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Following is a question by the Hon Wu Chi-wai and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (December 3):
Question:
The law banning trawling activities has come into operation since December 31, 2012 to protect the precious marine resources and ecosystem. However, some fishermen have pointed out that as the authorities have not conducted patrols and taken law enforcement actions on a regular basis, some local and mainland fishing vessels still carry out illegal trawling activities in Hong Kong waters from time to time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of warnings issued to and prosecutions instituted against fishermen by the authorities for illegal trawling activities since the aforesaid law came into operation; the locations involved in such illegal activities as well as the lowest and highest penalties imposed on the convicted persons;
(2) of the details of the enforcement actions taken by the authorities against illegal trawling activities (including the frequency of patrols conducted in these waters, deployment of manpower, notification mechanism and the average time taken to arrive at the scene upon receipt of reports); whether they have conducted a review to see if the existing regulatory efforts, law enforcement mechanism and penalties have sufficient deterrent effect; if they have, of the outcome of the review; if not, the reasons for that and whether they have plans to conduct such review;
(3) whether various law enforcement departments (including the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, the Hong Kong Police Force and the Marine Department) have coordinated their work on combating illegal trawling activities; if they have, of the details; and
(4) of the respective numbers of warnings issued to and prosecutions instituted against fishermen on mainland fishing vessels by the authorities for carrying out illegal trawling activities in Hong Kong waters since the aforesaid law came into operation; whether local and mainland law enforcement agencies have set up liaison mechanism and conducted joint law enforcement operations to combat illegal trawling activities carried out by mainland fishing vessels in Hong Kong waters; if they have, of the details?
Reply:
President,
Trawling is a non-selective mode of fishing operation which damages the seabed and brings detrimental impact on the marine ecosystems. A ban on trawling activities brings the harmful depletion to an immediate halt and enables the marine ecosystems to rehabilitate gradually, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of the fisheries industry in the long run. By exercising the power conferred by the Fisheries Protection Regulations (Cap. 171A), the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation has banned trawling in Hong Kong waters through the Fisheries Protection (Specification of Apparatus) Notice (Cap. 171B). Any person who contravenes the ban is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $200,000 and imprisonment for up to six months. The relevant provisions came into force on December 31, 2012.
From the time the relevant provisions came into force, the Government has been acting vigorously to combat illegal fishing activities. Up to October 2014, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has made 13 200 patrols (including those conducted during night time and the early morning hours) in Hong Kong waters for strict enforcement of the relevant legislation.
AFCD has been maintaining close liaison with the relevant government departments (including the Police Force and the Marine Department). It carries out joint enforcement operations with them as necessary to combat illegal fishing activities in Hong Kong waters. AFCD takes immediate actions against any trawling activities detected. In 2014 (up to October), AFCD and the Police Force had conducted a total of 37 joint operations.
Acting on intelligence, AFCD will step up patrols and enforcement actions in waters where trawling activities are frequently found. AFCD will also keep in touch with fishermen groups to widen its access to information that would help the Department to combat illegal fishing activities more effectively.
My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(1) AFCD will take prosecution action immediately if any person is found to be involved in any illegal fishing activities. No warning will be issued.
Since implementation of the trawl ban up to October 2014, AFCD had instituted 25 prosecutions involving trawling. The persons involved in 19 of these cases were convicted. The penalty handed down by the court ranges from a fine of $2,000 to $85,000 with individual offenders being sentenced to imprisonment for terms ranging from two days to four weeks. Six cases are now being processed.
The trawling activities in the above mentioned cases took place mainly in waters close to the outer limits of Hong Kong's boundaries in the south-eastern; southern; and western parts of the territory.
(2) AFCD has been conducting, at random hours, patrols in Hong Kong waters for enforcing the relevant legislation and will step up patrols in waters where trawling activities were identified in the past, such as in waters near the boundary in the southern and western parts of Hong Kong. At present, five law enforcement teams under AFCD (including the teams responsible for enforcing the provisions in fisheries-related legislation and the Marine Parks Ordinance) are deployed in different districts to carry out patrols. AFCD maintains close liaison with the Marine Regional Headquarters of the Police Force (Marine Police) and the Marine Police Districts; shares with each other information and intelligence on illegal trawling; and pursues joint law enforcement operations as appropriate in combating illegal fishing activities.
Upon receipt of reports on illegal fishing activities, the law enforcement teams of AFCD or the Marine Police Districts will proceed to the scene as soon as possible. Depending on the location of the waters concerned, the prevailing weather conditions, and the state of the law enforcement team being deployed, the time required for reaching the scene where the alleged offence is taking place varies. We do not keep such records. Since implementation of the trawl ban, the joint operations of AFCD and other law enforcement departments have proved to be effective. Prosecutions have been successfully instituted on a good number of occasions. It is generally accepted that the penalties (including fine and imprisonment) imposed by the court provide effective deterrent. We do not consider it necessary to review the penalty levels at this stage.
(3) AFCD and the Police Force will, in the light of the actual illegal trawling situation on the ground and intelligence collected, adjust their strategies from time to time in order to combat illegal fishing activities effectively. For example, the Police Force has recently deployed a new vessel arrest system, leading to the successful interception of several fishing vessels that are engaged in trawling and the subsequent prosecution of the operators.
(4) If Mainland fishing vessels are found engaged in trawling activities in Hong Kong waters, AFCD will immediately prosecute the offenders. The Department will not issue warnings.
Up to October 2014, there were five cases where AFCD had instituted prosecutions against Mainlanders involved in trawling in Hong Kong waters. All the offenders were convicted by the court. The penalty awarded ranges from a fine of $800 to $5,000, with individual offenders being sentenced to imprisonment for terms from two days to four weeks.
For the purpose of tackling the involvement of Mainland fishing vessels in illegal fishing within the territorial waters of Hong Kong, AFCD has maintained close liaison with the relevant Mainland authorities (including the Fisheries Authorities of Guangdong) and exchanged information with each other to jointly combat fishing vessels engaged in illegal fishing activities. The law enforcement agencies of Guangdong and Hong Kong (including AFCD, the Hong Kong Police Force and the Fisheries Authorities of Guangdong) also carry out joint enforcement operations regularly to combat cross-boundary illegal fishing activities. The last such joint enforcement operation was conducted on October 23, 2014. Thereafter, the parties involved had also reviewed and exchanged views on the tactics and other details of the operation.
Ends/Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Issued at HKT 14:20
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