ENG-1989 — Page 140

PRIMARY PRODUCTION

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 required to be conducted at sites within these zones under licences issued by the Director of Agriculture and Fisheries. By year-end, 1780 licences had been issued. Live marine fish supplied by this activity amounted to 3 019 tonnes valued at $182 million.,

Agriculture and Fisheries Department

The Agriculture and Fisheries Department encourages the productive use of agricultural land in the rural areas. Among the major on-going programmes are the agricultural land rehabilitation scheme and projects for irrigation maintenance and development. Furthermore, new concepts, techniques and material input to the farming and fishing industries are evaluated and actively promoted. Controls are exercised to prevent the introduction and spread of plant and livestock pests and diseases.

Investigatory programmes of the department cover crops, pest control, animal health and husbandry and fisheries. Experiments are conducted on government experimental stations to improve the quality and yield of vegetables, flowers and fruit.

The department advises farmers on disease prevention and control, and on modern methods of animal production. It also supplies good quality seeds and breeding stocks of pigs and poultry.

A wide spectrum of studies on marine resources, aquaculture, and the environmental impact of development activities on fisheries is conducted with a view to developing and promoting the local fishery industry. In marine resources, emphasis is placed on optimising production from currently exploited fisheries resources and exploring the develop- ment potential of under-exploited or hitherto unexploited new resources. In this context, the department is actively examining the feasibility of using a new trapping technique to exploit the new crustacean resource on the edge and slope of the continental shelf of the South China Sea at depths between 300 to 1000 metres. The initial results are encouraging.

Aquaculture studies are concerned with the development of more efficient culture systems and improved husbandry techniques to increase productivity of the marine and pond fish culture sectors. In addition, efforts are also channelled into developing effective measures against fish diseases with a view to reducing mortality and hence cost- effectively increasing production. Hydrographic investigations are designed to supply en- vironmental information for an assortment of biological programmes. Studies of the marine environment are conducted to assess the impact of pollution, including red tides, on fisheries, particularly mariculture, in order to prevent pollution and minimise production loss.

Low-interest loans are administered by the department to help farmers and fishermen to finance their operational or long-term investment requirements. The department also organises and finances vocational and technical training for those directly and indirectly involved in primary production. In addition, it is responsible for the registration and supervision of co-operative societies and credit unions.

Consumer demand and local primary production are monitored for development planning purposes. Statistics on food supplies, including imports, are collected and analysed to help formulate local production and marketing policies. The business efficiency

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