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restaurants remained unshucked. This method of transportation is, however, wasteful since the shell has to be returned to Lau Fau Shan to be reused as shell cultch or taken to lime-kilns (†) for conversion into lime (✯). In addition, the stored oyster shells are unhygienic because they smell and attract flies. As a consequence, the oysters are normally now shucked in Lau Fau Shan before they are transported. The shucked oysters are kept alive and fresh in a small amount of sea water. All the fresh oysters sold are consumed in Hong Kong. Transportation from the area of production to the market is rapid; there is thus no storage problem.
The oysters are usually cooked before being eaten. However, they are normally only half-cooked to retain the flavour and the tenderness of the muscle. It has been reported that the oyster beds at Deep Bay are faecally polluted all year round and that the oysters themselves are grossly contaminated (Leung et al., 1975; Morton, 1975; Morton and Shortridge, 1976), particularly in summer. It is thus safer to cook the oysters thoroughly. A direct solution to this problem would seem to be the establishment of purification facilities within Lau Fau Shan so that all the harvested oysters could be cleansed prior to resale. In this context, the British or American ultra-violet methods of cleansing (Wood, 1969; Morton, 1975) might well be utilised.
In Hong Kong, the oyster industry, though small, is an important primary producer. It is one of the most productive sources of protein and, in addition, serves as a tourist attraction. The annual production is not sufficient to meet local demand, so that during times when the oysters are of poor quality, other oysters are imported from the beds across the bay, in China. Although there is a good demand for oysters and the bay itself is suitable for oyster culture, with comparatively few pests and predators and with no epidemic disease hitherto described, the oyster industry in Deep Bay is reported to be dying. Production figures appear to be declining (Fig. 2), whilst the value of the oysters remains stable.
Various factors are possibly responsible for this decline. Long-term fluctuations in the environment or the existence of unknown pests or predators may hamper the production of oysters. But from recent studies on the community associated with the oyster (Wong, 1975), this seems to be unlikely. Sedimentation has gradually reduced the area available for oyster culture, and beds closer to the
PACIFIC OYSTER INDUSTRY IN HONG KONG
145
restaurants remained unshucked. This method of transportation is, however, wasteful since the shell has to be returned to Lau Fau Shan to be reused as shell cultch or taken to lime-kilns ( ★†) for conversion into lime (✯). In addition the stored oyster shells are unhygienic because they smell and attract flies. As a conse- quence, the oysters are normally now shucked in Lau Fau Shan before they are transported. The shucked oysters are kept alive and fresh in a small amount of sea water. All the fresh oysters sold are consumed in Hong Kong. Transportation from the area of pro- duction to the market is rapid; there is thus no storage problem.
The oysters are usually cooked before being eaten. However, they are normally only half-cooked to retain the flavour and the tenderness of the muscle. It has been reported that the oyster beds at Deep Bay are faecally polluted all year round and that the oysters themselves are grossly contaminated (Leung et al., 1975; Morton, 1975; Morton and Shortridge, 1976) particularly in summer. It is thus safer to cook the oysters thoroughly. A direct solution to this problem would seem to be the establishment of purification facilities within Lau Fau Shan so that all the harvested oysters could be cleansed prior to resale. In this context, the British or American ultra-violet methods of cleansing (Wood, 1969; Morton, 1975) might well be utilised.
In Hong Kong the oyster industry though small is an important primary producer. It is one of the most productive sources of pro- tein and, in addition, serves as a tourist attraction. The annual production is not sufficient to meet local demand so that during times when the oysters are of poor quality other oysters are import- ed from the beds across the bay, in China. Although there is a good demand for oysters and the bay itself is suitable for oyster culture with comparatively few pests and predators and with no epidemic disease hitherto described, the oyster industry in Deep Bay is reported to be dying. Production figures appear to be dec- lining (Fig. 2) whilst the value of the oysters remains stable.
Various factors are possibly responsible for this decline. Long term fluctuations in the environment or the existence of unknown pests or predators may hamper the production of oysters. But from recent studies on the community associated with the oyster (Wong, 1975), this seems to be unlikely. Sedimentation has gradually re- duced the area available for oyster culture and beds closer to the
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