The Current Status and Potential Sustainable Development of the Aquaculture Industry in Hong Kong
metric tonnes6 and in 2002 at HK$ 57 million (Table 3). In 1995, less than 23% of live marine fish consumed in Hong Kong were produced by the local mariculture industry. Most of the licensed mariculturists were small in scale (less than 300 square metres) and family-based (Wilson, 1997). At present, there are 26 FCZs located in Hong Kong (Table 4); however most culture operations are not operating at full capacity and there has been a marked reduction in culture activities since 2000 (Sadovy & Lau, 2002). Economic value of mariculture in China In China, mariculture production (mainly shellfish, fish, shrimp, crab and seaweed) increased 9-fold from 1,246,500 metric tonnes in 1985 to 11,315,000 metric tonnes in 2001. There were more than 1 million cages used along Chinese coastal waters, mostly located in Guangdong Province (over 300,000 cages), Fujian Province (600,000-700,000 cages), Zhejiang Province (75,000 cages), Shandong Province (20,000 cages) and other coastal regions. From 1999 to 2001, the average annual production of Shandong Province (2,873,600 metric tonnes, 27.22% of the total) and Fujian Province (2,590,702 metric tonnes, 24.54% of the total) accounted for over 50% of the total mariculture production in China (Yang et al, 2005). At this time China was also playing a leading role in producing 26,790 tonnes of groupers (one kind of high value fish species), representing just over half of the total global production of the fish (around 52,000 tonnes at a value of about US$238 million, which was only US$120 million in 2002) (FAO/FD, 2005). Although the grouper culture industry provides important socioeconomic benefits to coastal communities throughout the Asia-Pacific region7, it was a concern that the majority (more than 60%) of cultured grouper came from grow-out8 operations using wild-caught juvenile fish and were mostly fed with wild fish (Sadovy & Lau, 2002).
6
The abrupt decline in 1998 might be due to the red tide episode and the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997/1998. 7 Backyard grouper hatcheries in Bali have internal rates of return of 12% to 356%. Grow-out of grouper in cages and ponds in the Philippines brings returns on investment of 59% and 82%, respectively. 8 Small juvenile fish are grown in cages to market size.
9