The Committee on Sustainable Fisheries and its major recommendations
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With a view to promoting the sustainable development of the fisheries industry and conserving fisheries resources in Hong Kong waters, the Government established the Committee on Sustainable Fisheries (The Committee) in December 2006 to study the long term directions and goals as well as feasible options and strategy for the sustainable development of the local fisheries industry. The Committee has submitted the final report to the Food and Health Bureau in April 2010. Direction of development and measures To achieve the goals of the sustainable development of the fisheries inductry, the Committee has formulated two directions: (1) to assist fishermen to develop or switch to modernised and sustainable modes of operation; and (2) to protect, conserve and rehabilitate the marine ecosystem and fisheries resources. The Committee proposed to promote the sustainable development of the local fisheries industry through the three aspects below. Promoting modernised and sustainable practices 1. The technology employed by the fisheries industry in Hong Kong is not advanced enough, resulting in high operating costs and low efficiency, and hence low competitiveness. Therefore, the Committee proposes to promote modernisation and development of sustainable fisheries through the following measures: (a) enhance fishermen's understanding of sustainable fisheries and raise their awareness of the importance of marine conservation to the ecology and economy; (b) promote fisherman cooperative enterprises to assist fishermen in acquiring multi- disciplinary knowledge and financing the development of the industry; (c) provide stable financial support to sustainable fisheries development programmes; (d) review the existing criteria and terms of fisheries loans; (e) implement specific support measures for sustainable fisheries operations (e.g. aquaculture, recreational fisheries, fisheries product logistics and processing); and (f) strengthen communications with the Mainland counterparts to help fishermen seek business opportunities.
2. On promoting the sustainable development of aquaculture, the Committee recommends to: (a) conduct a review of the existing management and regulatory regime of aquaculture, which may include, for example, studying the culture environment and operation of local marine fish culture zones, and reviewing the moratorium on issuing new marine fish culture licences; (b) study the development of new sites for fish culture, extension or alternative use of fish culture zones, etc, with a view to supporting the future development of aquaculture; (c) enhance existing studies and training in relation to hatchery and step up effort to develop new culture species and improve the quality of cultured fish; and (d) foster the development of marketing networks in the local and Mainland markets for local quality fisheries products through setting up and enhancing promotion and publicity of the brand name of “Accredited Fish Farms” and by making use of the "Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement". 3. On recreational fishing, the Committee recommends to: (a) designate fisheries protection areas and marine parks as well as deploying artificial reefs and restocking to enhance recreational fishing; (b) the AFCD, in collaboration with other departments and non-profit-making organisations, enhance the operating environment of recreational fishing, including assisting in the identification and upgrading of spots and routing designs for recreational fishing; and (c) strengthen publicity to bring in more tourists, and provide loans, technical support and training to interested fishermen to help them develop or switch to recreational fishing. Controlling fishing effort 4. The Committee proposes the following measures to control the fishing effort in Hong Kong waters: (a) establish a regulatory mechanism to restrict new entrants and ex-fishermen from rejoining the capture fisheries industry; (b) prohibit fishing by non-local vessels in Hong Kong waters through legislation; (c) restrict fishing activities by non-fishing local vessels in Hong Kong waters and allow only recreational fishing using specified fishing gear or method on these vessels; (d) ban non-selective trawling in Hong Kong waters and provide appropriate financial assistance to affected trawler fishermen; and (e) strengthen fisheries management and law enforcement.
Conservation and enhancement of fisheries resources 5. The Committee also proposes certain measures to protect important marine and fisheries ecosystems, such as fish spawning and nursery grounds, and to promote the rehabilitation and growth of fisheries resources in Hong Kong waters. These include: (a) designate important spawning and nursery grounds within Hong Kong waters as fisheries protection areas and step up the management measures in these areas, such as setting up “no take” zones, implementing a seasonal fishing moratorium and deploying artificial reef etc.; and (b) prohibit commercial fishing in marine parks.
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