THESOURTHERNLEGEND ON THE BOAT - COMMUNITY AMBASSADOR PROGRAME

What Are

RECREATIONAL FISHERIES?

Recreational fisheries are new types of fisheries that combine with recreation to provide a full range of products and services through effective reorganization and reallocation of fishery resources, including fishing villages, fishery production resources, fishing methods and gear, fishery products and related goods, fishery ecology, humanities resources, and more, to integrate the fishing industry with leisure, tourism, ecological construction, cultural heritage, popular science and the food industry.

(Source: Management Measures of Guangdong Province on Recreational Fisheries)

Characteristics of Recreational Fisheries

1 Utilization of fishery resources for product and service development

2 Supply of products and services for leisure purposes

3 Emphasis on the fishing element, for example, fishing villages, fishing industry, fishing culture, fishing methods and gears, fishery products, etc.

Main Types of Recreational Fishing Activities in Hong Kong

~~ Fishery experience programs (Fisherfolk cultural sharing, fisherfolk cultural and ecological guided tours, fish raft visits, demonstration of fishing operations, fish market visits, etc.)

~~ Boat trips by fisherfolk to go boat fishing, squid fishing, boat tours, etc.

~~ Recreational fishing experience on fish rafts; fishing village visits to understand and experience fisherfolk culture

~~ Fisheries Hall and Fishermen Museum visits

~~ Fish farm visits

Main Categories of Recreational Fisheries in Mainland China

~~ Recreational fishing (boat fishing and pond fishing)

~~ Fisherfolk cuisine

~~ Fishery experience programs

~~ Fisherfolk culture (fishing village and fishing port visit, fisheries museum visit, fisherfolk festivals)

~~ Popular science of fishing

~~ Recreational fisheries activities on sea ranches

~~ Ornamental fish keeping and watching

Advantages of Developing

Recreational Fisheries in Hong Kong

Profound fisherfolk history and culture

~~ Multifarious styles of fishing ports and fishing villages (such as Aberdeen, Cheung Chau, Sai Kung, Tai O, etc.)

~~ A phenomenal amount of coastline and more than 200 islands

~~ Distinctive features of the geography and hydrology of different waters in the territory, with different marine habitats that contain rich fishery resources

~~ Huge potential for new recreational development, such as boat tours, due to the existing marine parks and geopark

(Source: Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department)

With the aim of promoting the fisherfolk culture in the Southern District by transforming enthusiastic kaifongs into community ambassadors, The Southern Legend on the Boat - Community Ambassador Program (SLB) was successfully held in the spring of 2023. It received an overwhelming response, attracting participants not only from the local area but also from other districts. Nearly 20 ambassadors learned field research and interview skills in the four-session training and explored the unique fisherfolk culture firsthand with the local fishing community.

In the first training session, our soon-to-be ambassadors already showed their sense of mission towards cultural inheritance. During a discussion of reasons to document and preserve fisherfolk culture, “Fisherfolk culture is the representation of Aberdeen!”, the group collectively agreed. The precious fragments of history would be disappeared if no one passes on the fisherfolk stories. This concern became their strong driving force to work on records of fisherfolk stories.

In order to document fisherfolk-related stories effectively, interacting with the fishing community and experiencing the neighborhood personally are the most direct ways. Our ambassador apprentices were divided into teams with different research topics: Aberdeen Typhoon Shelters, Then and Now; Fisherfolk-Related Temples; and Fisherfolk’s Food Culture. They interviewed kaifongs across various industries, including fishmongers of fish stalls in Aberdeen and Ap Lei Chau, salesmen of dried seafood shops, and staff of temples in the Southern District, for the purpose of understanding their involvement and what they have seen and heard in the fisherfolk community.

Our ambassadors enjoyed the training and benefited a lot from the experience. These are their sharing after finishing the program:

~ “I’m so glad that got to meet other kaifongs who are interested in fisherfolk culture and promote Aberdeen’s fisherfolk culture together.”

~ “I’ve been living in Ap Lei Chau for many years, so I know most places we did field studies. But never talked to the business owners there to understand their situations and needs before. I’m happy I had the opportunity to do this and re-discover the unique fisherfolk culture in the community during the field studies.”

~ “I was timid and would never take the initiative to chat with shop owners and staff. I’m grateful we could partner up in the team to do field research together. feel like now have more courage to talk to people in the neighborhood.”

Kaifongs being encouraged to document community stories through methods of field research is a happy outcome of the community training program. The soul of a neighborhood lies in the members within. With the influence of their social networks and love towards the community, kaifongs, who are familiar with the environment, history and changes in the area, own the power to inspire others and raise public awareness on topics such as fisherfolk culture.

After training, our SLB Community Ambassadors are ready to promote fisherfolk culture by discovering more interesting stories through curiosity and enthusiasm. They may meet up with you in other activities by The Fisher in the near future! If you are interested in being a part of our ambassador team and promoting the fisherfolk culture in the Southern District together, please email thefisher@kaifongtour.com to talk with us.

徵集漁家故事 Needed Now – Fisherfolk Stories

如果你保存了南區、水上人、漁民的舊照片、物件、故事， 希望你可跟我們分享，令珍貴的社區文化得以保留及傳承。

我們會將收集到的珍品，記錄並與公眾分享。

To preserve and inherit the precious community culture, you are invited to share photos, objects and stories about the Southern District, “water communities” and fisherfolk with us. We will record, organize and share the valuable collected materials with the public.