The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
SOSC562 Sustainable Development
(Fall 2003) Final Report
The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
I. Introduction to Sector
In the past Sai Kung was a small fishing village area. The fishermen there formed a
compact community, distinguished from others by their traditional style of living. They
used to live and work on boats in a community called “Sui Sheung Yen” (Chinese term,
meaning people on the sea), forming and keeping the scenery of the area. During the
continuous process of economic development in the last thirty years of twentieth century,
lives of these fishermen have undergone significant changes Theirs’ numbers have
declined, the lifestyle transformed.
Rationale for Choice
We believe that historical continuation of indigenous traditions is one of the main
prerequisites for sustainable development of the whole area of Sai Kung. The heritage
and social networks shared from generation to generation over centuries are
tremendously valuable, and as such deserve our attention. In this paper we analyze,
how the development created both push and pull incentives for leaving the industry and
we propose strategies how to assure that this special community is sustained. Nicely
concise
II. Baseline Condition and Impacts
The unit of our studies is on a homeport basis. The homeports include Pak Sha Wan/Ma
Nam Wat, Tai Tau Chau/Kai Lung Wan, Leung Shuen Wan, Sai Kung, Kau Sai, Po Toi
O and Hang Hau in Sai Kung waters.1 There are about 500 fishing vessels based in the
homeports mentioned. In 2002, the Hong Kong fishing fleet comprised some 4,770
vessels which were manned by about 11,000 local fishermen.2 The fishermen population
in the above mentioned homeports are however not individually available. Based on
parameter calculation What are the parameters?, the population in the mentioned
homeports can be estimated as about 1200. This estimation is subject to variation due
to different size of vessels, thus the true population may be well below 1000 because
small fleet is the dominant type of vessel in Sai Kung waters.
Decline of Fishermen Population
From the earliest official statistical data in 1955, there were 1904 fishermen in Sai
Kung.3 The steep decline in the fishermen population over the past decades can be
explained in political, economic, environmental and social aspects.
(1)
1
2
3
Political Aspect
Historically, there were three major government policies drove fishermen to move
on land. First, the Firing Range Area for the British Garrison was established in 50s;
Refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 in Appendix
Information obtained from Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD)
Information obtained from Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD)
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
second, the High Land Reservoir was constructed;
industrialization and sea reclamation in Sai Kung in 60s.
third,
there
2
were
Starting from 50’s, the Firing Range Area for the British Garrison was established. 4
The establishment had two major influences on fishermen. First, the entry of
fishermen was prohibited during firing range period so that fishermen could not fish
in the prolonged firing range period. Secondly, fishermen were in danger because
of the accidents of firing. Therefore, fishermen collectively moved collectively
moved to Pak Sha Chai where becomes Kau Sai Chau now. 5 Was there
compensation for this?
In the past, fishermen in Leung Shuen Wan used to fish in a watercourse called
Kung Mun watercourse (the place where the High Land Reservoir is now) or they
went to Sai Kung through this watercourse. However the watercourse was closed
because of the construction of High Land Reservoir in 1971. Fishermen could no
longer fish around this area, thus they started to move on land. Later, the
government constructed some 4-floor high buildings for them.6
These were the most important changes contributed to the decline in the fishermen
population. In 60s, Hong Kong was undergoing industrialization; the government
also intended to urbanize Sai Kung, thus the sea around the Sai Kung town area
was reclaimed. These imposed impacts on the fishermen in Sai Kung. First, the
sea reclamation severely destroyed the inshore area where small fleets in Sai Kung
highly relied on, the fishermen could no longer have a means of subsistence;
second, because the industrialization in Hong Kong as a whole outpaced that in Sai
Kung, fishermen were captured by other industries, such as being workers in
nearby factories.
At present, through our interviews with Mr. Cheng King-man (the representative of
the Leung Shuen Wan village), Mr. Law Yau-mui (the representative of the Kau Sai
fishery village), Mr. Lau Wan-hei (the Chairman of the Sai Kung Rural Committee)
and some individual fishermen, there are complaints against the frequent arrest of
small-fleet fishermen selling their catches around the pier in Sai Kung,7 while the
government does not have any intention to issue licence or any measures to deal
with these fishermen. This act by the government also pushed individual fishermen
to get out of their business.
Facing the decline of the fishermen population, instead of promoting the local
fishery industry, AFCD has implemented the Mainland Fishermen Deckhands
Scheme since 1995 with collaboration with Immigration Department to import labor
supply of fishermen from the Mainland China to deal with the shortage of local
fishermen.8
4
5
6
7
8
Refer to Figure 3 in Appendix
Ma (2003) Xi Gong Lishi yu Fengwu
Ma (2003) Xi Gong Lishi yu Fengwu
Refer to Figure 4 in Appendix
Fisheries Supporting Services, AFCD, from http://www.afcd.gov.hk/fisheries/fish_e.htm
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
(2)
3
Economic Aspect
Although the industrialization in fishery industry could not catch up with that in
Hong Kong as a whole before 70s, fishermen did switch to motorized vessels
during the late 60s. Together with the development aquaculture fisheries, the
number of individual fishermen needed decreased. Fishery, particular in a small
family-based business in Sai Kung, is no longer labor-intensive as it used to be.
The most important change occurred in mid-80s. There was an influx of low price
fish imported from the Southeast Asia. Information from interviews with individual
fishermen shows that the price of some major fish catch, White flower croaker
ranking the fourth on the best-sell list for example,9 has dropped half in these ten
years. Many fishermen expressed that they found no means to compete with the
low price fish from the Southeast Asia, thus many of them have chosen to switch to
other industries, such as boat renting for tourists etc.
(3)
Environmental Aspect
The deterioration of water quality resulted from industrialization of Sai Kung is one
of the major concerns of the fishermen. The harvest of both aquaculture and
capture fisheries are severely lowered by water pollution. Although AFCD has
established a Hong Kong Red Tide Information Network in 1983 and a Red Tide
Interdepartmental Working Group for the management of red tide in 1999 for the
management of red tides, 10 our interviewed fishermen expressed that the poor
water quality and unanticipated occurrence of red tides disinterested them from
investing in aquaculture fishery. The unpleasant environment in waters also forced
fishermen to move on land.11
Moreover, the development of pair trawling, which involves two vessels, also
enabled fishermen to harvest marine resources at a greater depth of up to 150m. 12
The large predators harvested in deep sea had an enduring impact on the stability
of an ecosystem than removing species farther down the chain. Because predators
are longer-lived than their prey, they are slower in response to changes in their
environment.13 Pair trawlers is also non-selective to the target species, massive
amounts of undesired and illegal fish are thrown dead and back into the sea as a
result.14 These caused a decrease in marine resources and harmed the biodiversity
in the sea. To preserve marine resources, World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong
(WWF Hong Kong) collaborated with the government to establish some water
areas. Hoi Ha Wan in Sai Kung water, one of the examples was converted to
marine parks in 1996. 15 Fishermen are not allowed to fish in these areas. These
environmental forces pushed fishermen to switch to other industries.
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Port
Survey
01/02,
from
AFCD,
from
http://www.afcd.gov.hk/fisheries/PortSurvey0102/Fisheries%20Port%20Survey%2001web_e.htm
Hong Kong Red Tide Information Network, from http://www.hkredtide.org/
Refer to Figure 6 in Appendix
Hong Kong Fish-Net, http://www.hk-fish.net/eng/fisheries_info/fishing_fleeting/page_01.html
Ken Hinman, Ecosystem Principles, Overfishing and Bycatch in Marine Fisheries
Hong Kong Fish-Net, http://www.hk-fish.net/eng/fisheries_info/fishing_fleeting/page_01.html
WWF Hong Kong, available from http://www.wwf.org.hk/eng/hoihawan/index.html
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
(4)
4
Social Aspect
In the past, a small fleet was a basic unit of a family. There was a strong tie within a
family, all family members lived together on a small fleet to carry on their family
business – fishing. However, because of the decline of the fishermen population,
things have changed. Through our interviews with individual fishermen, none of
them has their next generations being fishermen now. Unclear Education is the
major factor to break the chain of their family business. In 50s, education was
provided by teachers from Mainland China for free, fishermen’s children attended
school near some temples while the teachers gain subsistence from temples. Later,
schools were built in Sai Kung and Kau Sai by the Fish Marketing Organization with
financial assistance of the government for providing proper education for the
fishermen’s children. 16 In 2001, the proportion of school attendance rate of
population aged 6-18 in Sai Kung Islands is as high as 93.7% and the proportion of
non-student population aged 20 and over having attained tertiary education is
23.1%,17 this figure is comparable to other highly urbanized area and reflects an
increase in education level in fishermen. What has happened to these schools?
Indeed, most interviewed fishermen expressed that their next generations received
education on land, giving them more career opportunities so that they are no longer
confined in fishery industry.
Excellent Baseline review, significantly improved and clarified from your earlier edition.
Goal of the Report This should have been included with your introduction
Having revealed the external forces which pushed and pulled fishermen from the fishery
industry in the above four aspects (the inward arrows) 18 , this report attempts to
investigate ways to sustain the special fishermen community (the central sector), and
finally to see how the community would be cooperated with the sustainable development
of Sai Kung as a whole (the outward arrows).
The sustainability of the fishermen community is closed related to the development of
Sai Kung, we believe that it is of great value to preserve the fishermen community for
their contributions and uniqueness as follow.
(i) Their Historical Contribution
It is believed that Sai Kung Fishermen made a tremendous contribution to the
early development of Sai Kung town. Thanks to the massive trade of catches by
the fishermen in the town in the early period, the town was enlivened and became
the Sai Kung town today.19 Indeed, fishermen were a major source of seafood
which created Sai Kung a famous place for seafood consumption now.
(ii) Their Cultural Traditions
16
17
18
19
Ma (2003) Xi Gong Lishi yu Fengwu
2001 Data from Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department,
http://www.info.gov.hk/censtatd/eng/hkstat/fas/01c/dcca-nt_saikung_index.html
Refer to Figure 5 in Appendix Do you mean figure 6?
Ma (2003) Xi Gong Lishi yu Fengwu
available
from
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
5
Sai Kung fishermen have their unique cultural tradition that they actively
participate in various religious functions, these include Hung Shing Festival in
Kau Sai20 and Po Toi O, Tin Hau Godess in Leung Shuen Wan and Sai Kung
Town, Qan Yin Festival in Pak Sha Wan etc.21 These functions are very important
and serve to maintain social ties within the fishermen community. During each
festival, fishermen, who had migrated to town or overseas, return to their
homeports to join the functions. Good
(iii) Their Strong Social Network
Besides their religious tradition, there is another reason accounting for a strong
social network within the fishermen community. Historically, people who moved to
and lived in the coastal area were poor. Because of their week power and their
scanty livelihood was subject to unanticipated coastal disaster, they were willing
to collaborate with strangers and were very united. This also explained why unlike
other villages on land, there is rarely a single lineage within each fishermen
community. 22
(iv) Their Special Lifestyle
Fishermen possess valuable skills, knowledge, experience and assets for them to
earn a living on the sea. Their special lifestyle and living habits are not commonly
found in the urbanized region, and thus are precious cultural products that serve
to be sustained. In fact, in many countries, fishermen’s special lifestyle is being
frequently exposed to tourism for giving visitors an opportunity to experience a life
which they do not find in the outside world.23
For the above reasons, we believe the preservation of cultural heritage and social
network of fishermen is essential to the Sai Kung development in many aspects. In the
following parts, we will first see how different stakeholders are involved in the
sustainability of the community, followed by it is an investigation of whether these
special characteristics of fishermen still exist or not, finally we will examine ways how the
community is sustained.
III. Stakeholder Awareness and Capacities
Different stakeholders are identified below; they are all involved in the preservation of
the fishermen community in different aspects.
(i)
Fishermen
As mentioned in the baseline report, the official data shows that there are
currently about 1000 fishermen in Sai Kung waters. Through our interviews with
representatives of fishermen and individual fishermen, fishermen have
20
We are invited by Mr. Law Yau-mui, the representative of Kau Sai Fishery Village and Prof.
Choi in the Division of Humanities to the Hung Shing Festival in Kau Sai in late February.
Jerry, if you are interested in going, feel free to let us know.
21
Ma (2003) Xi Gong Lishi yu Fengwu
Ma (2003) Xi Gong Lishi yu Fengwu
There are many examples of this, including Holland, Malaysia etc.
22
23
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
6
frequently expressed that they are increasingly facing hardship in their fisheries
business, for reasons explained in the baseline report. In addition, from a
documentary TV programme, 24 fishermen also complained that they were
frequently constrained by the government policies. Their sampans and small
fleets made them flexible in switching to boat renting and water sports business;
while some fishermen who own fish farms switched to sports fishing business.
However the government was always slow in response to issue licence and
severely impose strict measures on them, thus creating inconvenience and
even frustration to the fishermen.
In this sense, the fishermen are rather passive, as their livelihoods rely on the
environment of the sea, the policy formulation by the government, the entry of
the competitions to their own market from the Southern Asia. In the later parts,
we will investigate how the fishermen can take a more active role in
manipulating their lives. Good
(ii)
Government
There are two policy directions by the government affecting fishermen.
First, the government policy on fisheries is to promote the development of the
fisheries industry and sustainable use of fisheries resources, with a view to
maintaining a steady supply of fresh fish to local consumers. AFCD, in particular,
provides infrastructural support services to promote efficient and sustainable
production of the local capture fishery and aquaculture industry. This include the
provision of fisheries development, extension and management activities
including loans, technical studies, surveys, assistance and advice, and
vocational training to fishermen for improving the productivity of the fishery
sector; the enforcement of legislation to ensure a better regulated / managed
fishery industry; the provision of technical and administrative support to the
operation of the Fish Marketing Organization; and the planning and
implementation of projects for the conservation of fisheries resources, including
the Artificial Reefs Programme. 25 Can you give some evaluation of the
effectiveness of these polices, especially in regard to fishing methods allowed
versus sustainability of the fish stock? Second, the government policy on Sai
Kung development identified the area as the major tourist attraction 26 and is to
enhance sub-regional Sai Kung as “Leisure Garden of Hong Kong” by
promoting conservation, enhancing visitors’ attraction and achieving a
sustainable level of development. 27 These all imply that the authority to
formulate policies regarding manipulation of the fishery industry and the Sai
Kung development as a whole falls in the hands of the government. How much
integration is there of these two approaches?
24
25
26
27
“Sai Kung - the back garden”, originally from http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/tv/hkcc/20021007.html, which
becomes a broken link now. Produced by RTHK.
AFCD, available from http://www.afcd.gov.hk/about/about_e.htm
Territorial Development Strategy Review (TDSR), 1998
The South East New Territories (SENT) Development Strategy Review, March 1999
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
7
Beyond these, the government also holds power to enforce regulation of
sewage treatment and other measures to alleviate the water pollution problem.
Again, any evaluation of effectiveness? What are beyond the government’s
control might be the impacts of the low price fish imported from the Mainland
China. Under the “one country, two systems” regime, the government has no
direct control over the low price imported catches and the entry of outside
competition to the fishery market. However, we will see later, how the
government can, directly and indirectly, help fishermen out of the hardship they
face in fisheries.
(iii) District Council
Between fishermen and the government, the district council plays an important
role as it serves many functions for the fishermen and the government.
The functions of the district council include the followings. First, it advises the
government on matters affecting the well-being of the people in Sai Kung, on
the provision and use of public facilities, services and funds in Sai Kung and on
the adequacy and priorities of government programs for Sai Kung. Where funds
are made available for the purpose, the district council has to undertake
environmental improvements and to promote recreation, cultural activities and
community activities in Sai Kung.28 Thus, the district council acts to signal voice
from the fishermen and residents in Sai Kung from a bottom-up manner to the
government to enhance the well-being of these groups, while it is also
responsible for explaining government polices relating to Sai Kung people from
a top-down manner. While the individual data for fishermen is not available, the
turnout rate in Sai Kung district in 2003 is 47.02%, with 125,334 electorates.
The data in 2000 was only 39.81% with 108,232 electorates, 29 indicating an
increase in Sai Kung people’s awareness of the importance of their voice in the
district council. Any information from the fishermen on their interest in the
district council? Though, the district council does not have solid power in
affecting the major government policies due to the structure of the Legco
system. Can you give any opinions from District councilors as to how much
they can initiate and develop programs in Sai Kung?
(iv) Local Residents in Sai Kung
The local residents in Sai Kung, just like the fishermen, are the livelihoods are
closed related to Sai Kung development. The population in Sai Kung district
excluding that in Tseung Kwan O is about 73, 200.30 Their sustainability wants
might be to enhance their well-being but with varying details such as living in a
better less-polluted, or more economic opportunities environment etc. As
indicated above, one of the channels the local residents can signal their
28
29
30
Part VI of Section of Enactment, Bilingual Law Information System, available from
http://www.justice.gov.hk/index.htm
District Council Election, from http://www.elections.gov.hk/elections/dc2003/eindex.html
Just roughly estimated, official statistics show that the population in Sai Kung district is 327, 689, from
http://www.info.gov.hk/censtatd/eng/hkstat/fas/01c/dcnt2001_index.html, while the population in
Tseung Kwan O is about 254,500 which is subtracted from the overall population, from
http://www.info.gov.hk/planning/p_study/comp_s/sent/stage3_digest/land_use.htm
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
8
comments from the bottom-up manner is through the district council. According
to the district council election data, the turnout rate in Sai Kung district in 2003
is 47.02%, with 125,334 electorates. The data in 2000 was only 39.81% with
108,232 electorates,31 indicating an increase in Sai Kung people’s awareness of
the importance of their voice in the district council. Repetitive.
(v)
Visitors and Tourists
Local visitors and tourists form a large group to bring in money to Sai Kung. It is
estimated that there are about 1.5 million local visitors and tourists going to Sai
Kung district a year, and 35% of them are for barbecue and hiking purposes.32
The local visitors and tourists surely welcome more cultural and recreational
activities, their voice can be represented by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. 33 In
turn, to bring in more tourists and thus bring in more capitals to Sai Kung
requires joint efforts of the fishermen, local residents, the government and the
district council. We will see, in the later parts, how the fishermen can help in
attracting more tourists to Sai Kung.
(vi) Businessmen
There are different kinds of businessmen in Sai Kung and they represent
different vested interests. The major type which is closely related to Sai Kung
fishermen is the restaurant owners in the coastal area. From a documentary TV
programme,34 restaurant owners complained that the government created unfair
policy among different owners such that some were allowed to serve customers
in open area whiles some were not. In addition, they also complained that the
government is helpless in their running-down business. Like the fishermen, the
businessmen are rather passive groups. How do you know this? If interviews,
say so. In considering the integration of the preservation of fishermen
community with the Sai Kung development in the last part, we will see how the
restaurant owners will benefit from the sustainability of the community.
(vii) Environmentalists
The major non-governmental organization concerning the environmental issues
in Hong Kong is WWF. They are eager to conserve the environment and to
increase the public awareness of its importance. Since 1996, they have been
collaborating with the government to establish marine parks; Hoi Ha Wan in Sai
Kung is one example. The organization also opposes all kinds of fishing which
would damage the environment. 35
IV. Issues and Gap Analysis
From the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (Where is this;
reference?) which is a study about the sustainability of various communities, the
31
32
33
34
35
District Council Election, from http://www.elections.gov.hk/
The South East New Territories (SENT) Development Strategy Review, March 1999
http://webserv2.discoverhongkong.com/eng/index.jsp
“Sai Kung - the back garden”, originally from http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/tv/hkcc/20021007.html, which
becomes a broken link now. Produced by RTHK.
WWF Hong Kong, available from http://www.wwf.org.hk/eng/hoihawan/index.html
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
9
following four characteristics are considered vital for a community to sustain. They are:
(1) increased use of the skills, knowledge and ability of the indigenous people, here we
mean the fishermen community; (2) strengthened relationships and communication
among the group; (3) improved community initiative and (4) participation, responsibility
and adaptability and sustainable, healthy ecosystems with multiple community benefits.
36 They are the ideal objectives of sustaining a community. When comparing to the
current situation of Sai Kung fishermen community, we can find room for improvement
as follows:
I.
For increased use of skills, knowledge and ability of the fishermen
community, as the government is putting attention to financial and
technology support for developing offshore fishing,37 fishermen, who fish
inshore or run small fleet, lack opportunity in gaining more resources to
develop their existing skills and to learn new skills as they do not have
much capital at the initial stage and lack support from the government.
II.
For strengthening the relationships and communication among groups,
we found that there is not enough private space for the fishermen
community to meet with each other and to discuss. Fishermen often meet
in open areas already occupied by tourists and residents. Although there
is a community center in Sai Kung for the public, there is little readily
available private location for the community to meet.
III.
Regarding the community participation, at present there are quite a
number of fishermen associations. 38 However, our interviews with
fishermen showed that they do not have sufficient access to information
on government policies, available funding and services. The existing
associations are too fragmented and small to exert power in negotiation
with the government on matters of the development of Sai Kung Area.
Good The interviewed fishermen also expressed a pessimistic attitude
towards their future and they do not have much information on ways to
express their opinion to the public or government even they are not
satisfied with the current situation.
In addition, from our interviews with a number of the fishermen, we found that
although fishermen know that the harmful effects of over-fishing and water
pollution, they do not have concept on sustainability.
IV.
36
37
38
Finally, with serious problem of water pollution as indicated in the
baseline reports, the water quality of Sai Kung area deteriorated and
catches decreased. This is the main reason for the shrinking of the
fishing industry as well as the fishery community of Sai Kung.
North
Central
Regional
Center
for
Rural
Development,
http://www.ag.iastate.edu/centers/rdev/oldRuralDev.html
Fisheries
Management
and
Development,
from
AFCD,
http://www.afcd.gov.hk/fisheries/eng/doc/ExeSummary_Eng_Web.pdf
Refer to Figure 7 in Appendix
available
from
available
from
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
10
Imported Models to Sai Kung
Model 1 - Regarding the issue of safeguarding the sustainability of Sai Kung
community, there are several models that are applicable to the case. For example, in
November of 1999, the National Trust, the Turks & Caicos Government and the local
communities drafted a management plan for safeguarding the heritage of the Turks and
Caicos Islands for present and future generations. 39
The plan objectives of the Turks and Caicos National Model are similar to our objectives
on the development of Sai Kung fishermen community, that is to provide a means by
which cultural heritage of the area can be appreciated and cherished by local people,
and to facilitate the development of the capacity of local people to establish small
businesses based on eco-tourism and traditional crafts, so as both to provide the
economic incentive and employment for local people, thereby maintaining the
communities and cultural integrity.
There are several ideas and measures suggested in the plan to achieve three directions
of sustainability of a community; they include (1) preserving the cultural heritage, (2)
facilitating the development of the capacity of local people and (3) providing training and
environmental education.
For preserving the cultural heritage, they have long-term archaeological work in Arawak
sites, constructing the village museum and doing historic plantations (e.g the Wades
Green Plantation on North Caicos). In order to facilitate the development of the capacity
of local people, they suggest traditional paths and field roads which link interesting
places, valuable habitat, culturally important plants and historic features for
strengthening the tourism industry (e.g. the Haulover Plantation Field-road).
In addition, they promote the sustainable traditional crafts of the Turks and Caicos
Islands and sites will be made available as living class-rooms for school-children to
participate in conservation work in their communities. In order to add value to the human
capital, training will be provided for personnel recruited to implement the plan. Additional
training will be provided for local people in skills needed to support the work.
Model 2 - Another model is from the experience of United States related to the balance
of eco system in coastal area. In US, the integrated coastal management (ICM) was
introduced to solve the water pollution problems.40 ICM is a multi-disciplinary process
that brought together levels of government and the community, science and
management, sectoral and public interests in preparing and implementing a programme
for the protection and the sustainable development of coastal resources and
environments. Put it in a simpler way, it refers to improving the quality of life of the
communities that are dependent on coastal resources, besides providing for the
39
Ethlyn Gibbs-Williams, Executive Director, Turks & Caicos National Trust, (2003) “A conservation plan
involving sustainable development with local community – North, Middle & East Caicos Ramsar site &
surrounds”
40
Shakeel M. Rasheed. The Hindu : How to Sustain Coastal Tourism, available
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2003/07/14/stories/2003071401050400.htm
from
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
11
required development while maintaining the bio-diversity and productivity of coastal ecosystem.
There are methods for the government to sustain coastal tourism, such as encouraging
community-based tourism, avoiding construction on important habitats and promoting
greater community involvement. For example, a local tourism association can be formed
to set and maintain standards and fund international advertising, the maximum number
of rooms can be restricted in each hotel to prevent international hotel chains from
cornering the market. This section could be developed more
V. Alternatives Generation
After the introduction of various models and the discussion of the advantages of each,
we have decided to extract some elements from the above models and develop a
number of new measures for sustaining the fishery community in Sai Kung in two main
directions: community participation and government policies.
Community Participation
We are going to propose four plans regarding community participation.
1. Form Integrated Fishermen Association
There are eight objectives for the reformed association: (1) it would strengthen the
power of the fishery community in Sai Kung development, this would enable better
representation of fishermen’s voice in the decision-making process; (2) it would serve to
provide information on current trends and future fish-market developments, government
regulations related to fishing and about new government proposals; (3) it would be
responsible for collecting data to monitor the fish-stock in Sai Kung bay, this empowers
the local communities to monitor the resources that they use and to consolidate both
management and its evaluation into one group; 41 (4) it would organize more specific
training courses and promote the use of best practices, which are locally applicable,
exchanging information about techniques and fishing sites; (5) it would help the
fishermen, especially for those who are in need of financial resources to apply for the
available funding for further investment; (6) it would provide a channel for centralized
purchasing in large volumes such that fishermen could get access to cheaper fishing
equipment, fuel, bait and supplies; (7) it would also help document the demographic
information of the fishermen community for the purpose of future research and studies;
(8) it would encourage further cooperation with Coastal Marine Lab of HKUST on
scientific research in Sai Kung waters. Very good intentions, what about the
practicalities of implementation?
2. Establish Multi-Purpose Community Center
41
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/mgroups/success/os4.htm
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
12
Inspiration from the case study in Phang-Nga, Thailand,42 (This wasn’t mentioned earlier
in you section on imported models, yet clearly is one—therefore it appears you could
have worked a little more on the integration of your materials and ideas) where the multipurpose community learning center was one of the means to increase participation, and
helped increase the sustainability of the community. The project also strengthened the
community spirit and joint action, increased participation in community affairs.
Appling it to Sai Kung, we suggest constructing a multi-purpose community learning
centre in Sai Kung. The center would provide some equipment to facilitate meetings,
discussion, classes, games, recreation etc. Training would be provided for local Sai
Kung fishermen for skills needed to support the community work, and skills which are
not related to fishery industry, such as trail-management, guide work, IT skills and the
establishment and operation of small businesses compatible with, and supportive of,
maintenance of the heritage and way of life etc. This could help strengthen the
community spirit, facilitate their social life and allow the fishermen in Sai Kung to derive
alternative skills that are required to sustain their livelihood. How about some education
on SusDev?
3. Conserve Fishermen Villages
There are some fishermen villages scattered around the Sai Kung District such as Kau
Sai Island. These villages are still inhabited by fishermen, but are not well preserved nor
promoted for visitors and tourists. As the restoration of Hung Shing old temple at Kau
Sai Chau has shown, conserving heritage places has positive effects on community.
The idea behind this proposal is to highlight the significance of the culture and history of
these villages.
4. Build Heritage Museum of Fishing Community
In Sai Kung, the fishermen community possesses some unique culture as mentioned in
the baseline report. These features could be highlighted in the museum to make it a
cultural-based tourist attraction. In addition, anthropological studies could be done to
collect life stories and histories of the Sai Kung fishermen community. The findings and
stories could be roomed in the museum, while the fishermen community could run the
museum. In addition, training could be provided for the fishermen such that they could
work as tour guides in the museum, offering them more employment opportunities and
at the same time the culture of fishermen could be preserved. How about
demonstrations? Most places in Europe and North America have ‘living museums’ were
people can see how life was lived in the past.
Government Policies
The government has already formulated laws to conserve the marine biology and
environment?. These include destructive fishing practices are prohibited under the
Fisheries Protection Ordinance; Marine fish culture is protected and regulated under the
42
Community-Based
Fisheries
Mangement
in
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/mgroups/success/os2.htm
Phang-Nga
Bay
Thailand,
from
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
13
Marine Fish Ordinance.43 What about the destructive trawling and other fishing practices
they allow, particularly by offshore fishermen.
In light of government policies, we suggest the following three additional policies:
For Coastal and Pelagic Fishery, the government should explore more opportunities
for export and enhance local consumption by conducting research, study and promoting
the local seafood consumption in line with tourism. Moreover, the government should
conduct scientific studies to verify fish resource stocks, spawning seasons and fish
migratory patterns for developing effective management measures. This would be useful
to help fishermen grasp more knowledge in their marine resources and maximize their
catches.
Recreational Fishery should be promoted by waiving the license fees for the local
fishermen so that they can switch to this newly established industry. Who are you talking
about here, the traditional fishermen becoming recreational? If so, fine, but as it stands,
recreational fishing licences aren’t needed in HK and there is a good argument for
bringing them in. However, in order to maintain prevent overexploitation of the marine
resources on which the fishermen large rely, the government should regulate the fishery
by putting in place conservation measures to protect targeted species from over
exploitation e.g. open/closed seasons, size, catch landing, etc.
Legislation and Surveillance should be set to control the size of the fish that can be
caught such that to achieve the balance of biodiversity in the Sai Kung coastal area. In
the model imported from Phang-Nga Bay, a banning of the use of trawls and motorized
push nets within 3km of the shoreline, and within a radius of 400m from any stationary
gear is being applied. Good, but think about how this concept could be integrated with
the rest of your report for clarity and strength of argument. Compliance with the ban is
ensured by a fleet of monitoring patrol boats. Similar policies might apply to Hong Kong
and penalties should be made for violations. In addition, surveillance efforts have to be
put to protect the fishing banks from illegal fishermen off-shore, so as to ensure that the
market share of the fishermen would not be shrunken by any illegal activities. This could
be done by providing security of fishing boats within fishing banks. Are the artificial
reefs that the AFCD has put down one type of enforcement against trawling?
VI. Stakeholder Feedback
1. Strengthening Fishermen Association 44
Regarding this proposal, one of the interviewed fishermen, Mr. Ma, who was a
“Shui Sheung Yan” (Chinese term, meaning people living in the sea), commented
that there is no use to have a reformed association because the fishery industry
would eventually disappear in Sai Kung. However, when we told them that the
use of the association could provide funding for them so that they can switch to
43
44
Fishery Legislation, AFCD, http://www.afcd.gov.hk/fisheries/fish_e.htm
We propose an only fishermen association by combining the joint efforts of all the existing fishermen
associations. Apart from information provision, funding from the government will be centralized and
offered to those who are in need. Moreover, promotion is essential because it will become useless if
the fishermen have no information to access the help.
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
14
other industries, he welcomed the idea. Several other fishermen who also
welcome it if the associations are able to provide funding for them; again, they
indicated that they do not know how to apply for funding.
The Chairman of the Sai Kung Rural Committee, Mr. Lau Wan-hei indicated that,
fishermen often came to seek help from the committee. For instance, after the
reclamation in Sai Kung area, there was a great loss in marine resources. The
fishermen thus went to their office and asked for compensation from the
government. He said, apart from issues related to money, the committee could
usually help. Because they lack fund, the committee could only talk to the
government on behalf of the fishermen. Moreover, as there are already several
fishermen representatives in the rural committee, Mr. Lau thought that it is pretty
enough to provide help for the fishermen. In addition, he said they always try to
do a lot to help the fishermen, but the government do not support their ideas, they
would simply agree with the idea at the first time and do not have further action
on that, they have had a lot of bad experiences like this. Good info.
For the government,45 the representative of AFCD generally does not support a
reformed fishing association because there are many reasons for the formation of
so many associations. From his point of view, the fishermen already have many
channels to communicate with the government, for example, the fishery
representative in District Council, Wong Yung-kan, can help them to talk to the
government. He thought that the fishermen have great negotiation power. Up to
this point, we think there is an “information gap” between the government and
fishermen community; government think that they have provided enough ways for
helping the fishermen while the fishermen think that they are helpless. Is there
any objective measure of what the government has done for the fisherpeople?
E.g. money? Schools? Centralized purchasing, from his opinions, is also not
feasible because the fishermen purchase the equipment from mainland. It is
difficult to purchase in bulk.
Apart from the above comments, the representative said that the role of the
“reformed association” is replicated with the AFCD. For instance, the AFCD is
already responsible for data collection and monitoring the fish stock. There is no
reason to let the new association to takeover their role. Then can he tell you
what it is? He further pointed out that further cooperation with HKUST about the
development of Sai Kung fishery (when did you mention this before?) is not
feasible, as the person who was responsible for the project has left. However, we
think that it is not a very good comment because we can try to find other
cooperation opportunity with different departments. Correct Nevertheless, the
representative said that the government is now providing various kinds of training
for the fishermen, but for various reasons, the fishermen do not attend much.
45
It is very difficult to have an official reply from our proposal unless we send them our work officially but
it takes time for them to comment on that, so here, in this part, although the comment area form the
AFCD, the officials explained that it is just their own comment based on their knowledge in the fishery
industry in Sai Kung.
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
15
From the interview with Mrs. Ho, another fisherman, she told us that they would
like to learn something new but they do not know where to go. So there may be
another gap between the government and the community.
2. Historical Museum of the Fishermen Community
The fishermen community welcomes the idea for two major reasons: first, they
would like to retain the cultural heritage which they regard as part of their lives
and second, which they think is a more important reason, is to attract people to
go to Sai Kung so in turn, they can have economic benefits from it. On this point,
the fishermen are very interested in the location of the Museum. Originally, we
would like to have our museum in the Sai Kung town center; however, some
fishermen like Mrs. Chan, who is engage in boat renting, suggest having the
museum in the outlying islands so that they can rent boat to those visitors. Mrs.
Chan is clever! When we asked about whether they will contribute their stories
and daily necessities that they used when they live in the sea, they are all very
supportive and start telling us the stories they had. They said they would like to
be the “tour guides” to show the visitors about their culture.
Mr. Lau of the Sai Kung Rural Committee told us that the idea of the museum is
very good, but in fact, they had proposed similar ideas to the government several
years ago. They would like to build a Sai Kung Museum in the town center which
also includes the heritage of the fishermen community. They suggest using the
primary school that is no longer being used to build the museum; nonetheless,
they do not have enough money to renovate the building and to operate. The
government does not agree to provide funding for the museum, so they cannot
make their idea come true. Furthermore, he claimed that it is extremely difficult to
cooperate with the HKSAR government because the have to deal with several
stakeholders within the government hierarchies. Mr. Lau thinks that the HKSAR
government46 will not provide funding for our project.
The representative from AFCD thinks that, there are many museums related to
fishermen in Hong Kong and also Macau47. It is not cost effective to have another
museum just for 1000 fishermen in Sai Kung48.
The residents and tourists that we interviewed like the idea very much because
they think that there should be more cultural amenities in Sai Kung. They told us
46
47
48
For example, the Tourism commission, the Environmental protection Department, the planning
department and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. Compared with the time before 1997,
the government had a main district officer who can coordinate the cooperation with the government
and the community who also had the decision making power. It was easier to make the plan into
action.
The Maritime Museum in Macau, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum and the Hong Kong Museum of
History have exhibition about the fishery industry in Hong Kong How big are they? Are they really
comparable with a living museum in its original setting????
The AFCD uses the parameter method to define the “fishermen in Sai Kung”and they got the number
1000.
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
16
that the Sheung Yiu Museum in Sai Kong is very small and they would like
someone to explain the stories behind instead of just walk around the two small
houses and read the information by there own. The two groups of stakeholders
think that the museum not only provide one more choice for them to go but also
can educate the younger generations about the invaluable culture of the fishery
industry. For the location, they suggest building it in the town center as it is more
convenient and could benefits the businesses there.
3. The Multi-purposes Community Centre49
The fishermen like the idea very much because presently, they do not have a
place for regular gathering, those who do not have a job now just wandering
around the pier and meet their old friends. They would like to have a place for
fun. When we suggested having some interest classes for them to attend, they
are very happy with that. They said they want to learn something new as they
think that they become “outdated” and cannot go along with the ever-changing
environment. However, those who change to boat renting told us that, they do not
have extra time for going to the community center, they would like to have more
time to work on their business.
Based on the personal comment, the representative of the AFCD disagrees with
the idea because it is not cost effective for setting up a center foe 1000
fishermen. In the view of the government, whether the project is cost effective is
the most important. What on earth does he mean by cost effective?
Mr. Lau of the Sai Kung Rural committee supports the idea because he also
notices the fading culture and network of the fishermen community. He believes if
the fishermen have more opportunities for gathering, their network can be
strengthened. Nevertheless, he questioned where would be the funding come
from. It would be difficult to operate without the support from the government. He
suggests collecting annual fee from the fishermen so that the community center
could have a stable source of income for operation. Makes sense
4. Conserve the Fishermen Villages50
First of all, there are difference points of views about the appearance of the
villages by different stakeholders. The fishermen think that there is no need to
renovate the village because the villages are already very new in the views. While
the residents think that the villages are too old and they need to be repaired
49
50
It is an inspiration from Phang-Nga (Thailand) case study, where the multi-purpose community
Learning Center was one of the means of increasing participation, and helped in increasing
sustainability of the community.49 The goal is to strengthen the community spirit and joint action,
increase participation in community affairs. Couldn’t the community center and museum be
combined?
There are some fishermen villages scattered around the Sai Kung District, for example, the one in
Kau Sai. These villages are still inhabited by fishermen, but are not well preserved nor promoted for
visitors and tourists. As the restoration of Hung Shing old temple at Kau Sai Chau has shown,
conserving heritage places has positive effects on community. The idea behind this proposal is to
highlight significance of the culture and history of these villages.
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
17
before it is developed into tourist attraction. For the tourists, especially for the
foreigners, they think that the government should not do something new on the
villages; we should just conserve their present appearance. When we asked
about whether develop the villages into tourist attraction will disturb the habitat of
the villagers, all the stakeholders think that it will not. The fishermen believe that
the development could bring in new opportunities for the villagers and they can
earn a living from the project.
The representative of the AFCD said there is no remote village in Sai Kung. He
think that we cannot call those villages where no more fishermen currently doing
fishing as the “fishermen villages”. Because of this, there is no way to do the
conservation job. However, we hear different opinions from Mr. Lau. He regards
the Kau Sai village and Leung Shuen Wan Village as fishermen villages although
most of the fishermen have already retired or turned into other businesses, such
as raft culture and seafood restaurants. Again, he said the government would not
support our plan if we like to have funding from them, but he think that developing
the villages into tourist attraction is work even without the support of the
government. As long as the villages and the boat-renting fishermen can benefit
from the project, everything will be able to work out.
5. New Suggestions from Stakeholders Excellent
The above four proposals are suggested by our group. We aimed at helping the
fishermen to sustain their network (The Reformed Association and the
Community Centre) and earn a living from other kinds of sources (To conserve
and develop the fishermen villages into a tourist attraction and to build a
museum) rather than remain in the fishery industry. After we have conducted
interviews with various stakeholders, we have a better insight of the sector we are
looking at. During our previous studies, we thought that the fishery industry is no
longer sustainable because of decline in marine resources and competition from
imports; so we tried to help the fishermen to do something new.
However, Mr. Ma Muk-chi, the Secretary of South China Research Centre told us
that the fishery industry is sustainable for various reasons. First, the demand for
seafood is very high in Hong Kong, so the industry is very lucrative indeed 51. The
industry is fading just because we try to satisfy the demand by import. If we could
“redevelop local supply” by helping the small fleet to go offshore, the industry is
still sustainable. (See Figure 8 and 9). Putting more pressure on an already over
exploited offshore resource probably will not lead to sustainability, but rather a
even more rapid collapse of the offshore fishery. Second, there are various
precious species in the sea. He pointed out that the fishing industry in Hong Kong
51
The AFCD conducted a research about the feasibility of offshore fishing industry in Hong Kong. They
identified several markets for fish catch; for example, high quality tunas can be exported to Japan
while low quality tunas can be targeted at foreign canneries. As above response to Ma, but
AFCD has actually sent people to the Mainland to learn how to fish offshore.
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
18
in fact go into two directions: Those fishermen who have resources who develop
their business big enough will go offshore to fish, leaving those small fleets who
cannot afford fishing offshore and they will eventually forced to leave the industry
because of fierce competition. What Mr. Ma suggests is, to help the inshore
fishermen to develop their business so that they can also go and fish offshore.
Another alternative is to encourage the inshore fishermen to catch precious
species; it will be a new market niche for them.
From the representative of AFCD and Mr. Ma, our group believe that it is also a
feasible way to help the fishermen. In fact, the government provides a lot of
training courses for the fishermen for free. Though the representative said they
fishermen do not join the courses for various reasons, we think that it is rather a
problem of promotion. Better communication is essential if we would like to help
the fishermen to remain in the fishery industry and go offshore. Moreover, Mr. Ma
Muk-chi said, although the fishermen are not well educated, they are very smart.
In the 60s, the fishermen just spent two years for mechanized fishing. He
believes if we could sustain the lucrative fishery industry, the fishermen will return
to the business again. Mr. Ma added that, it still has a long way to go to help the
small fleets fish offshore. It requires about five to six millions for the small fleet
fishermen to go offshore. Even though the government has loan for the
fishermen, it is not enough. He emphasized that the present situation entails the
participation and cooperation of the fishermen. Unless they become united, it is
very difficult to get enough resources for them to sustain within the industry.
Therefore, the proposal we made to strengthen their network is still very
important in order to redevelop the industry.
We interviewed several fishermen who already left the industry and a few of them
who have turned into boat renting. They are very skeptic about the
redevelopment of the industry. As we mentioned in the previous reports, the
fishermen were very pessimistic about the fishery industry. It is very hard for them
to believe a stagnant industry can revive in someday. They will consider returning
to the fishery industry if they can earn more than the present. Also, from their
experience, fishing is a very dangerous business activity especially going
offshore; they are conservative for this suggestion. Moreover, inshore fishing in
Hong Kong was mainly family based while offshore fishing is mainly commercial
operations that require comprehensive business planning. Therefore, the
fishermen believe they have to be well equipped before they can go offshore.
To conclude the feedback for various stakeholders, we found that there are many
conflicts among them. The government concerns about the cost-effectiveness Do
they really mean cost? of each project, while the rural committee blames the
government for not being supportive at all. The fishermen demand more help
from the government while the government think that they already provide various
means to help the fishermen, Ahhh, but has the government done a analysis of
the costs it imposed on the fisherpeople through its various past acts? it is just
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
19
the problem with the fishermen and they do not participate. From our study, we
found that the cultural heritage indeed could help the fishermen to earn a living
and can also be a part of the tourism development in Sai Kung. We believe that
the ultimate solution is to increase participation of the fishermen and to foster
communication among all the parties. Misunderstandings would result in a waste
of resources and hinder further cooperation among the stakeholders in the future.
Good
VII.
Indicators and Monitoring System
The following indicators are suggested to measure the sustainability of the fishermen
community, they fall in the four aspects again, namely, social, political/institutional,
economic, and environmental.
I.
Social
1. Average Age of Fishermen52
Average age of fishermen is chosen because it measures whether the
fishermen community is sustainable or not. A healthy fishery industry provides
jobs and defines a lifestyle for fishermen. If the fish stocks are high and thus
fishing is seen as a reliable source of income, more young people would
choose fishing as a career, therefore the average age would decrease. This
information could be obtained by surveying fishermen or getting from
government census.
2. Percentage of Fishermen who Feel Good About the Community
This indicator measures how fishermen think about their community. If their
feeling is positive, it means that they feel that they belong to the community,
and try to put effort to maintain it. This information could be obtained through
interviews of fishermen.
II.
Political / institutional
1. Extent of Communication with the Government
As indicated in the stakeholders’ capacities, the representative in District
Council acts as a channel through which fishermen could express their
opinion to the government. Similarly, this could also act as an indicator to
reflect the importance of the community from the viewpoint of the government.
Although at the moment the number of representative in the Functional
Constituents in each industry is fixed, it is not hard to observe that some
industries, obviously in the business sector, often have more channels to
communicate with the top of the government, in a rather hidden agenda. Thus,
if we observe that more communications between the fishery industry and the
government, the fishermen could strive for their benefits through more
channels, and the community is more likely to be sustained. This information
is rather unofficial, and could be obtained from mass media. At the moment,
52
Indicator:
Average
age
of
commercial
fish
harvesters,
http://www.sustainablemeasures.com/Indicators/IS_FishHarvesters.html
available
from
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
20
officially there is only one representative, who is Wong Yung-kan, For the
whole of the fishing industry or Sai Kung in communicating between the
fishermen and the government. What about the District council, both
fisherpeople input and the district council’s ability to do things?
2. Turnout Rate to what?
To a certain extent, this indicator reflects the fishermen’s awareness of the
importance of their community, as it shows that their level expectation of their
community. This information could be obtained from the government, as
indicated in the stakeholders’ capacities part.
3. No. of Fishermen Seeking Help from District Councilor
Similar to the above indicator, this one reflects the fishermen’s expectation of
the ability of their representative. This information could be obtained from the
District Councilor who should have kept a log. Good, but as above
III.
Economic
1. Average Monthly Income
The monthly income, when adjusted by their purchasing power and through
comparisons, could reflect the economic environment in the industry. This
information could be either obtained from direct interviews with the fishermen
or from the government census.
2. Attitudes Towards Future Income
While the above indicator is subject to errors due to the fluctuation of fish price,
another new indicator, although more subjective, could perhaps reflect more
accurately on the financial expectation in the fishermen industry. This ordinal
information on a scale measure could be obtained from surveying fishermen.
IV.
Environmental
1. Amount of Catches Annually
This quantitative information could reflect the water quality which is one major
determinant of fish yield, although many other factors could explain the
changes. This information could be obtained from the Port Survey by AFCD.53
2. Water Pollution Indicators
Various measures such as biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical
oxygen demand (COD) serve to indicate the water pollution problem. This
information could be obtained from various institutes and publications, the
Department of Chemistry at our university is available for this purpose as well.
VIII.
53
Integration and Community
Port
Survey
01/02,
from
AFCD,
from
02/Fisheries%20Port%20Survey%2001web_e.htm
http://www.afcd.gov.hk/fisheries/PortSurvey01-
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
21
Recall the model54 we proposed in the baseline research above, we think that the four
aspects: economic, social, environmental and political aspects affect the fishermen in
some ways so some of them left the fishery industry and turned into other kind of
business activities. Now, we would like to explain how the proposals we made in this
study would affect other sectors, Sai Kung and also to Hong Kong, which are the arrows
pointing out from the center in the above figure.
Fishermen Associations
Apart from helping the fishermen sector, the idea of integrating or reforming existing
associations could help to achieve the three common objectives of Sai Kung system,
including to improve the water quality and maintaining the biodiversity of Sai Kung Bay,
to boost the local economy of Sai Kung area and to strengthen the Sai Kung local
community.
Since a collective fishermen association could help to collect data for monitoring the
fish-stock in Sai Kung bay and to promote and the use of best practices and exchange
information about new techniques, which are locally applicable and environmental
friendly in nature, the overall goal of improving the water quality and maintaining the
biodiversity of Sai Kung Bay could be attained.
The association could act as a collective body to deal and cooperate with other sectors
in Sai Kung area such as the restaurant’s association and the business associations
such that facilitate the cooperation between the fishermen community as well as the
local businesses units. This could help to boost the local economy of Sai Kung area by
making the economic or cooperation more effective and efficient as a whole.
Last but not least, it helps to achieve the goal of strengthening the Sai Kung local
community by grouping the fishermen units and creating a stronger coalition of Sai Kung
community. In fact, the association can help the government to centralize the source of
information about the fishery community in Sai Kung and gather valuable data on
monitoring the fish-stock in Sai Kung bay. It can also help the District Office and other
government departments to access the collective information about fishermen’s needs
and wants such that help the office to access information that needed for the planning of
the district.
The Businessmen in Sai Kung can also be beneficial since they can deal with a
significant buyer of fishing resources, equipment, fuels, boat maintenance services such
that reduce the transaction cost and information cost. To the restaurant owners in Sai
Kung, if the reformed fishery association could help sustain the fishermen community in
Sai Kung area, they may able to access to a more reliable source of seafood so that
they become more competitive in relation to seafood restaurants in other districts in
Hong Kong.
To make a step further, the reformed fishery association could initiate some cooperative
measures with the tourism sectors and hiking sectors to promote the eco-tourism in Sai
Kung area. Undoubtedly, the better the biodiversity and water quality in the Sai Kung
area, the stronger the reputation of Sai Kung as a famous tourist attraction. It does not
54
Refer to Figure 6 in Appendix
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
22
merely improve the local economy in the Sai Kung area but also the economy of overall
Hong Kong.
The Multi-Purpose Community Center
The idea of multi-purpose community learning center could help achieve the common
goal of education on sustainable development among Sai Kung community and improve
the employment situation, as well as the situation of crowded in the area around Sai
Kung area.
Apart form the purpose of facilitating meetings, discussion and recreation for Sai Kung
fishery community, training will be provided for local Sai Kung fishermen in skills needed
to support the community work and skills not related to fishery industry, including trailmanagement, guide work, IT skills and the establishment and operation of small
businesses compatible with, and supportive of, maintenance of the heritage and way of
life. Through the education and promotion from the center, the concept of sustainable
development can be delivered to the fishermen community.
Although the target user is rather limited, the education from the center could help to
improve the employment situation of some elder fishery, which may help to resolve
some social problem in the Sai Kung district.
In addition, there are at least 50-60 elderly fishermen daily staying and meeting in the
area around Sai Kung Pier. The community center could help room this crowd such that
the environment in the area could be more comfortable. Cooperated with tourism
industry, the center may invite fishermen to share their life histories with visitors and
tourism. This can be a valuable asset for the cultural basis tourism in Hong Kong.
Finally, the multi-purpose community center can serve as a living class-rooms providing
workshops about fishermen’s life histories in Sai Kung area for the public. The center
can also develop conservation programs for school-children to tell them the importance
of preserving the heritage in a community and encourage them to participate in
conservation work in their districts or communities. Fishermen can be employed or
invites as guides or sharing workshop speakers. The center therefore can be a priceless
asset of civil and cultural education in Hong Kong. Great
Historical Museum
The historical museum of the fishermen community could be integrated with the tourism
sector. The government would like to develop Sai Kung into the Hong Kong Garden.
Although Hong Kong has been facing economic downturn since 1997, tourism is still a
major economic pillar of Hong Kong. Apart from a very large area that can be used for
water sports, Sai Kung is also full of resources that could be used to develop tourism.
From out interviews with many tourists in Sai Kung, it is proved that museum match their
interest because they are very interested in the cultural heritage of the indigenous
people; However, Sai Kung is lack of such kind of cultural amenities.
Cultural activities and tourism both require the support of comprehensive infrastructure
such as transportation system. If it is too difficult to reach Sai Kung, it will be difficult to
attract tourists. The South East New Territories Development Strategy Review
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
23
Preliminary Development Strategy 55 identifies the need for improving the transport
capacity from Ho Chung to Sai Kung to cope with the future demand. The project
proposed for widening of Hiram's Highway between Marina Cove and Sai Kung Town
has previously been prepared. The Study reviewed the need for the proposed Hiram's
Highway widening scheme and investigated various environmental friendly
transportation (EFT) options for further examination in the future study. It recommends a
comprehensive assessment be conducted with environmentally sustainability being one
of the key considerations when formulating the options for improving Hiram's Highway's
capacity.
The museum is beneficial to Sai Kung in economic point of view. With more people go to
Sai Kung, all kind of business including restaurants and souvenir shop can have more
source of income. It is a good way to sustain the local economy in Sai Kung. With more
tourists going to Sai Kung, the demand for food and other services will be increased. For
example, more tourists going to the seafood restaurants, greater amount of seafood will
be demanded to meet the needs. The restaurants will then purchase seafood form the
local fishermen. Therefore, the integration of our proposal with tourism can have a
synergistic effect which bring in economic activities, preserve the cultural heritage and
also strengthen the transportation network in the Sai Kung Area.
Conservation of Fishery Villages
Another proposal, to conserve and develop the fishermen villages into tourist attraction
has similar way of integration as the museum. In addition to the above, marine
transportation is another area that need to be improved. Currently, the major water
transportation in Sai Kung is Kaito. However, as the tourism continually develops, Kaito
service cannot keep up with the increasing population going to the remote island
including the fishermen villages. Therefore, in order to keep up with the future demand,
better form of water transports should be developed. One of the concerns is water
pollution. Though open more remote areas for tourism can bring in capital and also
increase the awareness of preserve the cultural heritage, water pollution will be direct
consequences. This would in turn affect the local fishermen who depend on the marine
resources. The number of boat in the sea must be regulated to prevent disturbance of
other sector. Areas having significant ecological value will be conserved or enhanced
through extending the planning protection such as proposed extension of Marine Park,
Marine Conservation Area and Fisheries Protection Area.
The fishermen village should be fixed up before it is developed into a tourist attraction.
This fits one of the objectives for the whole Sai Kung system, which is improving the
landmark of Sai Kung. The living environment of the villagers will also be improved
through the project.
Offshore Fishing
The new proposal made by the stakeholders about the revival of the fishery industry in
Hong Kong has greatest impact to the other sectors. Offshore fishing is a matter that not
55
http://www.etwb.gov.hk/boards_and_committees/ace/2001eia/paper022001/index.aspx?langno=
1&nodeid=256
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
24
only affects the local area but also the whole Hong Kong and areas that the fishermen
will go to fish. Within Sai Kung, offshore fishing can stimulate the local economy
because the small-scale fishermen can go offshore and catch more fish and sell the
seafood to the local market. Moreover, as mentioned in the part of stakeholders’
feedback, there are more markets that the fishermen can sell their catches. Because of
this, the problem of over fishing is likely to occur. Therefore, regulations must be used to
prevent depletion of marine resources. The current unemployment problem can also be
improved as mentioned in our baseline report. Many fishermen who cannot continue
their economic activities in the sea due to the reduction of local marine resource can
become economically active again. We cannot sustain their cultural heritage if there are
no more fishermen who engage in fishing. There culture will be faded in some days if all
the fishermen left the industry. To revive the fishery industry does not only help a
community to sustain but also have a multiplier effect to the local economy. The
restaurants can purchase more species at lower price due to increase supply. The
catches can also support the demand of the local residents.
The revival of fishery industry has need of complementary government policies. For
example, the government should be responsible for negotiating with other countries
about the fishing areas. Moreover, because of competing use of resources in the sea
(For example boat renting, sports fishing and commercial fishing), the government and
other stakeholders should plan well beforehand.
From the experience of various projects that failed to implement, we found that
communication and participation among various stakeholders are crucial for success.
We urge the participation of all stakeholders in different sectors to discuss the feasibility
and the cost and benefits of each proposal in order to maintain Sai Kung as a balance
system
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung
IX.
Appendix
Figure 1.
Locations of homeports in Hong Kong. The red area forms the unit of
our studies. The homeports included are Pak Sha Wan/Ma Nam Wat,
Tai Tau Chau/Kai Lung Wan, Leung Shuen Wan, Sai Kung, Kau Sai,
Po Toi O and Hang Hau. (Figure obtained from AFCD, and is modified)
25
Hang Hau
Kau Sai
Leung Shuen Wan
Pak Sha Wan
Ma Nam Wat
Po Toi O
Sai Kung
Tai Tau Chau
Kai Lung Wan
Figure 2.
The homeports in our studies, they are Pak Sha Wan/Ma Nam
Wat, Tai Tau Chau/Kai Lung Wan, Leung Shuen Wan, Sai Kung,
Kau Sai, Po Toi O and Hang Hau. (Figures obtained from AFCD)
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung 27
Figure 3.
The Firing Range indicated in the red outlined area in Sai Kung
waters. (Figure from Xi Gong Lishi yu fengwu, p.137)
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung 28
Figure 4.
Fishermen sell their catches around pier in Sai Kung, this is
illegal. (Our personal shots in October)Why should it be illegal?
Why didn’t you mention this in the body?
Figure 5.
The unpleasant environment around Sai Kung beaches and Sai
Kung waters. (Figures obtained from Marine Rubbish in Hong
Kong, available from
http://www2.netvigator.com/eng/environment/marine/intro.html)
Are the fisher people responsible for this state of affairs?
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung 29
Hong Kong & Mainland
Sai Kung District
Social
Economic
Fishermen in
Sai Kung Area
Envt’l
Figure 6.
Political
Our Model. The sector in the center represents the fishermen
community as our interest. The inward arrows are explained in
the baseline reports, indicating how the four aspects provided pull
and push incentives to drive fishermen to quit their industry.
While the outward arrows are explained in the integration part to
indicator how the sustainability of the fishermen community would
affect the Sai Kung development as a whole.
Exhibit 1 Fishermen’s associations in Sai Kung District
Sai Kung District Fishermen's Better Living Co-operative Society, Limited
Sai Kung Fishermen Association Limited
Sai Kung Fishermen's Credit Co-operative Society, Unlimited
Sai Kung Small Long Liner and Gill Net Fishermen's Credit Co-operative Society, Unlimited
Sai Kung Tai Tau Chau Fish Culture Business Association
Sai Kung Luen Hing Fishermen's Better Living Co-operative Society, Limited
Sai Kung (North) Sham Wan Marine Fish Culture Business Association
Sai Kung Po Toi O Fish Culture Business Association
Source: Civil Service Bureau http://www.csb.gov.hk/hkgcsb/ol/netglos/af/v17_s.htm
Figure 7.
Fishermen’s associations in Sai Kung District
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung 30
Figure 8.
Offshore fishing Grounds of the Four Most Developed Fishing
Countries/Economics (Orange-Mainland China; Blue-Taiwan,
China; Purple-Japan; and Yellow-Korea)
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung 31
Figure 9.
Potential Fishing Grounds for Hong Kong Fishermen
Reference
Ma Muk-chi (2003). 西貢歷史与風物 (Xi Gong Lishi yu fengwu) [香港] : 西貢區議會
(This is the major text for our baseline reports, the other references are cited in
footnotes separately.)
SOSC562 Sustainable Development – The Fishermen Community in Sai Kung 32
Dear FisherFolk:
This is an impressive study. I appreciate the amount of work, the number of
people you talked to and especially the thought you put into it and the way you
dealt with ambiguity and contradictions. I learned a lot.
A few comments in terms of style and substance.
Generally, you have done a pretty good job of integrating the various elements
of the project. Your baseline and community sections are especially good. But
as noted through the text there are a few places where you could have used a
concept or fact introduced in one place to strengthen discussions in other
places and to strengthen the argument and clarity of the overall project.
The issue you have not dealt with much is simply that of the environment.
Although in class you said that the fisher people’s environmental awareness is
not great, you have not really followed up on the consequences of that, of
remedies for it, or of the potential benefits of raising awareness. Similarly, the
government seems to be to blame for much of the environmental damage, both
because of inaction to regulate development, overfishing, damming, firing
ranges, etc. and for rather modest attempts to improve things. You could have
drawn out the relationship between this culpability and the fisher people’s
present situation.
Related to the environment above is the issue of offshore fishing. As proposed
and subsidized by the government, this is a callous evasion of responsibility for
destroying the fish resource at home. Although other countries certainly do it,
there is now a strong realization of the decline of the world’s fisheries and the
need to reform offshore fishing practices. The introduction of an offshore
fishery to Sai Kung at this point is not only environmentally destructive, but in
terms of ‘building’ a future for the fisher people deceptive and definitely
unsustainable.
Because of the need to deal with the environmental issue (which you
could have delegated responsibility to one member for) more thoroughly, I can’t
be as overwhelmingly positive on your mark as I would like to be. However, I
congratulate you on an excellent job.
Mark: A-