on the Plover Cove water scheme. To assist research into the requirements of this infant industry a small pearl culture research station has been constructed at Kat O in Mirs Bay.
MARKETING
Fish Marketing Organization. The end of the Pacific War found the few fishermen remaining in the Colony in very poor circum- stances. Many were literally in rags and their vessels and fishing gear had fallen into a state of disrepair. Interest-free loans and