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  Yahoo News 8 Mar 07
Conservationists push Hong Kong fishing ban

PlanetArk 9 Mar 07
WWF Urges Hong Kong to Reel in Fishing Industry
HONG KONG - The World Wildlife Fund urged Hong Kong on Thursday to use an unexpected budget surplus to phase out the territory's fishing industry, which the global conservation group says is depleting fish stocks in the area.

"The marine ecology is in a state of crisis ... We can afford to resolve this problem today, now, immediately," WWF's Hong Kong chairman Markus Shaw told reporters.

Last week, Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Henry Tang said the city will post a HK$55.1 billion (US$7 billion) fiscal surplus for 2006/2007 -- well above forecasts -- due to a strong economy.

The WWF has released a report compiled by the University of British Columbia on how Hong Kong could benefit by cutting the size of its remaining fishing fleet and introducing no fishing zones.

Despite some marine parks, Hong Kong's fish stocks have been depleted over the past several decades by poor management, a lack of a licensing system allowing Chinese vessels to trawl local waters unchecked, as well as pollution, dredging and reclamation.

Instead of introducing a fishing license system, which the WWF says is a key for conservation, Hong Kong has been handing out fuel subsidies to its fishermen at an estimated cost of HK$48 million (US$6.15 million) each year.

Shaw said Hong Kong's remaining 10,000 fishermen now catch some 29,000 tonnes of fish annually from local waters, representing around 10 percent of their total haul which is largely caught elsewhere as a result of the depletion.

"The average size of fish caught in Hong Kong ... is 10 grams or less," Shaw said. "These fish are not being caught for our dinner table. They're mashed up and made into fishmeal for our fish farms."

Banning fishing and trawling in larger swathes of Hong Kong's coastal waters as well as helping struggling local fishermen move to other jobs would allow fish stocks to replenish, the report said.

It might even allow eco-tourism in Hong Kong.

"The gains are big enough to cover the loss and costs we see in the few sectors," said Rashid Sumaila from the university's Fisheries Centre, which conducted the study.

"For the fisheries, rebuilding make sense," he said, adding that while there would be fewer fishermen, they would be able to catch more higher-priced fish.

The report also suggested a majority of Hong Kong's fishermen would be willing to accept new restrictions or be bought out by the government. Shaw called on the government to compensate fisherman for a switch in livelihood and pay them for their boats.

He said that shouldn't be seen as a bailout, but a crucial and logical means to ease pressure on the depleted seas.

"If you allow (the fishing sector) to continue simply to die off naturally, then you're not solving the problem of eco-system damage that's being done at the time," said Shaw.

Yahoo News 8 Mar 07
Conservationists push Hong Kong fishing ban

HONG KONG (AFP) - Conservationists called Thursday for an immediate ban on trawling to replenish Hong Kong's dwindling fish stocks and revitalise the city's heavily subsidised fishing industry.

No-catch zones and other measures could get stocks back to sustainable levels in 25 years, according to a new study carried out by Canada's University of British Columbia (UBC).

The study, commissioned by environmental group WWF's Hong Kong office, said a majority of fishermen here would trade their boats for other jobs -- although at a price -- if it meant stocks would grow again.

"It would require the loss of some fishing jobs but the result would be fewer fishermen landing larger and more valuable catches," said the UBC's Rashid Sumaila. "Some fishing sectors would have to suffer but the rest would actually gain," Sumaila said.

The authors of the study said action was needed now as the city's fishing industry was in a state of collapse, with its 10,000 fishermen complaining their catches had deteriorated by as much as 75 percent.

Other surveys had also shown the average size of fish caught had dropped to less than 10 grams, too small for human consumption and good only for use as fish food in aquatic farms, said the WWF's Markus Shaw.

"The cost-benefit analysis justifies major investment by the government to resolve the fisheries crisis," Shaw said.

The study found that a ban on trawling, the creation of no-catch zones in worst-affected areas and a limited prawn-trawl zone could regenerate stocks.

The authors said the industry could bounce back from one that requires 278 million Hong Kong dollars (35 million US) of annual government subsidies to one that could generate 1.3-2.6 billion dollars over the next quarter century.

"We found that only half of the fishermen actually make a living from the seas, the rest do other supplementary jobs," said Sumaila.

In their research of more than 70 fishermen and people associated with the fishing trade, the authors found that a third would happily give up fishing if they were offered any compensation for their boats and equipment. Another 40 percent would switch jobs if the price was right.

"Only a tenth of the fishermen said they would not give up their trade," said Sumaila. "If we could reduce the fleet to 10 percent, we would have no problems achieving our goal."
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