Appendix 5.1	Photographs of Fishponds in Nam Sang Wai Site
Appendix 5.2	Photographs of Fishponds in Lut Chau Site
Appendix 5.3	Photographs of Fishponds in the 500m Assessment Area

Glossary

AFCD	Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department
AFFS	Accredited Fish Farm Scheme
CDWE	Comprehensive Development with Wetland Enhancement
CMP	Conservation and Management Plan
D.O	Dissolved Oxygen
EIA	Environmental Impact Assessment
EIAO	Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance
EIAO-TM / TM-EIAO	Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process
KTMDC	Kam Tin Main Drainage Channel
LC	Lut Chau
LCNR	Lut Chau Nature Reserve
mPD	metres above the Hong Kong Principal Datum
NSW	Nam Sang Wai
NSW WEA	Nam Sang Wai Wetland Enhancement Area
OZP	Outline Zoning Plan
SSSI	Site of Special Scientific Interest
WPCO	Water Pollution Control Ordinance

5 Fisheries Impact

5.1 Introduction

5.1.1 This fisheries impact assessment has been carried out to identify, qualify and quantify potential fisheries impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project. The criteria and guidelines listed in Annex 9 and Annex 17 of the EIAO-TM are referred to. Fisheries impacts refer to the impacts to culture fisheries within the Project Site and the 500m Assessment Area.

5.2 Legislation, Standards and Guidelines

5.2.1 The relevant legislations, standards, and guidelines applicable to the present study for the assessment of fisheries impact assessment are:

● Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO) (Cap. 499);

● Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process (TM-EIAO), Annexes 9 & 17;

● Marine Fish Culture Ordinance (Cap. 353);

● Fisheries Protection Ordinance (Cap.171); and

● Water Pollution Control Ordinance (WPCO) (Cap. 358).

5.3 Assessment Methodology

5.3.1 The Fisheries Impact Assessment provides the following information in accordance with the EIA-Study Brief:

● Description of the physical environmental background;

● Description and quantification of the existing culture fisheries activities;

● Description and quantification of the existing culture fisheries resources;

● Identification of parameters (e.g. water quality parameters) and areas of culture fisheries importance;

● Prediction and evaluation of any direct/ indirect and on-site/ off-site impacts on culture fisheries such as permanent loss or temporary occupation of fishponds, deterioration of water quality in fishponds and any surrounding water courses, hydrological disruptions and drawn-down of water table, and disruption or disturbance of pond culture related activities, and impacts to oyster culture areas;

● Evaluation of cumulative impacts on culture fisheries particularly aquaculture sites and aquaculture production in the North-west New Territories;

● Proposal of practicable alternatives and mitigation measure to avoid or minimize the potential impacts;

● When significant residual impacts on culture fisheries are identified after mitigation or when the impacts are permanent and irreversible (such as loss of aquaculture sites or production identified to be due to the Project), proposal of an adequate package of measures to fully compensate for such impacts with details on justification, description of scope and programme feasibility as well as staff and financial implications including those related to the subsequent management and maintenance requirements of the package. Among other measures, the need for reinstatement of temporarily occupied fishponds and compensation for permanently lost ones should be covered; and

● Review of the need for monitoring during construction and operation phases of the Project and, if necessary, proposal of a monitoring and audit programme.

5.3.2 Literature review and internet search have been conducted to assess the baseline status of culture fisheries and capture fisheries within the Assessment Area as well as the territory. Literatures, websites and approved EIA reports reviewed include:

● Report on Port Survey 2016/17 (AFCD 2018);

● AFCD Annual Reports (1997 - 2022);

● EIA-269/2021 – Yuen Long Barrage Scheme (Binnies 2021);

5.3.3 In addition to the desktop survey, site visits supplemented with drone surveys were undertaken from January to July 2022 to investigate actual fisheries status within the Assessment Area. Focused surveys were conducted at all accessible ponds (excluding long-abandoned, overgrown ponds) in the Project Site (Nam Sang Wai (NSW) and Lut Chau (LC)) to inspect the physical conditions of ponds and status of fisheries activity and collect water quality baseline information. Fisheries operations, such as stocking, feeding and harvesting, the presence of equipment or devices related to fisheries operation, and signs of maintenance of fishpond bunds were recorded. Activities related to culture fisheries were also recorded. Where possible, local villagers, fish farmers and pond operators were interviewed to collect information on fisheries operation practices. Such information on the Project Site was mainly collected through an interview with Mr. Lai Loy Chau, a member of Hong Kong New Territories Fish Culture Association and the operator of more than ten fishponds in LC and three fishponds in NSW.

5.3.4 The status of ponds within the Assessment Area was investigated with reference to latest satellite images and aerial photographs and supplemented by site visits where necessary. All ponds within the Assessment Area were mapped. Photographs of the fishponds are shown in Appendices 5.1 to 5.3.

5.3.5 Based upon observations during site surveys, ponds are categorised as follows:

● Active: currently utilised for aquaculture activities, including fishponds, fish fry ponds and water flea ponds;

● Inactive: no current aquaculture activities, but no major physical constraints to its resumption in the short-term, including ponds with fish present in non-commercial quantities and ponds used for casual sport fishing or water sports; and

● Abandoned: ponds in which there is physical evidence that aquaculture has not taken place for many years (typically ponds overgrown with vegetation) and/or where there are obvious physical constraints to the resumption of fisheries activity (for example, ponds which are fenced off and thus inaccessible); concreted ornamental ponds are also included in this category.

5.4 Fisheries Baseline Conditions

Pond Fish Culture

Literature Review

5.4.1 Pond fish culture has long been practised in the New Territories. Traditionally, only primarily freshwater and brackish water species, such as Bighead Carp, Edible Goldfish, Grass Carp, Mud Carp, Flathead Mullet and Nile Tilapia, are farmed. However, in recent years, certain high-value marine species such as Giant Grouper, Yellowfin Seabream and Spotted Scat have also been cultured in diluted seawater by fish farms close to the coast (e.g. near Mai Po).

5.4.2 To help local fish farms to develop, AFCD has introduced new aquaculture species (i.e. Jade Perch) to Hong Kong, and launched the “Accredited Fish Farm Scheme” (AFFS). Under this scheme, products from registered fish farms are “accredited” by AFCD, and can be marketed under the unique brand name of the scheme. The department believes that this scheme can make local aquaculture products “stand out by branding”.

5.4.3 Several fish farms culture new species and AFCD has conducted promotional work; according to the data extracted from AFCD’s website and AFCD’s annual reports, the production of pond fish in Hong Kong has stabilised in recent years.

5.4.4 In 2023, the local inland ponds, covering an area of approximately 1,130ha, produced 1,052 tonnes of freshwater fish valued at $28 million. About 92% of the farms are engaged in polyculture (Bighead Carp, Grass Carp, Common Carp and Silver Carp in combination with Tilapia or Grey Mullet). The remaining 8% practise monoculture of carnivorous species such as Giant Grouper, Seabream and Spotted Scat in brackish fishponds near to the coast. Most fry and fingerlings used to stock fishponds are imported from Mainland China and Taiwan although some Grey Mullet fry are caught in local coastal waters. Traditionally, fry are stocked in early spring and most fish species reach marketable size in eight to twelve months.

5.4.5 Annual pond fish production and fishpond area in the territory are listed in the Table 5.1 below.

Table 5.1: Annual Pond Fish Production and Fishpond Area

Year	Pond Fish Production (tonne)	Fishpond Area (ha)	Overall Pond Fish Production Rate (kg/ha/year)
1997	5000	1125	4444
1998	4900	1110	4414
1999	4500	1094	4113
2000	2817	1060	2657
2001	2550	1059	2407
2002	1989	1030	1931
2003	2114	1029	2054
2004	1977	1026	1927
2005	1897	1026	1849
2006	1943	1024	1897
2007	1927	1160	1661
2008	2266	1160	1953
2009	2105	1160	1814
2010	2190	1109	1975
2011	2315	1130	2049
2012	2244	1149	1953
2013	2187	1150	1902
2014	2001	1140	1755
2015	2092	1140	1835
2016	2543	1135	2241
2017	2543	1132	2246
2018	2536	1132	2240
2019	2278	1131	2014
2020	2516	1130	2227
2021	2926	1130	2589
2022	2073	1129	1836
2023	1,052	1130	931

Physical Environment

Location, Topography and Hydrology

5.4.6 The 500m Assessment Area lies within the Deep Bay Area in the North-west New Territories. The Project Site is situated in the lower part of the Kam Tin River catchment. This is a relatively large catchment receiving water from surrounding hillsides including Tai Mo Shan, Kai Kung Leng and Tai Lam Country Park. As is typical of a floodplain, the topography of the Study Area is generally rather flat, although certain areas (most notably the embankments of the channelised rivers) have been raised by landfilling for construction and/or as flood defences for local villages. The Assessment Area is largely comprised of fishponds, including those under active management and some which have been abandoned for a few years. These fishponds largely function as closed systems which do not receive water from any source other than rainfall. Both NSW and LC were previously managed largely as shrimp ponds (gei wai), these were converted to freshwater fishponds in the late twentieth century. Ponds vary in size but are broadly rectangular in shape varying from c. 0.6ha to 1.5ha in area (for active fishponds in NSW), and c. 0.5 ha to 1.8ha (for active fishponds in LC) respectively, with a depth of approximately 2 m throughout. Bunds separate ponds, and the amount of vegetation varies according to seasonality, management activities and the requirement for vehicular access on bunds. The levels on the top of bunds are largely in the range of +3.3 to +3.7 mPD.

5.4.7 NSW and LC are surrounded by tidal rivers and creeks with extensive stands of mangroves. Perimeter bunds (+3.3 to +3.7 mPD) are above the mean high-water mark (+2.74 mPD) and the site is generally free from tidal incursions (several ponds at NSW are partially tidal and one pond at LC has an inactive intertidal sluice). Flood prevention measures adopted in the area include the channelization of many local watercourses, including the Kam Tin River, which was channelized in the 1990s creating the KTMDC and which led to the loss of fishponds immediately to the north of NSW. The KTMDC is a large open channel with strong tidal influence from Deep Bay, with tidal mudflats in the lower reaches. No stream or river channelization has occurred in the immediate vicinity of LC.

Land Status

5.4.8 Approximately 62.8% of NSW and 38.6% of LC are owned by the Project Proponent. The areas surrounding the private land are all government land (as shown in Figure 5.1). All fishponds on government land or private land (owned by the Project Proponent) are operated under lease contracts.

Current Site Conditions

5.4.9 NSW includes ponds which are actively managed for fish farming activities, inactive ponds, and fishponds which have long been abandoned, and are overgrown with wetland vegetation including exotic invasive species. Some abandoned fishponds surrounding the proposed Development Site were filled during the channelisation works for the KTMDC and converted into plantation or grassland. These areas are subject to a high level of human disturbance from visitors participating in leisure activities such as photography, cycling and recreational drone flying.

5.4.10 Around those ponds at LC and NSW that are actively managed for fish production the physical environment is generally poor due to improper management practices and unauthorized activities. These include the storage of materials unrelated to fisheries (abandoned vehicles, containers, construction materials, general waste), illegal dumping of toxic materials and construction waste, burning of waste, suction dredging of fishponds into adjacent creeks connected to Deep Bay, and the destruction of mangroves to expand fishponds. The latter is particularly destructive, and an analysis of aerial photographs has shown that between 2005 and May 2021, approximately 4.1ha of mangrove (some of which is within the Core Area of the Ramsar Site) have been destroyed at LC. Details are provided in Annexes A and B of the CMP. These non-fisheries related activities bring additional disturbance to the fishponds and this is exacerbated by the large numbers of free-roaming dogs present.

Water Quality

5.4.11 Fishponds in the Project Site rely on rainwater as their water source. During winter and when ponds are drained, water is pumped to other ponds for storage. Water levels change throughout the seasons due to rainfall and variable evaporation rates. There are no apparent point sources of pollutants (e.g. pig farms or industrial operations) close to the site. Results of water quality sampling conducted at accessible ponds in NSW and LC are summarised in Table 5.2 below. These data suggest that water quality of the assessed ponds is generally in accordance with the recommendations by AFCD (2009).

Table 5.2: Results of Water Quality Sampling at Ponds in Project Site

Average Value of Water Quality Parameters in Ponds in Project Site
Location	Active Fishponds			Inactive Fishponds
Location	pH	D.O (mg/L)	Salinity (g/L)	pH	D.O (mg/L)	Salinity (g/L)
Recommended Levels by AFCD	6 – 8.5	4 or above	No guidelines	6 – 8.5	4 or above	No guidelines
NSW	5.82	6.07	1.73	4.60	7.12	6.68
LC	7.09	6.37	2.76	6.55	7.00	5.31

Current Status of Pond Fish Culture – Survey Findings

5.4.12 The status of each pond within the Assessment Area is shown in Figure 5.1. Approximately 17.6% of the Assessment Area comprises active fishponds (including temporarily drained/ dry ponds). Approximately 12.1% of NSW and 63.7% of LC are occupied by active fishponds (including temporarily drained/ dry ponds).

Table 5.3: Status and Area (ha) of Ponds within the Assessment Area

Category	Fisheries Status in 500m Assessment Area	Area (ha)
		Project Site		500m Assessment Area
		NSW	LC	500m Assessment Area
Active	Fishponds for aquaculture in operation	13.48	34.19	119.65
Active (Dry)	Fishponds for aquaculture in operation	1.30	1.14	8.08
Inactive	No fish production or production is not in a commercial manner)	4.72	2.31	63.23
Abandoned	Fenced/ abandoned/ overgrown/ not for fisheries purpose	70.76	0	99.44
Bund	-	13.82	7.81	78.63
Non-pond Area	-	17.78	10.01	356.77
Total		121.86	55.45	725.80

5.4.13 According to the discussions with the fishpond operator Mr. Lai, fish farming practices in the Project Site are like those practiced elsewhere in the Deep Bay area. Traditionally, fish farming practices include pond preparation (drying out ponds and fertilizing), acquisition and stocking of fish fry (with nutrient enrichment of ponds), rearing (generally from February to October), harvesting (lowering the water level to harvest, generally between November and February or dependent on market demand), and pond management in winter (drying out ponds and reworking of bunds as needed). Common fish species reared in polyculture in the Project Site include Grass Carp, Grey Mullet, Edible Goldfish, Jade Perch, Bighead Carp and Tilapia. Some ponds are used for culture of shrimp species such as Giant Tiger Prawn, Whiteleg Shrimp, Japanese Tiger Prawn/Kuruma Shrimp. At the time of interview (January 2022), Mr. Lai had three staff for the operation of up to 15 fishponds in LC, and one staff for the operation of three fishponds in NSW. Fishpond staff occasionally work and support different sites during harvesting and when managing fishpond bunds. Occasionally, Mr Lai requires one or two additional staff during harvesting.

5.4.14 Other information including culture period, fish fry sources, food sources and wholesale price (Mr. Lai pers. Comm.) are provided in Table 5.4 and on shrimp culture in Table 5.5 below.

Table 5.4: Fish Culture Information in Project Site

Culture Species	Culture Period	Fish Fry Size & Source	Food Source	Wholesale Price (HK$)
Grass Carp 草鯇	1 – 1.5 years	30 cm	Mainly grain pellet (China & Vietnam)	$ 16-17 / kan (斤)
Grey Mullet烏頭	1 – 1.5 years	1 inch (2.5 cm); China, Japan, Taiwan	● Fish grain (instant noodle, Tai Po) ● Bread ● Grain pellets (China / Vietnam)	$25 / kan (斤)
Edible Goldfish 白鯽	/	1 kan (斤); China		$ 20 / kan (斤)
Jade Perch 寶石魚	7-8 months	1.5 inches (4 cm); China		$30-40 / kan (斤)
Bighead Carp 大頭魚	7-8 months	1 kan (斤);		> $ 10 / kan (斤)
Tilapia 福壽魚 / 羅非魚	/	N/A; Local		> $ 10 / kan (斤)

Table 5.5: Shrimp Culture Information in Project Site

Culture Species	Culture Period	Wholesale Price (HK$)
Shrimp spp. (金剛蝦)	5-6 months	$ 100 / kan (斤)
Giant Tiger Prawn (草蝦)	5-6 months	$ 80-100 / kan (斤)
Whiteleg Shrimp (南美白蝦)	3 months	$ 40 / kan (斤); 14-20 individuals per kan
Japanese Tiger Prawn/Kuruma Shrimp (斑節蝦)	5-6 months	$ 80-100 / kan (斤)

5.4.15 Data on total production (in terms of total weight) and market value raised at the Project Site are not available. Productivity and profitability of fish farms in the Project Site or the wider Assessment Area are likely to be highly variable between operators. According to the updated data of annual production of local inland ponds in Hong Kong in 2023, the average annual production in 2023 is approximately 0.93 tonnes/ha (amounting HK$24,779/ha) of active fishponds. Based on this information and the areas of active fishponds recorded in the Project Site under this Study, potential annual yield of active fishponds is therefore broadly estimated to be 13.76 tonnes (amounting to HK$370,000) in NSW, and 32.89 tonnes (amounting to HK$880,000) in LC respectively.

Other Forms of Aquaculture

5.4.16 No other forms of aquaculture such as marine fish culture or oyster culture were identified within or near the Assessment Area.

Capture Fisheries

5.4.17 As the Project is inland, no capture fisheries were identified within or near the Assessment Area.

5.5 Impact Identification and Evaluation

Construction Phase – Direct Impacts

5.5.1 Potential sources of direct impacts on pond fisheries during the construction phase of the Project may include direct loss of aquaculture ponds and/or temporary occupation or suspension of operation of fishponds, impacts to bund stability of adjacent ponds, water seepage, blockage of access to fishponds, disruption of hydrology and deterioration of water quality or degradation of the environmental conditions of fishponds.

Direct Impacts from Loss of Aquaculture Ponds

5.5.2 As required under OZP in the OU(CDWEA1) zone, the residential development is proposed to be developed together with the Site of Special Scientific Interest (1) (SSSI(1)) zone on the Mai Po and Fairview Park OZP at LC in a comprehensive and integrated manner. In addition, again as required under the OZP, the development scheme for the Project includes a Conservation and Management Plan (CMP) NSW WEA and the LCNR. According to the Town Planning Appeal Board’s (TPAB) decision dated 31 December 2021, a Nature Reserve at Lut Chau for the benefit of wildlife was considered to provide greater ecological value and functions than fishponds managed solely for commercial fisheries. Under the scheme proposed in this submission, LC will be converted into a Nature Reserve to conserve and enhance the ecological value of the site as the primary objective. This accords with the requirements of the OZP.

5.5.3 From a purely wildlife management perspective, converting all the fishponds to conservation wetland and ending all culture fisheries is preferable; indeed, this is the approach adopted in application No. A/YL/NSW/242 which was approved, as noted above, by the TPAB with conditions on 31 December 2021. However, such an approach would have a considerable impact to culture fisheries. To mitigate for this potential loss the following mitigation measures are proposed:

● The retention of culture fisheries at NSW covering an area of 14.78ha.

● Culture fisheries operations in 10.75ha of currently inactive/ abandoned ponds at NSW will be resumed.

● Some of the active fishponds (10.28ha in total) in the eastern portion of LC will be retained for culture fisheries.

● The creation of a 5.11ha shallow tidal pond in LC to be operated as a gei wai during summer periods with associated culture fisheries operations.

5.5.4 The proposed pond status is shown in Figure 5.2.

5.5.5 Similarly to the proposed Wetland Nature Reserve in the approved EIA for Proposed Development at Fung Lok Wai, Yuen Long at Lot 1457 R.P. in D.D.123 (EIA-149/2008), all the retained active fishponds/ ponds resumed for fisheries operation in the Project Site will be subject to adaptive management and ecological enhancement but will also continue traditional polyculture in a modified form with enhanced ecological functions. Adaptive management will include fisheries operations in fewer but larger ponds (by combining smaller ponds into larger ponds which are more favourable for waterbirds), longer pond drain down periods to increase food availability for foraging waterbirds, and a lower intensity of fisheries operation (to allow sufficient time for pond management and control of disease or undesirable species, etc.). Details of fishpond modification works and proposed adaptive management/ ecological enhancement are provided in the CMP.

5.5.6 With this impact minimization approach, there will be an actual gain of approximately 10.75ha of active fishpond area in NSW. Approximately 20ha of active fishponds will be lost in LC therefore, the overall permanent loss of active fishpond areas from this Project would be 9.25ha.

5.5.7 No temporary occupation of fishponds/ suspension of fishpond operation outside the Project Site is anticipated during the construction phase of the Project. Evaluation of fisheries impact arising from direct loss of aquaculture ponds due to the Project is summarised in Table 5.6 below in according with Annex 9 of EIAO-TM. The overall fisheries impact from loss of active aquaculture is considered to be Slight in a Hong Kong context.

Table 5.6: Direct Fisheries Impact from Permanent Loss of Aquaculture Ponds

Criteria	Evaluation
Nature of impact	Permanent
Size of affected area	Active aquaculture ponds to be gained/ lost: 10.75ha potential gain in active fishpond areas in NSW 20ha potential loss of active fishponds in LC i.e. resulting in overall 9.25ha or 0.8% loss of total inland aquaculture ponds in Hong Kong
Loss of fisheries resources / production	Potential gain/ loss of fisheries production (estimated based on area of active fishpond and annual yield of Hong Kong in 2023): Potential gain of 10.0 tonnes (amounting HK$0.27millions) in NSW; Potential loss of 18.6 tonnes (amounting HK$0.50millions) in LC. i.e. resulting in overall loss of 8.6 tonnes (amounting HK$0.23millions) of fisheries production from the Project
Destruction and disturbance of nursery and spawning grounds	No fish fry nurseries were found in the Project Site or adjacent areas
Impact on fishing/ aquaculture activity	Not more than 20 fishermen affected (estimated based on Mr. Lai’s information) Data on fishing income/ dependence on the affected fisheries operation of the affected fishermen are not available. Some fishermen will be needed as part of the operation of LCNR and NSW WEA.
Overall Impact	Slight

Construction Phase – Indirect Impacts

Bund Stability, Water Seepage and Hydrology

5.5.8 The Project is not considered to affect stability of pond bunds or resulting in seepage of bunds in adjacent ponds. The fishponds in the Project Site and the vicinity areas largely function as closed systems which do not receive water from any source other than rainfall. Water level within individual fishponds can be readily adjusted through pumping water to other ponds. The Project is not considered to result in impacts on the hydrology of existing fishponds outside the Project Site. Hydrological disruptions because of the Project is not anticipated.

Degradation of Aquaculture Environment

5.5.9 All existing ponds outside the Project Site will be retained and remain unaffected throughout the construction phase of the Project. With full implementation of mitigation measures as described in the Water Quality Impact Assessment of this EIA, no induced water quality impacts from construction site-run off on adjacent fishponds outside the Project Site are anticipated. In overall terms there will be a major improvement in the environment, with the removal of materials unrelated to fisheries (abandoned vehicles, containers, construction materials, general waste) and illegally dumped toxic materials, and a cessation of dumping of construction waste, the burning of waste, suction dredging of fishponds into adjacent creeks connected to Deep Bay, and the destruction of mangroves to expand fishponds. The removal of temporary structures, dogs and the reduction in overall levels of disturbance are also expected to be beneficial.

Blockage of Existing Access

5.5.10 Access to existing fishponds outside the Project Site will be maintained throughout the construction period of the Project. Temporary traffic arrangements will be instigated to maintain or provide alternative access to fishponds outside the Project Site if the original access route(s) are to be temporarily affected during Project construction. No blockage of access to existing fishponds outside the Project Site is anticipated.

Dumping of Construction Waste

5.5.11 Dumping of construction waste or excavated material on fishponds other than those already indicated as requiring draining for construction purposes could cause a direct impact on pond fisheries. With the implementation of mitigation measures as addressed in Waste Management Chapter of this EIA, no significant indirect impacts from construction waste on existing fishponds outside the Project Site are anticipated. In fact, as noted above, implementation of the Project will end the dumping of construction waste at LC.

Operational Phase

5.5.12 Direct impacts from the permanent loss of active fishponds in the Project Site have been evaluated above.

5.5.13 This section presents an assessment of other fisheries impacts likely to appear during the operational phase of the Project.

5.5.14 The proposed NSW WEA and LCNR will largely comprise ponds modified into reedbed or other wet grasslands which are like the current inactive or abandoned ponds in the Project Site. Given the similarity, the operation of the enhanced/ created wetlands would not cause any additional adverse impact on nearby water bodies. Therefore, significantly adverse fisheries impact is unlikely to be caused by the operation of the NSW WEA and LCNR.

5.5.15 Access to existing fishponds outside the Project Site will not be blocked during Project operation and thus no adverse impacts to the logistics of fishpond operation outside the Project Site are anticipated.

5.5.16 Public access to NSW WEA and LCNR will be tightly controlled and boardwalks will be constructed at suitable locations to facilitate visitor access at NSW. As detailed in the CMP, the fishponds (both retained and those where fisheries operations are proposed to be resumed) will be subject to enhancement works. Broadly, the enhancement works will include removal of unwanted structures, upgrading/ strengthening of bunds to allow vehicular access for culture fisheries activities, installation of water control structures, provision of storage facilities close to the access points and routine site and vegetation maintenance. Good site management measures issued in AFCD’s Good Aquaculture Practices Series shall be followed to ensure site hygiene and prevent deterioration of water environment.

5.5.17 Sewage and runoff from the proposed development could potentially cause impacts on nearby water bodies and affect existing aquaculture ponds outside the Project Site. It is expected that during the operational phase of the Project, sewage and domestic discharge from the Development will be properly collected. As such, no significant indirect impacts because of degradation of the environmental conditions of existing fishponds outside the Project Site are anticipated during the operational phase of the Project. As noted above, there is predicted to be an improvement in the environmental conditions of the existing fishponds with the implementation of the Project.

5.5.18 Fish harvesting will be conducted during the regular pond-drain down activities in LCNR and NSW WEA. Fish that are too large for the target waterbird species to consume will be harvested and delivered to the markets or charities. Quality fish feed and effective measures will be implemented to manage fish stocking to ensure healthy fry are stocked and maintain good quality of fish production.

5.6 Cumulative Impacts

5.6.1 There is no information on any planned or approved scheme of any concurrent projects in the vicinity that are expected to result in significant loss of fishponds. As such, no significant cumulative impacts on fisheries from concurrent projects are anticipated.

5.7 Fisheries Mitigation/ Compensation Measures and Residual Impacts

5.7.1 Approximately 9.25ha of active fishponds will be permanently lost from the Project. All the affected active fishponds in the Project Site are operated under lease contracts. There is no contractual requirement to compensate for the fishpond operators on private land in the Project Site following the expiry or termination of the lease. The loss of fisheries production and associated income for affected fishponds on government land in the Project Site will be resolved by the government.

5.7.2 To further minimize fisheries impacts from loss of active fishponds, the mitigation approach will follow that of the proposed Wetland Nature Reserve at Fung Lok Wai (EIA-149/2008), i.e., traditional pond culture fisheries will continue, but in a modified form in line with the conservation objectives of the future NSW WEA and LCNR.

5.7.3 There is also a need of the Project to actively involve local fishpond operators/ aquaculturists in the modification of fishponds and the long-term management of ponds/ wetlands in the future NSW WEA and LNCR. This would be further explored during the development and implementation of the CMP for NSW WEA and LNCR.

5.8 Monitoring and Audit Programme

5.8.1 Given the monitoring and audit requirement for water quality and waste management for the Project as a whole, a specific monitoring and audit programme on fisheries is not deemed necessary.

5.9 Conclusion

5.9.1 This Chapter describes and assesses the fisheries practices undertaken in the Project Site and its 500m Assessment Area, including current locations and physical environment of fisheries operation, fisheries resources and practices. A total of 14.78ha and 35.33ha of active fishponds were recorded in the Project Site in NSW and LC, respectively. Approximately 20ha of active fish ponds in LC will be converted into other managed wetlands in the future LCNR under the proposed scheme.

5.9.2 At NSW, all the active fishponds will be retained and some of the inactive/ abandoned ponds will be resumed for fisheries operation, which will result in a positive gain of 10.75ha of active fishponds in NSW. Overall, there will be approximately 9.25ha of active fishponds permanently lost under the proposed scheme. Given the area of active fishponds in total (0.8% of total inland fishpond areas in Hong Kong) to be permanently lost due to the Project, the resulting fisheries impacts are considered to be Slight in a Hong Kong context. The Project is not expected to result in any temporary occupation or suspension of operation of fishponds outside the Project Site. All the access to existing fishponds outside the Project Site will be maintained throughout the construction and operation of the Project. With full implementation of mitigation measures/ good site practices as addressed in the Water Quality Impact Assessment and Waste Management Chapters of this EIA, no significant indirect fisheries impacts from potential degradation of aquaculture environments are anticipated, rather a major improvement in the aquaculture environments are predicted with the implementation of the Project.

5.9.3 All the affected fishponds are located on private land owned by the Project Proponent or on government land and are operated under lease contracts. There is no contractual/ legal requirements on the compensation for affected fisheries operation on private land owned by the Project Proponent following the expiry or termination of the lease contracts. However, there is need for the Project to actively involve local fishpond operators in the modification of fishponds and management of ponds/ wetlands in the future NSW WEA and LNCR. This would be further explored during the development and implementation of the CMP for NSW WEA and LNCR.

5.9.4 With implementation of the fishpond enhancement works and management measures, it is anticipated that the fishponds in LCNR and NSW WEA will be managed and operated in an environmentally sustainable manner. The overall aquaculture environment and quality of fisheries resources in both NSW WEA and LCNR will be significantly improved, in conjunction with the comprehensive wildlife management measures proposed in the CMP, the Project will result in a significant improvement in the overall environment of LC and NSW.

5.10 References

AFCD Annual Reports (2001-2002 to 2019-2020)

(https://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/publications/publications_dep/publications_dep.html) accessed on 31 July 2022.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD). 2009. Good Aquaculture Practices Series 3. Environmental Management of Pond Fish Culture. Agriculture Fisheries Division, AFCD, HKSAR. 33pp.

AFCD Website (https://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/fisheries/fish_aqu/fish_aqu_mpo/fish_aqu_mpo.html) accessed on 9 August 2023.

AFCD Accredited Fish Farm Scheme Website (https://www.hkaffs.org/english/index.html) accessed on 9 August 2023.