I like this quote from the European Union’s Minister for Maritime and Fisheries. Replace EU with HK and you have exactly the same story.
“Let me be quite clear: if you think that we can keep the fishing industry alive without trying to reverse the dramatic decline we have seen in some fish stocks, then you are just fooling yourself. There are whole segments of the EU fishing industry today that are effectively in artificial reanimation: without the historic subsidies provided in the past, and the loopholes in control and enforcement which some operators take advantage of, often out of desperation, they would have already disappeared. We have to get away from the mentality of thinking that saving jobs means clinging on, at all costs, to whatever the status quo may be.”
The AFCD is currently attempted to get various reforms passed through Legco. These include a ban on trawling, setup of fisheries protected areas, additional measures to stop illegal fishing and reform to reduce new entrants into the fisheries industry.
These reforms need our full support. Please watch this space for more information coming up.