Fishermen on Lantau island in Hong Kong on Monday voiced concern over the possibility of huge losses, after tons of plastic pellets were spilled in the wake of typhoon Vicente two weeks ago. The fishermen say wholesalers at Aberdeen stopped taking their fishes after the mishap came to light.
Cheng Siu-wah, chairman of Cheung Chau Offshore Islands Fisheries Group, demanded that the government clarify whether the fishes are safe to sell and whether the plastic pellets are likely to affect the fishes’ growth and who should be held responsible if it does affect the fishes’ growth.
Cheng, who owns an 800-square-meter fish farm, said he is losing HK$10,000 to HK$20,000 every day after the fishes were rejected at the wholesale market and he had to hire manpower to clean up the pellets.
“The number of pellets found today has declined significantly compared to two days ago,” Cheng said on Monday.
Cheng complained the government has been slow in reacting to the incident and informing the fishermen. He demanded the government move more quickly to deal with the incident.
Cheng said the fishermen didn’t know about the pellet spill until August 3 when they read it in newspapers; days after the spill was exposed by a blogger on July 26.
Chi Ma Wan has about 60 fish farms, involving about 15,000 square meters. Cheng said for small size fish farms, the loss will be around HK$1,000 to HK$2,000 a day.
“We can’t sustain long with this kind of loss. We can endure one or two weeks at the most,” said Cheng.
There are about 79 tons of plastic pellets still floating on the sea. According to Cheng, about a ton of the plastic pellets have been retrieved from the fish farms. Cheng said he believed some fish have eaten the pellets, which are not easy to digest, and that they have refused to eat their regular food.
Though the danger posed by the pellets is unknown, Cheng said he worries that small fish may choke on the pellets and die. He also said he was concerned that the pellets will absorb toxic materials after floating on the sea for a long time. In that case, fishes that swallow the pellets will be poisoned, added Cheng.
Cheng said two kinds of fishes, cobia and yellow tail fish, which are normally active during feeding, have lost their appetite. Both fishes are common cuisine among Hong Kong people.
Cheung Siu-keung, chairman of Hong Kong Fishermen Consortium, called on the government to allay fears among the public about eating fish as soon as possible.
Cheung said people fear the fishes may be poisoned after media coverage of the incident. It has affected the sales of fishes and therefore, we should know who will be responsible for fishermen’s losses, added Cheung.
The price of the fish has declined one-third after the incident. Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man called on the fishermen to contact the Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department if any abnormal fishes are detected.
Ko said samples will be taken from the fish farms to check the affect of the pellets in the fishes. The Centre for Food Safety on Monday also started inspecting fish stands that sell local fishes.
Ko appealed to fishermen to stop selling the fishes that are possibly affected by the pellets. He warned amateur fishermen to be cautious about the plastic pellets.
China Daily Information Co (CDIC)