Food Safety, Environmental Hygiene, Agriculture and Fisheries ❘ 195
trash fish feed to moist or dry pellet feed which reduces pollution and improves both feed efficiency and fish health. The department is identifying new species with good market potential that can be recommended to farmers and provide a wider choice of species for culture. Following the successful completion of a culture trial on jade perch, the department has successfully hatched imported fertilised jade perch eggs. and a batch of juvenile jade perch was sold to fish farmers for culture. This helps fish farmers secure a stable supply of fish fry at lower costs.
The AFCD implemented the voluntary Accredited Fish Farm Scheme in mid 2005 in a bid to enhance the competitiveness of local aquaculture industry. Participating fish farms under the scheme are required to adopt a set of good aquaculture practices with a view to raising the environmental hygiene standards of the farms and the quality of cultured fish. Quality assurance tests including analyses of drug residues and heavy metals in fish will be conducted to ensure that the cultured fish meet the food safety standards before they are sold to the market. The scheme was well received by local mariculturists and pond fish farmers and a total of 30 fish farms have been registered under the scheme since its inception. The first batch of the cultured fish accredited under the scheme Pompano, grey mullets and green groupers was sent to the local market in late 2005. The accredited fish are marked with specially designed fish tags under the 'Accredited Fish Farm Scheme' brand name so that they can be easily recognised by the public.
To mitigate the impact of mariculture on the surrounding environment, the AFCD, in collaboration with the City University of Hong Kong, has completed a study in the Kau Sai fish culture zone on using specially designed artificial reefs known as biofilters to provide a hard substratum for growing filter-feeders, such as green- lipped mussels, to trap and remove organic wastes, thereby improving the water quality. The study findings showed that the biofilters have helped improve seabed environment within the fish culture zone. In response to public demand, the AFCD continued to operate a scheme to allow mariculturists to carry out recreational fishing activities on fish culture rafts. By the end of the year, the department had approved a total of 10 fish culture zones for angling.
The department continued to implement its red tide monitoring and management measures to minimise the impact of red tides on mariculture. The monitoring effort includes proactive phytoplankton monitoring before the formation of a red tide and rapid risk assessment of red tide incidents. Red tide warnings are disseminated to mariculturists and the public through the red tide support groups set up in fish culture zones, press releases and the AFCD website. In 2005, a total of 41 red tides were recorded in Hong Kong waters.
Wholesale Markets
Fresh food produce is sold in wholesale markets managed by the AFCD, the Vegetable Marketing Organisation and the Fish Marketing Organisation. During the year, the Government's wholesale markets handled 287 000 tonnes of vegetables, 41 000 tonnes of poultry, 25 000 tonnes of freshwater fish and fisheries products, 107 000 tonnes of fruit and 53 000 tonnes of eggs valued at a total $3.9 billion.