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PRIMARY PRODUCTION
The Fisheries Industry
Marine fish constitute one of Hong Kong's most important primary products. Production from marine capture and culture fisheries in 1999 was estimated at about 127 780 tonnes and 5 810 tonnes respectively, with a total value of $1.7 billion. This represented a decrease of 28 per cent in weight compared with 1998.
The Hong Kong fishing fleet, manned by 12 900 local fishermen and 6 300 Mainland deckhands, comprises some 5 170 vessels of which 2 300 are sampans or non-mechanised boats. The predominant fishing method is trawling, which accounted for 67 per cent of the catch, or 85 610 tonnes. Other fishing methods include lining, gill netting and purse-seining. The total catch in 1999 amounted to 127 780 tonnes, with an estimated wholesale value of $1.5 billion. Discounting the catch landed or sold outside Hong Kong, some 62 930 tonnes of the catch were supplied for local consumption, representing 36 per cent of the seafood consumed in Hong Kong.
Under licence from the department, 2 900 mariculturists operate in 26 designated fish culture zones. In 1999, they supplied 1 250 tonnes of live marine fish valued at $66 million.
Freshwater fish are cultured in fish ponds covering some 1 100 hectares, most of which are located in the north-west New Territories where they form part of the wetland system of conservation interest. The area devoted to fish ponds has gradually declined with the increasing urbanisation of the New Territories. During the year, pond fish culture yielded 4 500 tonnes, or 10 per cent, of freshwater fish for local consumption.
The Government continued its efforts to minimise the impact of red tides on mariculture and to assist fish farmers to re-establish their business after the serious red tide outbreak in 1998. To improve early warning of red tide outbreaks, the department upgraded its monitoring capability from visible red tide monitoring to proactive phytoplankton monitoring before a red tide was formed. In collaboration with a mariculture association, the department also helped mariculturists to set up support groups in fish culture zones to expedite dissemination of red tide warnings, to assist in monitoring the red tide situation and to co-ordinate raft relocation and other appropriate remedial actions in the event of an outbreak.
A consultancy study on red tide monitoring and management was completed in May. The major recommendations include proposals for enhancement in co-ordination among government departments, phytoplankton monitoring, biotoxin monitoring, beach monitoring, public communication/education and mitigation. measures. The Government has implemented a number of enhanced measures and would refine and further strengthen these and other measures as appropriate from time to time.
Fishing Moratorium
To conserve fisheries resources, the Bureau of Fisheries Management and Fishing Port Superintendence of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Mainland implemented a fishing moratorium in the South China Sea in June and July. All fishing operations using trawl net, purse-seine and hang trawl were banned during the two-month period. About 1 350 Hong Kong fishing vessels were affected and most of them were not adequately prepared to cope with this first-ever moratorium in the region.
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