Food Safety, Environmental Hygiene, Agriculture and Fisheries
Licensed by the AFCD, 1,008 mariculturists operate in 26 designated fish culture zones, supplying the market in 2012 with about 1,299 tonnes of live marine fish valued at $117 million.
Freshwater and brackish water fish are reared in fish ponds located mainly across the northwestern part of the New Territories, and commercial production has declined with the increasing urbanisation of the New Territories. In 2012, pond fish culture yielded some 2,306 tonnes of fish, or 3 per cent of local freshwater fish consumption.
The AFCD combats destructive fishing practices, in the interest of ensuring sustainable development of the fishing industry and conserving fisheries resources in Hong Kong waters. Five cases of illegal fishing were successfully prosecuted in 2012.
The AFCD assists the industry in various ways to cope with the challenges it faces, including providing credit facilities for fishermen and owners of fish collectors to switch to sustainable fisheries, or to reduce fuel consumption or the carbon footprint of their operations, and for fish farmers to improve their aquaculture business. To help fishermen cope with the annual fishing moratorium in the South China Sea, the AFCD provided technical support, liaison services and credit facilities to them. Free training courses were also offered to fishermen during the annual fishing moratorium and at Chinese New Year in 2012.
Legislation to ban trawling in Hong Kong waters came into effect on 31 December 2012 as an integral part of efforts to restore Hong Kong's damaged seabed and depleted fisheries resources. Trawler owners affected by the ban were paid ex-gratia allowances. A voluntary vessel buy-out scheme is available to owners of inshore trawlers. Local deckhands working on board inshore trawlers affected by the ban may apply for one-off grants. Owners of trawlers and fish collectors who are affected may also apply for a one-off, low interest loan for upgrading their vessels to operate outside Hong Kong waters, or switching to more sustainable fisheries operations and other fisheries-related operations.
The Government will also introduce a special training programme in January 2013 to assist affected trawler fishermen and local deckhands in acquiring skills for sustainable operations such as mariculture and recreational fishing. If suitable vessels are available from the voluntary buy-out scheme, the AFCD will consider using them as artificial reefs, to help rehabilitate fishery resources in Hong Kong waters.
In June 2012, amendments to the Fisheries Protection Ordinance introduced a series of measures to control fishing activities in Hong Kong waters and conserve fisheries resources, including (a) setting up a registration system for local fishing vessels; (b) limiting new entrants to control the number of fishing vessels and fishing; (c) restricting the fishing activities of non- fishing vessels in Hong Kong waters and prohibiting fishing by non-local fishing vessels; and (d) designating fisheries protection areas.
The AFCD conducts studies and provides technical services to fish farmers to help the sustainable development of the aquacultural industry. To enhance productivity, the department continues to implement a fish health management programme that helps fish farmers prevent, diagnose and contain fish disease. AFCD staff visit fish farms regularly under the AFCD's 'Good
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