Press Releases
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Government measures to help fishermen The Government has announced a series of measures to help fishermen to cope with the fishing moratorium in South China Sea this year. It follows the announcement by the Bureau of Fisheries Management and Fishing Port Superintendence of the Ministry of Agriculture in the Mainland today (March 31) that the fishing ban, starting from June 1 to August 1, 2000, would cover all fishing operations except gill-netting, long-lining and hand-lining. The Working Group on Fishing Moratorium, chaired by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), will meet tomorrow to go through the details with the fishermen. "Since the fishing moratorium is an annual exercise, AFCD has reminded fishermen from time to time that they should take into account its implications in planning their operation every year and that no special loans or special Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme would be made available this year," the spokesman added. The spokesman said that it was estimated that some 1,400 local fishing vessels would be affected in the exercise including some 50 cage trappers which would be affected for the first time. Under the Government package, the fishermen who were affected by the ban and received low interest loans last year would be allowed to extend the loan repayment period for up to six months at 3 per cent annual interest rate if they had genuine financial hardship. As to cage trappers who would be affected by this year's ban for the first time, the Government would provide special arrangements for them. These included the provision of low interest loans under the Fish Marketing Organisation Loan Fund and the disregard of the asset value of their fishing vessels for the purpose of assessing their eligibility for CSSA. The spokesman said that in the long run, the following measures to help the fishermen would continue. The ad hoc working group has been turned into a standing Working Group on Fishing Moratorium with enhanced representation from the fishing industry, environmental conservation groups and academics to enable more focused discussions on issues related to the fishing moratorium. Members of the Working Group including Marine Department, Hong Kong Police Force and Fire Services Department would continue to ensure safety and order in typhoon shelters through implementing special berthing arrangements, strengthening patrols and enhancing publicity to alert fishermen on prevention of fire and crime. On vocational training for fishermen, AFCD would continue to provide classes for them during the fishing moratorium so that they would be able to use the free time for acquiring necessary qualifications and skills for operating vessels. The spokesman said that AFCD would continue to maintain close liaison with the mainland authorities on issues related to the fishing moratorium.
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