ENG-1988 — Page 137

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PRIMARY PRODUCTION

the incidence of intercurrent disease in both pigs and poultry are carried out at the government's veterinary laboratory.

Rabies Control

Following successful control of the rabies outbreak in 1987, the declarations of Rabies Inspected Areas in Ta Kwu Ling and Pat Heung were rescinded in early 1988. Stringent rabies control measures, however, remained in force throughout the year. These include extensive immunisation of dogs and cats against rabies, intensive catching and elimination of stray dogs and restriction of canine movement into and out of the Frontier Closed Area which continues to be in force as a Gazetted Rabies-Infected Area to act as a buffer against the most likely route of re-introduction of the disease.

During the year, 21 730 dogs were humanely destroyed and another 33 300 licensed and inoculated against rabies.

All imported dogs and cats, other than those directly from Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, are subject to a period of quarantine, ranging from 30 days to four months, depending on the rabies situation of the country of origin.

If a dog or cat bites a person, it will be held for observation in a government kennel for at least seven days.

Fishing Industry

Marine fish constitute one of Hong Kong's most important primary products. More than 150 fish species of commercial importance frequent the waters of the adjacent continental shelf. Most important of these in terms of landed weight are golden thread, big-eyes, lizard-fishes, melon seeds and squids. Total production from the two major sectors marine capture and culture fisheries - is estimated at about 238 060 tonnes with a wholesale value of $2,388 million in 1988. These figures represented increases of four per cent in weight and eight per cent in value compared with 1987. Of the total production, 96 per cent in weight came from marine capture and four per cent from culture fisheries. In terms of wholesale value, 87 per cent came from marine capture and 13 per cent from culture fisheries. An estimated 23 400 fishermen work the fleet of some 4 900 vessels, of which over 87 per cent are mechanised. There are four major types of fishing in terms of gear: trawling, lining, gill-netting and purse-seining. Trawling is the most important, accounting for 75 per cent or 135 000 tonnes of marine fish landed in 1988. The total landed catch of live and fresh marine fish available for local consumption amounted to 100 000 tonnes, with a wholesale value of $950 million. This represented 83 per cent of the local consumer demand.

Pond fish farming is one of the most important culture activities. Fish ponds under active cultivation and covering 1 400 hectares are located in the New Territories, mostly in the Yuen Long district. Traditional pond fish farming is similar to that practised in China for hundreds of years. Several different carp species are cultured in the same pond, each deriving its food from a different source and so making the utmost use of the nutrients introduced. Owing to the increasing urbanisation of the New Territories, the land area devoted to fish ponds has gradually declined. During the year, the ponds yielded 6 640 tonnes, or 12 per cent of the local consumption of freshwater fish.

Marine fish culture has developed considerably in the past decade. Young fish captured from their natural environment as well as imported fish fingerings are reared in cages suspended from rafts in sheltered bays throughout Hong Kong, particularly in the eastern New Territories. Under the Marine Fish Culture Ordinance, 28 fish culture zones have been designated and all marine fish culture operations are now required to be conducted at sites