Continue to support the development of local aquaculture business

Fresh seafood is always popular with Hong Kong people. Dried seafood, however, is regarded as a precious traditional ingredient by ordinary families and is only served in festivals due to its price and long and complicated preparation process. Fish maw, which is one of the four premium dried seafood products alongside abalone, sea cucumber and shark's fin, is made from the swim bladder of fish. According to traditional wisdom, fish maw is not only tasty but also good for health, and white fish maw is the most valuable of its kind.

Today, I visited a white flower croaker farm on Lantau Island together with the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man; the Legislative Council Member from the Agriculture and Fisheries Functional Constituency, the Honourable Steven Ho Chun-yin; and the Chairman of the Hong Kong Fishermen Consortium, Mr Cheung Siu-keung. The white flower croakers there are raised mainly for their swim bladders, which are used to produce high-value white fish maw. To better utilise the aquaculture system, the farm also rears groupers and pompanos together with the white flower croakers.

Located in Cheung Sha Wan, Northern Chi Ma Wan Peninsula, the farm was set up in 2014 by fishermen affected by the trawl ban. In the 2013 Policy Address, I announced the establishment of a $500 million Sustainable Fisheries Development Fund. Subsidised by the Fund, the farm uses - for the first time in Hong Kong - enclosure net cages extending from the water surface down to the seabed to rear white flower croakers. The white flower croakers are new to Hong Kong as well.

The farm operator told me that, besides new techniques and new fish species, the project also involved a high time cost. Take white flower croakers as an example. It takes at least three years before the fish fry is mature enough for swim bladder collection. Therefore, government support is essential to enhancing the competitiveness and sustainable development of the farm. If this project succeeds, I think it will set a useful example for the entire aquaculture and fisheries sector.

I always attach great importance to local fisheries development. Besides this marine fish farm, I also visited a high-tech indoor giant grouper farm in Lau Fau Shan and a large fish farm rearing mainly grey mullets in Yuen Long. I can see the promising future of the fisheries industry and the determination and commitment of the sector. The Government will continue to give its support and work with the sector to add value to the industry. By doing so, we can provide Hong Kong people with more quality local aquatic products and support a rich diversity of industries in Hong Kong.

The Chief Executive, together with the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, visited a fish farm on Lantau Island today and was briefed by a colleague from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department on how the Sustainable Fisheries Development Fund had supported the farm. The white flower croakers there are raised mainly for their swim bladders, which are used to produce high-value fish maw.		This three-year-old white flower croaker, weighing over four catties, is mature enough for swim bladder collection.
The swim bladder collected will be used to produce fish maw, and the fish body can be used to make salted fish by sunning.		The operator explained the operation of the fish farm.

January 22, 2017