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PRIMARY PRODUCTION
Kowloon, and Tai Po and Sha Tau Kok in the New Territories. The new market of modern design at Cheung Sha Wan, which was completed in 1966, was financed jointly by the Colonial Develop- ment and Welfare Fund and the Fish Marketing Organization. In the New Territories, construction of a market at Castle Peak was nearing completion at the end of the year. Another new market at Sai Kung is planned. Six fish-collecting depots have been set up in other fishing centres and the organization provides sea and land transport from these to the wholesale markets. The depots also serve as liaison offices for the organization.
At the wholesale markets, fish is sorted and sold by public auction to licensed retailers. Fishermen may collect the proceeds from their sales directly after the sale or, the organization may send the money back to the depot which serves their areas. A further service is the transportation of fish to the buyers' establishment in the urban areas. There were no significant changes during 1967 in the quantities of fresh and salt or dried marine fish marketed. The embargo on the importation of salt and dried fish from the Colony, imposed by the Chinese People's Government in 1950, remains in force and exporters seeking other outlets have met with little success in the face of increasing competition from other countries in the region.
The provision of cheap credit is one of the most important services offered by the Fish Marketing Organization to local fisher- men. The organization's revolving loan fund, established in 1946, has made loans totalling $23,934,686. Of this, some $21,393,000 had been repaid at the end of the year. The fund's ceiling was stabilized at $3 million in 1963. In 1957 the Co-operative for Ameri- can Relief Everywhere donated $31,000 to form a revolving loan fund for shrimp fishermen, which was increased to $92,400 by a further donation in 1962. This fund is administered by the organiza- tion and loans totalling $446,862 have been made; repayments total $381,618.
A further important side to the organization's development programme is the provision of schooling facilities for the children of fishermen. Thirteen schools have been established and approxi- mately 3,810 fishermen's children were receiving education at these schools with a further 749 attending other schools (includ- ing secondary) on scholarships provided by the organization.
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