A report in the Ming Pao (August 5th 2008, Click here for article) , points out that discarded gill nets (“ghost”) are killing large quantities of marine life at the HKUST pier. Clean-up efforts have lead to the HKUST applying to the AFCD to designate the pier as a Marine Protected Zone.
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Living Seas Hong Kong does believe that the rampant discard of gill nets into waters, including supposedly protected Marine Parks is not acceptable. This practise needs to be stamped out. Some quick suggestions on how this issue can be resolved:
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Increase education and awareness amongst Hong Kong fishermen.
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Force an increase in the price of gillnets.
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Introduce legislation that sets minimum mesh sizes. This might avoid smaller invertebrates been caught by mistake.