9. FISHERIES IMPACT
ASSESSMENT
9.2 Environmental
Legislation, Standards and Guidelines
9.8 Potential
for Cumulative Impact
9.9 Evaluation
of Residual Impact
9.10 Environmental
Monitoring and Audit
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Figures |
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Location of Oyster Culture Area and Area of Fish Ponds in Deep Bay Area |
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Location of Ponds within the Study Area |
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Appendices |
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Photographs of Ponds in the Assessment Area |
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9.1.1 This Section
provides the assessment of the potential fisheries impacts associated with the
construction and operation of the Project. Baseline conditions for fisheries
resources in the assessment area were identified from the latest relevant
literature. Potential direct, indirect, cumulative and residual impacts on
fisheries resources during the construction and operation phases of the Project
were identified and evaluated. Mitigation measures have been recommended, where
necessary.
9.2.1
The criteria for evaluating fisheries impact assessment are laid out in
Annex 9 and Annex 17 of the EIAO-TM, which is for providing complete and
objective identification, prediction and evaluation of potential fisheries
impacts arising from the Project. Annex 17 sets out the methodology for
assessment of fisheries impacts and Annex 9 provides the evaluation criteria.
9.2.2
Other local legislations that are relevant to this
fisheries impact assessment include:
·
Fisheries Protection Ordinance (Cap. 171) – promotes the conservation of
fish and other forms of aquatic life within Hong Kong waters by regulating
fishing practices to prevent detrimental activities to the fisheries industry.
The authority may also make rules for the management and control of fishing in
any fisheries protection area, including but not limited to the specification
of any zone within any fisheries protection area and the prohibition of any
fishing in the specified zone.
·
Water Pollution Control Ordinance (Cap. 358) – aims to control water
pollution in waters of Hong Kong. Water
Control Zones (WCZs) are designated with individual water quality objectives to
promote the conservation and best use of those waters in the public interest.
9.3.1
The
assessment area for the purpose of fisheries impact assessment included areas within
500m distance from the boundary of the Project area. This assessment area will
be extended to include other areas (e.g. active or abandoned fish
ponds and/or associated water systems, fishing ground and oyster culture
ground) if they are also found being impacted by the construction and/ or
operation of the Project. Special attention was given to fish
pond culture resources and activities, as well as any watercourses which
serve as water sources for fishponds.
9.4.1
The
fisheries impact assessment was assessed following the criteria and
guidelines specified in Annexes 9 and 17 of the EIAO-TM and Section 3.4.6 of
the EIA study brief (ESB-322/2019).
9.4.2
Collation and desktop review of available relevant
fisheries baseline data, e.g. EIAs and other available relevant studies within
or in the vicinity to the assessment area, were conducted. AFCD’s annual reports and website provided
the most updated information on the development and trends of fisheries in Hong
Kong. The latest annual fisheries production was also provided. Potential direct/indirect, short term/long
term, on-site/off-site and cumulative fisheries impacts arising from the
Project were identified and evaluated, where appropriate. Mitigation measures
and monitoring and audit programme were recommended,
where necessary.
9.4.3
The
collated information was evaluated to identify any information gaps relating to
the assessment of potential fisheries impacts that may arise from the Project.
Literature review was conducted regarding the activities and production of pond
fish culture within or in vicinity of the assessment area. Verification on the
status of fishponds was conducted in February and July 2020 as part of the
ecological survey with additional confirmatory survey undertaken in September
and November 2020. The status of fishponds was evaluated based upon the
management conditions of the ponds such as presence of commercial fishes,
evidence of recently used pond culture equipment, presence of fish-rearing
equipment and evidence of trimming of vegetation growing on pond bund.
9.4.4
Fishponds
observed were categorized as follows:
·
Active fishpond: ponds that are actively managed and currently utilized
for commercial aquaculture activities, including commercial fish
ponds, fish fry ponds and water flea ponds; experience periodic draining
for harvesting of fish, water quality control and adjustment of pond profiles.
Bunds of active ponds are largely bare because of grass-cutting activities.
·
Inactive fishpond: ponds that have no current commercial 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 for casual sport fishing or water sports.
·
Abandoned fishpond: ponds in which there is physical evidence that
aquaculture has not taken 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 landscape / ornamental ponds are also included in
this category.
9.4.5
Fishing
operations including stocking, feeding and harvesting, the presence of aerators
and the maintenance conditions of the facilities along the pond bunds are used
to determine the status of fishponds (active or inactive). Active fishponds are
identified based on evidence of management conditions of the ponds and the
presence of fish farming materials and / or equipment and fish farming
activities, while inactive fishponds lacked these characteristics.
9.5.1
Hong
Kong fisheries industry comprises capture fisheries and aquaculture which
includes marine fish culture, pond fish culture and oyster culture. In 2020,
the fishing industry of Hong Kong produced an estimated 116,000 tonnes of fisheries produce valued at about HK$2.7 billion.
Production from the aquaculture sector was 3,322 tonnes
valued at HK$127 million which was 3% in weight and 4% in value of the total
fisheries production (AFCD 2021).
Capture
Fisheries
9.5.2
No
capture fisheries are present within the assessment area. The fishing ground
near Deep Bay is located well over 16 km away from the Project. According to
AFCD Port Survey 2016/17, the highest fish yields in Hong Kong are obtained in
the south-eastern waters (e.g. Po Toi) and the southwestern waters (e.g. Cheung
Chau, Shek Kwu Chau and Soko Islands). The overall fishing operations and fisheries
production in marine waters of Deep Bay is generally the lowest compared with
other waters in Hong Kong. No important spawning ground / nursery ground for
commercial fisheries resources were identified within Deep Bay Water Control
Zone (WCZ) (ERM 1998).
Marine
Fish Culture
9.5.3
Marine
fish culture involves rearing of marine fish from fry or fingerlings to
marketable size in cages suspended by floating rafts usually in sheltered
coastal areas. Marine fish culture activity is operated under licence in designated fish culture zones. Currently, there
are 26 fish culture zones occupying a total sea area of 209 ha (AFCD 2021).
There are no fish culture zones in Deep Bay Water Control Zone (WCZ).
Pond
Fish Culture
9.5.4
The
pond fish culture industry in Hong Kong is mainly centred
in the North West New Territories (NWNT) which is over 4 km from the Project (Figure
9.1). Fish ponds are either freshwater or
brackish.
9.5.5
In
2020, the local inland ponds, covering an area of approximately 1,130 ha,
produced 2,516 tonnes of freshwater fish amounting to
HK$60 million. About 96% 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 4% practised monoculture of
carnivorous species such as Giant Grouper, Seabream and Spotted Scat in brackish
fish ponds near to the coastline. Majority of the fry
and fingerlings are imported from the Mainland and Taiwan. Some of the Grey
Mullet fry may also be caught in local coastal waters. Traditionally, fry is
stocked in early spring and most fish species reach marketable size in eight to
twelve months (AFCD 2021). In addition, Ping Che Aquaponics farm registered
with the Voluntary Registration Scheme (VRS) is situated within the assessment
area.
Oyster
Culture
9.5.6
Culture
of oyster has been practised along the intertidal mud
flat of Deep Bay in northwestern corner of Hong Kong for at least 200 years
which is well over 16 km from the Project (Figure
9.1). Traditionally, oysters are cultured by the bottom culture method with
spat collected by laying rock, concrete tile or post as cultch on the mud flat
in May or June. The oyster spat takes four to five years to grow to marketable
size. In recent years, some farmers turned to fattening of medium size oysters
imported from the Mainland. Majority of them adopt the raft culture method,
i.e. oysters placed in baskets suspended from rafts. Production in 2020 was
about 119 tonnes (meat only) valued at HK$15 million
(AFCD 2021).
Literature
Review
9.5.7
The
following reports were reviewed on the fisheries resources and activities in
the assessment area and in the wider NWNT area.
·
AFCD Port Survey 2016/17 Report.
·
Hong Kong Fisheries Resources Monitoring Report (SCSFRI 2017).
·
Drainage Improvement in Northern New Territories – Package C
Environmental Study.
·
Regulation of Shenzhen River Stage 4 EIA (AEIAR-160/2011).
·
Liantang / Heung Yuen Wai Boundary
Control Point and Associated Works EIA (AEIAR-161/2011).
·
Planning and Engineering Study on Development of Lok Ma Chau Loop EIA
(AEIAR-176/2013).
·
Site Formation and Associated Infrastructural Works for Development of
Columbarium, Crematorium and Related Facilities at Sandy Ridge Cemetery EIA
(AEIAR-198/2016).
·
Yuen Long Effluent Polishing Plant EIA (AEIAR-220/2019).
9.5.8
Assessment
from these reports indicated the main fisheries activity is pond fish culture
located in NWNT.
9.5.9
As the
oyster culture, marine fish culture and capture fisheries are away from the
Project Site (i.e. >16 km), the impact on water quality from the
construction activities are likely to be minimal. Significant impacts to water
quality which could affect the oyster culture, marine fish culture and capture
fisheries are not expected. Hence, the present fisheries impact assessment
mainly focused on the impacts on pond culture fisheries. The relevant desktop
information reviewed is considered sufficient for
evaluating the potential impact on pond culture fisheries within the assessment
area. Therefore, no information gap on
fisheries baseline conditions within the assessment area was identified and
fisheries surveys were not necessary for the current EIA study.
Aerial
Photograph Review and Site Surveys
9.5.10
A
review of the 2018 aerial photograph of the assessment area was conducted
followed by site surveys and verification. Based on the aerial photograph
review, no major pond fish culture activities were observed in the Project
area. Majority of the fishponds are noted in the broader NWNT area. Site
surveys and verification were conducted in February and July 2020 as part of
the ecological survey to verify the presence of fishponds or any pond fish
culture activities. Additional confirmatory visits were conducted in September
and November 2020. A total of five ponds are recorded within the 500m
assessment area. Their locations are presented in Figure
9.2 and status discussed below. Photographs of the ponds are presented in Appendix
9.1. No active / inactive fishponds were recorded during the site surveys.
9.5.11
Three
of the ponds (Ponds 1, 2 and 3) are identified as abandoned ponds. These ponds
are scattered and mostly isolated from each other. Some of them might serve
aquaculture purpose in the past but were eventually left abandoned and their
bunds were eventually overgrown with weedy herb and
climber species such as Bidens alba, Brachiaria mutica and Ipomoea cairica. Pond 1 is located adjacent to TKL04, but no
indication of water from TKL04 is being fed into this pond. Pond 2 is located
near Tai Po Tin and over 300m away from TKL05. Pond 3 is located near Ha Shan
Kai Wat and over 450m from TKL05. Both ponds are not fed by water from TKL05.
9.5.12
Two of
the ponds (Ponds 4 and 5) are used for non-fisheries related landscape /
ornamental ponds. Pond 4 is located in Wun Chuen Sin Koon (雲泉仙館) and Pond 5 is located in Ping Che Kat Tin
sitting out area. The margin and sloping banks were made of concrete and had
limited growth space for vegetation. Similarly, no indication of water from
TKL04 and TKL05 is being fed to these ponds.
Construction
Phase
Direct
Impact
9.6.1
The proposed
works would be confined to the works area. There would be no loss of active /
inactive fishponds within the assessment area. There would not be any loss of
oyster culture area, or fishing ground near Deep Bay. Based on literature
review, aerial photograph review and site surveys, besides Ping Che Aquaponics
Farm, there were no active / inactive fishponds found within the Project area.
Five ponds (three abandoned and two landscape / ornamental ponds were recorded
during site surveys. One of the abandoned ponds (Pond 1) is located near the
Project area of TKL04 and the Project has been designed to avoid causing direct
impact to this pond. Water quality mitigation measures as recommended in
Section 5.7 will be provided during construction to minimize impact to this
abandoned pond. The other ponds and Ping Che Aquaponics Farm are all located
away from the Project area. Direct impact during construction phase is
considered as negligible.
Indirect
Impact
9.6.2
TKL04
drains into TKL05 which discharges into Ping Yuen River, Shenzhen River and
ultimately to Deep Bay. Wastewater and site effluent generated from
construction works which is generally characterized by high concentrations of
suspended solids and elevated pH may impact the water quality of the downstream
waterbodies and may indirectly affect the pond fish culture activities in the
NWNT area.
9.6.3
As
assessed in Chapter 5, no adverse water quality to the downstream waterbodies
is expected with the proper implementation of the water quality mitigation
measures (see Section 5.7) during construction phase of the Project. No
indirect impact on pond fish culture activities in the NWNT area, oyster
culture and fishing ground in the Deep Bay area due to discharge into Shenzhen
River is expected.
Operation Phase
Direct
Impact
9.6.4
The
Project will not result in permanent loss of any ponds. Direct impact during
operational phase is not expected.
Indirect Impact
9.6.5
Potential
sources of indirect impacts on pond fisheries during operational phase of the
Project may include blockage of access to fishponds, and degradation /
deterioration of environmental conditions of fishponds due to induced-water
quality impacts from the Project. However, given the current Project only
involves improvement to the existing drainage channel to alleviate flood risk
without generating additional pollutants, and all affected accesses will be
re-provided, no significant indirect impacts are expected during operational
phase.
9.7.1 Apart from the water quality mitigation
measures (see Section 5.7) during construction and operational phases of the
Project, no other mitigation measures are considered necessary.
9.8.1
Based on
the latest available information, the projects with programmes
likely to overlap with the Project construction have been identified in Chapter
5 - Water Quality. Given the nature and locations of the concurrent projects,
no adverse cumulative fisheries impact during both construction and operational
phases are expected.
9.9.1
There
will be no loss of fishponds arising from the Project. With the implementation
of the water quality mitigation measures (see Section 5.7) during construction
and operational phases of the Project, no residual fisheries impact is
anticipated.
9.10.1
As no direct
or indirect impact to fishponds or pond fish culture activities were identified
during construction and operation of the Project, no specific monitoring programme for fisheries impact is therefore considered
necessary.
9.11.1
The
baseline review and site surveys indicated that, besides
Ping Che Aquaponics Farm, no active fishponds, pond fish culture activities
have been identified within the assessment area. With proper implementation of
the water quality mitigation measures during construction and operational
phases of the Project, no indirect impact on pond fish culture activities in
the NWNT area, oyster culture and fishing ground in Deep Bay area due to
discharge into Shenzhen River is expected. Fisheries impact arising from
construction and operation of the Project is therefore not anticipated.
AFCD
(2021) Marine fish culture, pond fish culture and oyster culture. AFCD website:
https://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/fisheries/fish_aqu/fish_aqu_mpo/fish_aqu_mpo.html.
Accessed on 26 April 2021.
AFCD
Port Survey 2016/17.
https://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/fisheries/fish_cap/fish_cap_latest/fish_cap_latest.html
Accessed
on 8 June 2020.
BVHKL
(2007) Drainage Improvement in Northern New Territories – Package C
Environmental Study.
ERM
(1998) Fisheries Resources and Fishing Operation in Hong Kong Waters.
ERM
(2010) Regulation of Shenzhen River Stage 4 EIA Study (AEIAR-160/2011).
Mott
(2010) Liantang / Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point
and Associated Works EIA (AEIAR-161/2011).
Arup
(2013) Planning and Engineering Study on Development of Lok Ma Chau Loop EIA
(AEIAR-176/2013).
Arup
(2016) Site Formation and Associated Infrastructural Works for Development of
Columbarium, Crematorium and Related Facilities at Sandy Ridge Cemetery EIA
(AEIAR-198/2016).
AECOM
(2019) Yuen Long Effluent Polishing Plant EIA (AEIAR-220/2019).
South
China Sea Fisheries Research Institute (SCSFRI) (2017) Hong Kong Fisheries
Resources Monitoring Report (2010 – 2015).