ENG-1966 — Page 112

PRIMARY PRODUCTION

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Government afforestation areas are mostly co-extensive with the watersheds. The main ones are the mountain range from Tai Po in the east to Castle Peak in the west and the catchments of the Kowloon reservoirs, the Hong Kong Island reservoirs, Shek Pik reservoir on Lantau Island and the Shap Long peninsula. These areas total 47 square miles of which 19 square miles have been planted to date. The principal species planted in the past has been Pinus massoniana, but in recent years more use has been made of the American slash pine, Pinus elliottii. Of the hardwood species, Tristania conferta, Acacia confusa and Casuarina stricta are the most successful.

Planting usually starts in spring and continues until June or July. Although planting may be successful in late summer, trees planted after July usually have too short a period to become well established before the onset of the dry season. The 1966 planting programme was interrupted by hot dry spells in April and in May and by the period of heavy rains in mid-June. Eighty-five acres were planted during 1966 and a further 181 acres were replanted, mostly in plantations destroyed by fire in the past few years.

To combat the threat of hill fires during the dry winter months, forestry fire crews are mounted at 13 protection posts in the New Territories and islands. The protection posts are connected by field telephone to lookout posts on the hill tops where in times of hazard a constant watch is kept for the outbreak of any fires. Crews work as units in accessible localities in the plantations during the day, returning after working hours to standby overnight at the protection posts. All crews are now equipped with portable high pressure fire pumps and, with the provision in 1966 of an additional six vehicles and trailers, the effectiveness of the protection organization has been greatly improved. The winter of 1965-6 was exceptionally mild and the incidence of hill fires was the lowest on record since the war, with only 44 acres of plantation affected. In the latter part of 1966, however, the onset of the dry season earlier than usual, and the prolonged dry spell which followed, saw considerable fire damage to forest areas.

FISHING

Marine fish is one of Hong Kong's main primary products and the fishing fleet is the largest of any port in the Commonwealth.