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The Government published the Fisheries Protection (Specification of Apparatus) (Amendment) Notice 2011 in the gazette today (March 25). The Amendment Notice seeks to amend subsidiary legislation under the Fisheries Protection Ordinance (Cap. 171) to prohibit the use of trawling devices for fishing activity in Hong Kong waters.
The Chief Executive announced in his Policy Address last year that the Government would implement a package of fisheries management measures, including banning trawling in Hong Kong waters through legislation in order to restore our seabed and marine resources as early as possible.
Regulation 4A of Fisheries Protection Regulations (Cap. 171 sub. leg. A) prohibits the use for the purpose of fishing any apparatus of a class or description specified by the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation (DAFC) by notice published in the Gazette. Any person who contravenes regulation 4A shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and six months' imprisonment. Under the Amendment Notice, the DAFC has so specified three classes of apparatus. They are:
- any apparatus that produces or transmits electricity and that operates in water either alone or in conjunction with a net; and is capable of capturing or stunning fish;
- any suction device that operates on the seabed; and is capable of capturing fish; and
- any dredging device that operates with a net or receptacle; is towed on the seabed; and is capable of capturing fish.
A spokesman for the Food and Health Bureau said: "Hong Kong waters are important fish spawning and nursery grounds. The Government's proposal to ban trawling in Hong Kong waters will arrest harmful depletion of marine resources and enable rehabilitation of the marine ecosystems to a sustainable level over time.
"By restoring our marine environment and ecosystems, not only will we be conserving our environment, we will actually be taking the necessary step to pursue the sustainable development of our fishing industries."
It is expected that the proposal will impact the livelihood of trawler fishermen who will lose part of their fishing grounds. Subject to approval by the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council, the Government proposes to provide a package of assistance to the affected fishermen. These include: ex-gratia allowance payments for the trawler owners affected for permanent loss of fishing grounds arising from the ban; buying out of the affected trawler vessels for those trawler owners who volunteer to surrender their vessels; and one-off grants to assist the affected local deckhands employed by the trawler owners who volunteer to surrender their trawler vessels.
Meanwhile, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department will also introduce a special training programme to assist affected fishermen to switch to sustainable fishing operations such as mariculture or recreational fishing. The special training programme includes free courses and pilot schemes on eco-tourism, aquaculture and other fisheries-related businesses.
The Amendment Notice will be introduced to the Legislative Council on March 30. Subject to negative vetting, the Amendment Notice will come into operation on December 31, 2012.
Ends/Friday, March 25, 2011
Issued at HKT 16:04
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