Press Releases
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Path to sustainable development of fisheries has always been
pursued, says AFCD The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) today (April 21) said there is a need to strike a balance between the need for marine conservation and fishermen!|s livelihood, adding that a sustainable development of local fisheries industry is in the overall interest of the society. In response to suggestions that overfishing in local waters has been left unaddressed, a spokesman for the department said the Government had recognised the urgent need to conserve local fisheries resources and the recently announced fisheries management proposals were the right steps in this direction. "As a responsible government, in avoiding over-exploitation of our fisheries resources we should take into account the livelihood of local fishermen and the practical difficulties of the fishing industry, which has made important contribution to Hong Kong by maintaining a steady supply of fresh fish to local consumers," he said. "Keeping local fisheries on a sustainable path is in the interest of the whole community. The regulatory framework which we have proposed could help to bring us on this sustainable path." The framework includes the establishment of a fishing licence system and limiting new entrants to our fisheries, designating fisheries protection areas and the implementation of a territory-wide "closed season" for fishing. An extensive public consultation exercise on the framework was completed in early March this year. The department has obtained views of the fishing community, green groups, general public and academics and will present them to the Legislative Council to decide the way forward. The spokesman stressed that the department had been closely monitoring local catches and had taken the initiative to revert the drop in production as soon as the trend of shrinking catches became apparent in mid 1990s. "We completed the Consultancy Study on Fisheries Resources in 1998, which as a baseline survey established clear evidence of overfishing in Hong Kong waters. Since then we have been working on suitable measures to address the problem." The report of the study has recommended several priority fisheries management measures to protect and sustain local fish stocks. Measures including habitat enhancement and restoration through the deployment of artificial reefs and fisheries enhancement through fish restocking with a fish fry releasing trial scheme, which do not require legal backup, have been implemented over the past few years. Overfishing is not confined to Hong Kong waters but also in the South China Sea at large, the spokesman noted, adding that it is the result of fishing activities by over hundred thousands of Mainland fishing vessels and some 5000 Hong Kong fishing vessels fishing in the region. "To deal with the problem effectively, we have been working hand in hand with the Mainland authorities and pursuing a suite of measures to conserve the local fisheries resources," he said. In view of the decline in fisheries resources and the overfishing problem, the Government's fisheries policy has been changed from enhancing the productivity and efficiency of the fishing industry to promoting the sustainable development of the industry. "The department!|s technical supporting services such as credit facilities and training are now mainly provided to help fishermen turn to sustainable fisheries such as offshore fishing. Loans for fishermen to build new trawlers have been ceased since 2002," the spokesman said. End |
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