Following is a question by the Hon Steven Ho and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, in the Legislative Council today (July 5):

Question:

     At present, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department deploys eight and three vessels to conduct around 3 000 and 1 500 patrols each year respectively to combat illegal fishing activities in marine parks/marine reserve and illegal trawling activities in Hong Kong waters (illegal fishing).  It is learnt that persons first convicted of illegal fishing were fined about $2,000 on average, and their fishing gears were also confiscated.  Some fishermen have relayed to me that as the regular patrols conducted by the authorities and their joint operations with relevant Mainland departments to combat illegal fishing (joint operations) are not vigorous enough, coupled with the fact that the prevailing penalties for illegal fishing are negligible when compared with earnings from illegal fishing, such illicit acts cannot be eradicated, and the local fisheries resources have been severely damaged.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of (i) the number of patrols conducted and (ii) the number of joint operations mounted by the authorities in each of the financial years from 2014-2015 to 2016-2017 in the marine parks/marine reserve listed below;
 

Marine Park/ Marine Reserve		Financial Year
		2014-2015	2015-2016	2016-2017
Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park	(i)
	(ii)
Yan Chau Tong Marine Park	(i)
	(ii)
Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau Marine Park	(i)
	(ii)
Tung Ping Chau Marine Park	(i)
	(ii)
Cape D'Aguilar Marine Reserve	(i)
	(ii)
The Brothers Marine Park	(i)
	(ii)

(2) of the following figures in respect of the cases of illegal fishing respectively in the marine parks/marine reserve mentioned in (1) in each of the financial years from 2014-2015 to 2016-2017: (i) the number of complaints received, (ii) the number of cases in which illegal fishing was found during patrols or joint operations but no arrest could be successfully made, (iii) the number of persons arrested and the number of cases concerned, (iv) the number of persons convicted and the number of cases concerned, (v) the highest and lowest penalties imposed on the convicted persons, and (vi) the number of repeated offenders arrested and the number of cases concerned;

(3) of (i) the number of patrols conducted and (ii) the number of joint operations mounted by the authorities in each of the financial years from 2014-2015 to 2016-2017 in the Hong Kong waters (except marine parks/marine reserve) listed below;
 

Waters		Financial Year
		2014-2015	2015-2016	2016-2017
The entire Hong Kong waters	(i)
	(ii)
The waters near Cheung Chau	(i)
	(ii)
The waters near Shek Kwu Chau	(i)
	(ii)
The waters near Soko Islands	(i)
	(ii)
The waters off The Brothers	(i)
	(ii)
The waters off Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau	(i)
	(ii)

(4) of the following figures in respect of the cases of illegal fishing respectively in the waters mentioned in (3) in each of the financial years from 2014-2015 to 2016-2017: (i) the number of complaints received, (ii) the number of cases in which illegal fishing was found during patrols or joint operations but no arrest could be successfully made, (iii) the number of persons arrested and the number of cases concerned, (iv) the number of persons convicted and the number of cases concerned, (v) the highest and lowest penalties imposed on the convicted persons, and (vi) the number of repeated offenders arrested and the number of cases concerned; and

(5) whether the authorities will consider strengthening the measures to combat illegal fishing, including (i) purchasing additional patrol vessels, (ii) increasing the number of patrols, (iii) increasing the number of joint operations, and (iv) raising the relevant penalties; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     The Government regulates fishing activities in Hong Kong waters and marine parks/marine reserve in accordance with the Fisheries Protection Ordinance (Cap. 171) and Marine Parks Ordinance (Cap. 476) respectively, which includes implementing a ban on trawling in local waters since December 31, 2012.  The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has been strictly enforcing the above legislation to combat illegal fishing activities (including trawling).  Having consulted the Environment Bureau/the Environmental Protection Department, I provide a consolidated reply to the various parts of the question as follows:

(1) The numbers of (i) patrols conducted by AFCD; and (ii) its joint operations^ mounted with relevant Government departments (including the Marine Police and the Marine Department) in the following marine parks and marine reserve in each year from 2014-15 to 2016-17 are tabulated below:
 

Marine park/ marine reserve		Year
		2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park	(i)	803	832	788
	(ii)	12	14	14
Yan Chau Tong Marine Park	(i)	402	416	394
	(ii)	9	13	13
Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau Marine Park	(i)	358	373	398
	(ii)	1	2	1
Tung Ping Chau Marine Park	(i)	803	832	788
	(ii)	8	14	11
Cape D'Aguilar Marine Reserve	(i)	278	286	343
	(ii)	1	1	1
The Brothers Marine Park (established on December 30, 2016)	(i)	/	/	114
	(ii)	/	/	/

  ^ With participation of relevant Mainland authorities in some of the joint operations.

(2) Statistics in respect of illegal fishing activities in the marine parks and marine reserve mentioned in part (1) from 2014-15 to 2016-17 are tabulated below:

	Year
	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
Number of complaints received	3	3	1
Number of illegal fishing cases found during patrols or joint operations (Number of cases in which no arrest was made)	26 (0)	29 (0)	8 (0)
Number of arrested cases (Number of persons arrested)	26 (26)	29 (29)	8 (8)
Number of convicted cases (Number of persons convicted)	22 (22)	18 (18)	5 (5)
The highest and the lowest penalties	A fine of $100 to $8,000	A fine of $500 to $3,000	A fine of $1,500 to $2,000
Number of repeated cases (Number of repeated offenders)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)

(3) The numbers of (i) patrols conducted by AFCD; and (ii) its joint operations^ mounted with relevant Government departments (including the Marine Police and the Marine Department) in the following Hong Kong waters (except marine parks and marine reserve) in each year from 2014-15 to 2016-17 are tabulated below:
 

Waters		Year
		2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
The entire Hong Kong waters	(i)	1 402	1 497	1 562
	(ii)	49	38	63
The waters near Cheung Chau, Shek Kwu Chau and Soko Islands*	(i)	490	460	520
	(ii)	44	38	63
The waters off The Brothers islands	(i)	62	76	72
	(ii)	0	0	0
The waters off Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau	(i)	61	86	77
	(ii)	0	0	0

^    With participation of relevant Mainland authorities in some of the joint operations.
*    These waters are covered by the same patrol route.

(4) Statistics in respect of illegal fishing activities in the waters mentioned in part (3) from 2014-2015 to 2016-2017 are tabulated below:
 

	Year
	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
Number of complaints received	87	96	115
Number of illegal fishing cases found during patrols or joint operations (Number of cases in which no arrest was made)	56 (20)	44 (13)	75 (53)
Number of arrested cases (Number of persons arrested)	36 (43)	31 (43)	22# (35)
Number of convicted cases (Number of persons convicted)	28 (34)	30 (42)	10 (19)
The highest and the lowest penalties	A fine of $500 to $85,000; imprisonment for 3 days to 4 weeks	A fine of $200 to $100,000; imprisonment for 1 day to 2 months	A fine of $700 to $100,000; imprisonment for 2 weeks to 2 months
Number of repeated cases (Number of repeated offenders)	1 (1)	0 (0)	0 (0)

# Including 12 cases which are being processed.

(5) AFCD enforces the relevant legislation through deploying resources flexibly to conduct random and targeted patrols in local waters (including marine parks and marine reserve) having regard to the circumstances to combat illegal fishing activities.  Upon the establishment of The Brothers Marine Park at the end of last year, AFCD has procured an additional patrol vessel and stepped up patrols in the area.  AFCD also maintains close liaison with the Marine Police and the Marine Department, with a view to mounting joint operations (including using the vessel arrest system to intercept trawlers which refuse to stop for inspection) as and when appropriate.

     Under the Fisheries Protection Ordinance, any person who uses prohibited fishing gear for fishing is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and imprisonment for six months upon conviction.  In addition, under the Marine Parks Ordinance, any person who carries out illegal fishing activities in marine parks and marine reserve is liable to a maximum fine of $25,000 and imprisonment for one year upon conviction.  We believe that the above penalties have a deterrent effect on illegal fishing activities.  AFCD will continue to take strict enforcement action, exchange information and intelligence on illegal fishing activities with the relevant Government departments and Mainland authorities, adjust its enforcement strategy from time to time in the light of circumstances and intelligence gathered, and collaborate with the relevant parties to combat illegal fishing activities.

Ends/Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Issued at HKT 16:55

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