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At around 4pm today (May 19), staff of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) at Cafeteria Old Beach found a man washing a one-metre-long shark carcass at the beach shower facility. When asked by the staff, the man said he cast a fishing net in the waters off Cafeteria Bay last night and found the shark carcass in the net this afternoon. He then brought it to the beach shower facility this afternoon to clean it.
LCSD's staff at the beach immediately enhanced vigilance at the beach and kept a close watch on the condition of the beach area. Patrols inside the swimming zone were also strengthened. There was no sign of any shark activities.
LCSD also requested the Government Flying Service to conduct searches, and the Marine Police to patrol the area but no shark was spotted.
The shark prevention net at Cafeteria Old Beach was checked and confirmed to be in good condition by the net maintenance contractor during a regular maintenance session on May 16.
In any case, to ensure public safety, LCSD has arranged the contractor to inspect the shark prevention net again tomorrow (May 20) morning and also the shark prevention nets of the other five beaches in the area, namely Cafeteria New Beach, Butterfly Beach, Castle Peak Beach, Kadoorie Beach and Golden Beach.
The LCSD has also arranged with its contractor to conduct sonar checks in the swimming zones enclosed by the shark prevention nets at all the six beaches to ensure that there is no big fish or suspected big fish inside the zones.
The beaches will be temporarily closed during the sonar inspections and notices will be posted in the beaches to inform swimmers.
Ends/Monday, May 19, 2008
Issued at HKT 23:18
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