Consultancy Ref.: AFCD/FIS/02/19 Consultancy Service
for Environmental Impact Assessment Study for Designation of New Fish Culture
Zones Executive
Summary for Establishment of Fish Culture Zone at Mirs Bay November
2022 |
CONTENTS
1.3 Purpose and Objectives of this EIA Study
2..... Objectives and Benefits of the Project and
Consideration of Alternatives
2.1 Purpose and Objectives of the Project
2.3 Scenarios With and Without the Project
2.3.1 Without Project Scenario
2.4 Consideration of Different Development Options
2.4.1 Development Option by Expanding the
Existing FCZs
2.4.2 Development Option by Identifying
Suitable Sites for New FCZs
2.4.3 Consideration of the Size and
Boundary of the Project Site
2.5 Fish Farm Designs to be Adopted at the Proposed FCZ
2.5.1 Consideration of Construction Methods and Sequence
2.6 Summary of Key Environmental Problems Avoided and
Sensitive Areas Protected
2.7 Summary of Alternative Mitigation Measures
2.8 Consideration of Public Concerns
3.2.3 Tentative Implementation Programme
4..... Legislative Requirements, Evaluation Criteria and
Sensitive Receivers
5..... Summary of Environmental Impacts
5.9 Environmental Monitoring and Audit
List of Tables
Table 2.1 Summary of Benefits
of the Project
Table 2.2 Environmental
Consideration of Fish Farm Designs
Table 5.1 Summary of Environmental Impacts
List of Figures
Figure 1.1 Location Plan for the Establishment of Fish Culture Zone (FCZ) at Mirs
Bay
Figure
2.1 Proposed Locations for the Establishment of Fish Culture Zones
Marine
fish culture has been an important activity for fisheries production in Hong
Kong over decades. Mariculture activities are required to operate under licence in designated
Fish Culture Zones (FCZs) under the Marine
Fish Culture Ordinance (MFCO) (Cap. 353).
In view of the environmental impact resulting from mariculture, there has
been a moratorium on the issue of new marine fish culture licences (MFCLs) and
licensed raft area extensions in the existing FCZs since 1990, as well as on
the designation of new FCZs, except for a limited number of forced re-siting
necessitated by public works. Given the
technical advancement in mariculture techniques and strengthening of regulatory
measures, together with the changes in the operation of the sector over the
years, the environment of FCZs and marine environment in the vicinity have improved
significantly in the past two decades.
In
2010, the Committee on Sustainable Fisheries (CSF), which was established by
the Government to study the long-term goals, direction
and feasible options for the sustainable development of local fisheries
industry, recommended a review of the moratorium to
facilitate fishermen to switch from capture fisheries to mariculture. Mariculture is considered a practical
alternative for capture fishermen to make a living as their knowledge on marine
environment and fish would be useful in farming marine fish.
To pave the
way for facilitating the sustainable development of the local mariculture
sector, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) proposed
to lift the moratorium by designating new FCZs and issuing new MFCLs. In 2014, the AFCD commissioned a consultancy
study to explore suitable sites as new FCZs on
the basis of a list of social and environmental criteria with
reference to the latest international fish culture practices ([1]). Relevant stakeholders, including Government
bureaux / departments and mariculture representatives, have been consulted to
gauge their views on site selection. The
mariculture sector in general supported the designation of new FCZs and agreed
that the sector should be modernised.
Four locations have been shortlisted as potential sites for the
designation of new FCZs, including Wong Chuk Kok Hoi FCZ, Outer Tap Mun FCZ, Mirs Bay FCZ and Po Toi (Southeast) FCZ. The Chief Executive announced in the 2018
Policy Address that the Government would recommend designating new FCZs at
suitable locations, which would create room for the mariculture sector to grow
further, including allowing capture fishermen to switch to this sustainable
mode of operation, making it possible for the development of newer type of
deep-water mariculture in the open sea, and attracting new entrants.
This
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies one of the proposed FCZ sites, i.e. Mirs Bay FCZ (hereafter
referred to as “the Project”). The
location plan of the Project is shown in Figure 1.1.
The Project
aims to establish a new FCZ at Mirs Bay to facilitate
the sustainable development of the local mariculture sector. The scope of the Project includes:
§ Assembly and anchorage of fish
farm structures which are manufactured off-site, including fish rafts / cages,
auxiliary facilities and mooring system, within the
Project site; and
§ Marine fish culture activities
within the Project site regulated under the Marine
Fish Culture Ordinance (Cap. 353).
No
land-based works, structures and activities will be involved in the Project.
The Project
is a designated project by virtue of Item M.1(a) of Part I of Schedule 2 of the
EIAO, which specifies “A fish culture zone more than 5 ha in size“ and requires an Environmental Permit (EP) under the EIAO
for its construction and operation.
In accordance with the requirements
of Section 5(1)(a) of the EIAO, an application for an EIA Study Brief
for the Project was submitted on 15 October 2019 under EIAO with a
Project Profile (PP) (No. PP-592/2019). An EIA Study Brief (No.ESB-326/2019) for the Project (hereafter referred to
as “the Study Brief”) was issued on 27 November 2019 in accordance with
Section 5(7)(a) of the EIAO.
The
purpose of this EIA study is to provide information on the nature and extent of
environmental impacts arising from the construction and operation of the
Project and associated works that will take place concurrently. This information will contribute to decisions
by the Director of Environmental Protection on:
n the overall acceptability of any adverse environmental
consequences that are likely to arise as a result of the Project;
n the conditions and requirements for the detailed design, construction and operation of the Project to mitigate
against adverse environmental consequences wherever practicable; and
n the acceptability of residual impacts after the proposed
mitigation measures are implemented.
The
detailed requirements of the EIA Study are set out in Clause 3 of the Study
Brief. As specified in the Study Brief,
this EIA Study has addressed the key environmental issues associated with the
construction and operation of the Project.
This
EIA Report has been produced in accordance with the requirements in the EIA Study
Brief (No. ESB-326/2019) and the Technical
Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process issued under the EIAO
(EIAO-TM) for the Project, the aim being to obtain an EP under the EIAO. The description of the Project presented in
the EIA Report has been based on the best available information from AFCD that
describes the relevant construction activities, operational details, and
baseline information describing the conditions relating to the Project and its
surrounding environment.
The Project
involves the establishment of a new FCZ at Mirs Bay
for mariculturists to operate their fish rafts.
The main purpose and objective of the Project is to provide
opportunities to develop a newer type of deep-water mariculture, create room
for the mariculture sector to grow further and attract new entrants,
potentially allowing capture fishermen to switch to a sustainable mode of
operation.
The
benefits of the Project have been discussed in detail in Section 2.3 of
the EIA Report and are summarised in Table 2.1.
Table 2.1 Summary of Benefits of the Project
Benefits |
|
Sustainable
mariculture development in Hong Kong |
§ Increase local mariculture production
to support local demand for live marine fish, with a quality, healthy, safe,
diversified and stable supply with low carbon footprint;
§ Provide an avenue for capture
fishermen, who face various operational challenges, to switch to a
sustainable operation mode, which in turn alleviates local fishing pressure
and promotes the conservation and recovery of fisheries resources and
preservation of the marine environment; § Allow mariculturists of the existing
FCZs to consider pursuing modernised and sustainable modes of operation in
the new FCZs, such that the marine environment of the existing FCZs can
improve when the level of mariculture activities there decreases; § Larger production scale enabled with
technology can allow operating costs to be optimised, and hence improving
cost-efficiency and competitiveness; § Provide high value-added fisheries
products and assists the fisheries sector to seize the opportunities in the
Greater Bay Area (GBA) and other places; § Attract new entrants and business
opportunities to further grow the sector and related trades organically, also
providing employment opportunities. |
Advanced
Mariculture Operation in Deeper Waters |
§ More fish stock can be kept within a
larger area of the water column to achieve optimal stock density and a good
mariculture environment; § Sufficient buffer distance amongst
fish cages and between the fish cage and seabed will be maintained and thus allowing
adequate water circulation and prevents the build-up of organic content and
degradation of the nearby marine environment.
Organic content is also not built up on the seabed and maintenance
dredging and sediment removal are therefore not required for FCZ in deep
waters, and the associated water quality impacts and related ecological and
fisheries impacts can be avoided; § Use of weather-resistant materials of
fish cages could reduce general / floating refuse on the sea; § The fish cage design could withstand
strong waves and surges such that the fish cages can remain onsite during
typhoons with minimal fish loss/ escape and can effectively reduce impact of
fish escape on local ecology and fisheries and offsite impact as a result of
fish cage relocation due to adverse weather; § Only commercial pellet feed or
alternative feed with better feed conversion ratio will be allowed at the
proposed FCZ. This could effectively reduce organic
loading due to feed wastage, and reduce potential transmission of parasitic
and infectious disease which in return may cause organic loading due to fish
carcasses and dead fish arising from the fish culture operation; § Use of green technology and
automation could reduce feed wastage and physical labour, as well as reduce
emissions (e.g. from diesel generators for
electricity generation), wastes and water quality impacts; § Fish farm structures have the
potential to provide artificial substrates beneficial to the marine habitat. |
In the
absence of new FCZs, the fisheries sector would need to rely on existing FCZs
to provide grounds for mariculture development.
Consequently the industry would have limited
capacity to make use of advanced, and most importantly more environmentally
friendly, mariculture technologies which work best in deeper waters and have
limited potential and cost-efficiency to be adopted in the existing FCZs mostly
in shallow waters. Even though some
elements of the mariculture operations could be modernised and improved, e.g.
use of more weather resistant and durable materials, renewables energy and
technology, better quality of fish feed etc., there is little room to enhance
the mariculture environment and production in the existing FCZs given the lack
of incentives from the existing family-based, small-scale operations, and the
reluctance of new entrants to invest in mariculture in these existing FCZs
which is once perceived as environmentally constrained and financially risky. These existing FCZs operating as status quo
are not suitable for the sustainable development of mariculture in Hong
Kong. Without new mariculture sites and
methods, it will be challenging for mariculturists to invest
and diversify, mariculture production will continue to decline in quality and
quantity with reference to the production trend of previous years, fishermen’s
livelihood will be adversely affected, and the development of the fisheries
sector will be halted.
The proposed FCZ at Mirs
Bay is one of the measures that support the
sustainable development of mariculture in Hong Kong through the designation of
new FCZs. With the Project in place, the
environmental benefits associated with the sustainable development of mariculture
and the use of advanced mariculture operation (Table 2.1) can be
realised. Ultimately, in line with the
long-term goals developed by the Committee on Sustainable Fisheries that AFCD
set up in late December 2006, the establishment of new FCZs can contribute to
the sustainable management of marine resources and preservation of the marine
environment for our society to enjoy, while providing a
supply
of fresh and quality fisheries products to local
consumers, and creating job opportunities to the fisheries sector and related trades
such that fishermen and fish farmers can achieve self-reliance and maintain
their livelihoods in the changing business operating environment.
The
development option by expanding the existing FCZs was explored. Given most of the existing FCZs are located in inshore areas with shallow water depths,
these locations are not feasible to support the more advanced type of
deep-water mariculture in line with the global practice. In addition, there exists other development
constraints around the existing FCZs, such as existing marine usage, ecological
sensitive receivers, etc. Sediment
removal may also be required periodically to maintain a suitable environment
for mariculture. As such, the
environmental impacts are likely to be more detrimental for FCZs in inshore
areas with shallow water depths. This
will limit the potential for developing sustainable mariculture and promoting the
modernisation and competitiveness of the fisheries industry. Therefore, expansion of existing FCZs is not
a feasible development option for the Project.
The
criteria for the site selection of sustainable mariculture were reviewed with
reference to international guidelines (e.g. the Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO)), which include minimum water depth, wave
exposure, water quality, the compatibility with the existing usage and
environment, accessibility and infrastructure and site security.
A site
search was conducted to identify suitable locations in Hong Kong waters for the
development of new FCZs considering the site selection criteria and this is
discussed in Section 2.5.1.2 of the EIA Report. Incompatible areas
with absolute constraints were excluded, while the compatible areas for a
suitable location were considered taking into account
environmental, physical and operational constraints. As western Hong Kong waters are under
the influence of freshwater discharges from the Pearl River Estuary, eastern
Hong Kong waters are preferred when identifying suitable sites for new
FCZs. The most suitable areas for FCZ
development were then identified based on avoidance of encroachment onto
environmentally sensitive areas, selection of site with better water flushing
rate, and operational consideration such as accessibility and availability of
pre-existing infrastructure. Four sites,
namely Wong Chuk Kok Hoi, Outer Tap Mun, Mirs Bay, Po
Toi (Southeast) (Figure 2.1),
are selected for the establishment of new FCZs based on the site selection
criteria and views from stakeholders. These
sites avoid the encroachment to areas with ecologically important habitats,
such as marine parks / reserve, coral habitats with high ecological value, key
marine mammal habitats, wintering and nesting grounds for birds, mangroves and horseshoe crab habitats. The identified sites are also relatively
remote, which minimise impacts on air quality, noise
and visual sensitive receivers.
The Project
site boundary has been designed taking into account
the environmental, physical and operational constraints. The Project has been sized to provide
sufficient capacity for sustainable mariculture activities, without
compromising the existing surrounding environment. For instance, the options between the
establishment of a single larger FCZ and smaller FCZ at different locations
have been considered. While the
establishment of a single larger FCZ will concentrate the pollution loading in
a particular area, the establishment of small FCZ at different locations will
reduce the organic loading and therefore minimise the impact to coral
communities and habitat for marine ecological and fisheries resources in the
surrounding waters.
While a
large portion of Mirs Bay is suitable for FCZ
operation after reviewing the constraints and the site selection criteria, the
Project size has been reduced and optimized to occupy the waters closer to
shore of Tap Mun and Nam She Wan for shelter and minimize the interaction with
ocean-going marine traffic travelling to Yantian Port.
Considering
the potential water quality impact due to mariculture activities of the
Project, the Project is divided into two sub-areas to reduce impacts to the
adjacent environment, including marine ecology and fisheries.
Besides,
the extent and boundary of the Project site has also been optimized with
sufficient clearance to minimise the impacts to coral
communities along the coastline, as well as habitats for marine ecological resources
and fisheries resources. Meanwhile, sufficient clearance to navigation routes
has been provided to minimise the potential risk of
fish escape and introduction of invasive species to the marine environment due
to accidents/ collisions of marine vessels with fish farm facilities. The
Project site has also been positioned with a 50 m clearance between the low
water mark and the inshore boundary.
Although no
gazetted principal fairways are located within the
site, the Project boundary has also been designed to provide a passage for
vessels travelling to and from Long Harbour through
the south channel at Tap Mun Hau to minimize impact
to marine traffic.
Different
fish farm designs have been considered with regard to
the Project site (see Section 2.6 of the EIA Report) and the
environmental considerations in selecting the preferred fish raft for the
proposed FCZ are summarised in Table 2.2. Overall, traditional fish cages on rafts with
fewer environmental benefits are considered not suitable for the Project
site. Four modern fish rafts with
advanced features with various environmental benefits including floating
gravity cage/ submersible gravity cage, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture
(IMTA) and semi-submersible steel truss cage, are reviewed
and considered suitable and preferable for the new FCZ. While the environmental
performance of the modern fish rafts is generally similar, the type of fish
farm/ raft to be deployed at the proposed FCZ will be subject to the fish farm
operational plan submitted by the future licensees for agreement with AFCD.
Table 2.2 Environmental Consideration of Fish Farm Designs
Fish
Farm Design |
Environmental
Consideration |
Traditional Cages on Rafts (Photo Source: AFCD) |
§ Most of the traditional rafts are
built on-site using timber and supported by floating units made of empty
plastic drums or polystyrene foam floats, which may lead to waste being
released to the sea during the construction; § Not weather resistant and require
frequent maintenance and major repairing, which result in more waste
generation during mariculture operation; § Susceptible to weather damage,
therefore traditional cages have to be installed at
inshore and sheltered waters where maintenance dredging and sediment removal
may be required. |
Advanced Technologies – Floating Gravity Cage / Submersible
Gravity Cage (Photo Source: Polarcirkel
Plastic Cage, Qingdao Qihang Fishing Cage Co., LTD) |
§ Fish farm components are
prefabricated offsite which reduces on-site construction activities and waste
generation and hence minimising potential impact to the surrounding environment; § Use of technology (e.g.
real-time surveillance and water quality monitoring, renewable energy sources
such as solar and wind) and automation (e.g. fish feeder) can reduce labour
intensive activities, hence reduce potential disturbance to ecology and
environment from feed wastage, workforce wastes, vessel trips, etc.; § Cages made of weather-resistant
materials such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and steel truss cages are
more durable and of good quality, with less waste generation from damage or repair; § Submersible/ semi-submersible fish
cages are designed to endure adverse weather conditions. Fish loss/ escape due to cage/raft damage
can therefore be minimised and potential impact of introduction of invasive
species on local ecology and fisheries could be reduced. Besides, the need for temporary relocation
of fish raft due to adverse weather is also reduced and therefore reducing
the associated potential impact; § Separation distance between fish
rafts / cages and between the cage bottom and seabed would be maintained to
allow adequate water flow in between and reduce impacts on water quality such
as changes in flow regime and build-up of organic content, reducing the
subsequent ecological and fisheries impacts in the vicinity and degradation
of the nearby marine environment; § Since organic content is not built up
on the seabed, maintenance dredging and sediment removal are therefore not
required for FCZ in deep waters, and the associated water quality impacts and
related ecological and fisheries impacts can be avoided; and § Fish farm structures have the
potential to provide artificial substrates for marine organisms to colonise
and build diverse and functional habitats. |
Advanced Technology – Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture
(IMTA) |
|
Advanced Technology – Semi-submersible Steel
Truss Cage (Photo Source: AFCD) |
With the
use of advanced mariculture technologies, a majority of the framework of the
fish cages will be prefabricated off-site, and then tow the fish farm framework
to the Project site for assembly and anchorage.
It is in fact unlikely that this more advanced type of deep-water
mariculture can be completely assembled from raw materials on-site and there is
no alternative construction method.
Prefabrication work off-site can minimize the construction duration
on-site and hence reducing the duration when potential impacts to the
environment can occur. It is expected to avoid generation of construction and
demolition (C&D) materials and potential water quality impact from
construction site run-off during the construction of the Project. Generation of underwater sound is minimised
in this method, with less disturbance to marine and fisheries habitats. Also, less labour input required on site
would result in reduction of waste generated from human activities.
A
summary of the key environmental problems avoided with the environmentally
friendly options and recommended environmental designs of the Project have been
discussed in Section 12.3 and Section 12.4 of the EIA Report and the summary is
provided in Table 2.3.
Table 2.3 Key Environmental Problems Avoided,
Sensitive Areas Protected and Environmental Outcomes Achieved
Design Approach |
Key Environmental Problems Avoided, Sensitive
Areas Protected and Environmental Outcomes Achieved |
Migration to environmentally friendly modernised mariculture |
§ Adverse impacts from mariculture
activities to water quality, marine ecology, fisheries
and waste management would be avoided. |
Site
selection to avoid encroachment onto environmental sensitive areas |
§ Direct impact from anchorage,
assembly and operation of FCZ to marine ecological resources such as
artificial reefs, coastal protection area are
avoided. § Adverse impacts to marine ecology and
fisheries due to encroachment onto environmental sensitive areas would be
avoided. |
Site sitting at deeper waters to avoid organic accumulation and the
need of sediment removal |
§ Adverse impacts from maintenance
dredging and sediment removal works to water quality, marine ecology and
fisheries would be avoided. |
Control maximum standing stock level |
§ Adverse impacts from mariculture
activities to water quality, marine ecology and fisheries would be avoided. |
Adopt modern prefabricated fish culture raft
|
§ Adverse impacts from on-site
construction to water quality, marine ecology, fisheries
and waste management would be avoided. |
Adopt modern fish farm designs and advanced mariculture technologies |
§ Adverse impacts from mariculture
activities to water quality, marine ecology, fisheries
and waste management would be avoided. |
Adopt fish farm designs and layout to maintain adequate water flushing |
§ Adverse impacts from mariculture
activities to water quality, marine ecology, fisheries
and waste management would be avoided. |
Viable
sites of the Project have been considered during the Project’s Feasibility
Study, based on the environmental benefits and dis-benefits for the
construction and operation of the new FCZs.
Various development options are reviewed and considered in the EIA
study. The environmental benefits and dis-benefits of the development options
are summarised in Table 2.4.
Mirs Bay is one of the proposed sites which
met the selection criteria for new FCZs and is sited to avoid encroaching
sensitive receivers (e.g. ecologically important
habitats, areas of high fisheries
importance). To further minimise potential impacts, the Project site will adopt
modernized and advanced type of aquaculture technologies and operate within the
maximum standing stock as identified in this EIA study.
Table 2.4 Summary of Environmental Benefits and Dis-benefits of the
Development Options and Alternative Mitigation Measures Considered for the
Project
Benefits |
Dis-benefits |
|
Project Siting |
||
Preferred Option Site selection of sustainable mariculture with
reference to international guidelines, which include minimum water depth,
wave exposure, water quality and the compatibility with the existing usage
and environment |
§ Avoid encroaching into ecological
sensitive receivers e.g. marine reserves, coral
habitats of high ecological value and areas of high fisheries importance,
thus avoid impacts to marine ecology and fisheries § Better water flushing rate for
mariculture to allow adequate water dispersion and prevent the build-up of
organic content and degradation of the nearby marine environment. Consequently, organic content is also not
built up on the seabed and maintenance dredging and sediment removal are therefore
not required for FCZ in deep waters, and the associated water quality impacts
and related ecological and fisheries impacts can be avoided § Remote area at Mirs
Bay minimises impacts on air quality, noise, and visual sensitive receivers |
§ May pose potential environmental
impacts to newly affected areas. However, careful site selection and fish
farm design have been done to avoid / minimise potential impacts. |
Alternative Option Expanding existing FCZs |
§ Limit environmental impacts to areas
that are already affected by existing FCZs. |
§ Development constrained by existing
marine usage and nearby ecological sensitive receivers. Water flushing rate
is generally lower due to inshore and shallow waters of the existing
FCZs. Impacts to water quality, including
restricted dispersion and accumulation of organic loading due to FCZ
operation, are likely to occur when more mariculture production is necessary
to support the development of mariculture in Hong Kong. § Sediment removal may be required
periodically to maintain a suitable environment for mariculture. The environmental impacts are likely to be
more detrimental for FCZs in inshore areas with shallow water depths. Alternative mitigation measures such as
deployment of silt curtain and control of dredging rate, etc would be required
to minimise the water quality and marine ecology impact. |
Project Size / Scale |
||
Preferred Option Establishment of smaller FCZ at different locations |
§ Establishment of smaller FCZs to
reduce the organic loading at individual site, to minimise impact to coral
communities and habitat for marine ecological and fisheries resources. § With sufficient clearance to
navigation routes, accidents / collision of marine vessels with fish farm
facilities, and potential risk of fish escape and introduction of invasive
species to the marine environment can be minimised. |
§ Affect more areas with potential
environmental impacts but better control of impact intensity to within
relevant criteria. |
Alternative Option Establishment of a single larger FCZ |
§ Limit environmental impacts to single
location but with higher intensity. |
§ The pollution loading from
mariculture operation will concentrate in a particular area. The potential
impacts to water quality, marine ecology and fisheries of the surrounding
waters are expected to increase. |
Fish Farm Layout and Design |
||
Preferred Option Use of advanced mariculture fish farm
designs (e.g. HDPE cages, steel stuss cages) |
§ Durable and weather-resistant
material would less likely to get damaged or
repaired and result in less waste generated. § Less susceptible to damage during
adverse weather condition, such as typhoons, and minimise potential risk of
fish loss / escape, and subsequent impact on local ecology and fisheries; and also minimise impact due to fish cage relocation. § Adequate water flow and dispersion of
organic content between cages / rafts, and along the water column is
allowed. Adequate clearance from
seabed will also be maintained. Water
quality impacts such as changes in flow regime and build-up of organic
content are minimised. Subsequent
ecological and fisheries impacts in the vicinity and degradation of the
nearby marine environment could be reduced.
The need for maintenance dredging and sediment removal during
construction and operation of the Project is also avoided. § Use of green technology and
automation could reduce feed wastage and physical labour, hence reduce potential disturbance
to water quality, ecology and environment from feed wastage, workforce
wastes, vessel trips, etc. |
§ Higher setup cost. |
Alternative option Use of traditional fish farm designs (e.g. made of
timber supported by floating units made of
empty plastic drums or polystyrofoam floats) |
§ Lower setup cost. |
§ Non-weather resistant materials and
easy to get damaged or repaired. More
wastes are expected to be generated. § Susceptible to damage from adverse
weather conditions such as typhoons. Potential risk of fish loss / escape
is higher, and subsequent impact on local ecology and fisheries; and also impact due to fish cage relocation would
increase. § Potential impact on water flow and
dispersion of organic content between cages / rafts, and along the water
column might be present, and result in the build-up of organic content on
seabed. Maintenance dredging and sediment
removal may be required periodically and water
quality impacts would arise. Subsequent ecological and fisheries
impacts in the vicinity and degradation of the nearby marine environment
would also increase. Other mitigation
measures will be required to control and minimise impacts to water quality,
such as the use of silt curtains, closed grab dredger, etc. § Require more labour input and hence
increase potential disturbance to ecology and environment from feed wastage,
workforce wastes, vessel trips, etc. |
Construction Methods and Sequence of Works for the Project |
||
Preferred option Fish farm framework are pre-fabricated off-site, then assemble and anchored on-site
|
§ Minimisation of construction duration
on-site and hence reducing the duration when potential impacts to the
environment can occur. § No generation of C&D materials
on-site and potential water quality impact from construction site run-off
during the construction of the Project is avoided. The use of silt curtain and construction
boats for silt curtain deployment are therefore not required, the subsequent impacts
to marine and fisheries habitats such as underwater sound from marine vessels
are minimised § Less labour input required on site
would result in reduction of waste generated from human activities |
§ N/A |
Alternative option No alternative option applicable as
the fish farm framework used for advanced type of mariculture is large in scale, and could not be constructed from raw materials on
site. |
§ N/A |
§ N/A |
The Project Profile of this Project
was exhibited to the public for comments on 16 October 2019, and stakeholder
engagement activities which commenced in June 2021 were conducted during the course of this EIA Study. These activities included briefings and
meetings with special interest groups, members of the Legislative Council,
fishermen groups, mariculturists, environmental bodies etc. The comments received from the public and key
stakeholders mainly focused on the potential impacts of the Project on water
quality, marine ecology, fisheries, waste management, visual and noise aspects
and are discussed in Section 1.5 of the EIA Report. These impacts are assessed in this EIA Study.
The Project
site at Mirs Bay is located east of Tap Mun (Figure 1.1). It consists of two areas, one around 105
hectares (~1,000 m long and ~1,000 m wide) east of Tap Mun and the other around
305 hectares (~2,000 m long ~1,500 m wide) east of Kau Lau Wan. The total area of the Project site is
approximately 410 hectares. The Project
site is exposed to wind from all
directions, and is located at water depths of -15 m to -20 m.
There is no
historic use of the Project site based on the existing information. The land
surrounding the Project site is generally rural area with no planned
developments, historical, or existing infrastructure facilities in the
vicinity. No
historical contamination concern is identified within the Project site. Sai Kung
East Country Park is located in the vicinity of Project site while there are no
SSSI and Marine Parks located in the vicinity. The village / residential area closest to the
Project site is over 1 km at Kau Lau Wan.
The Project
is comprised of the following key components which are discussed in detail in Section 2.9 of the EIA Report:
§ Fish
rafts / cages manufactured off-site which will be towed to the Project site;
§ Mooring
system to be anchored to the fish rafts / cages and assembled on site; and
§ Auxiliary
facilities, such as storage space and shelters would be positioned by anchor
lines attaching to the anchorage points on the seabed.
The
detailed number, size and separation distance of the fish rafts / cages would
be determined at a later stage. No
land-based works will be involved in the Project.
The Project
may have the potential to interact with the proposed FCZs at Wong Chuk Kok Hoi
and Outer Tap Mun, subject to the timing of completion of legislative exercise
to amend the Schedule to the Fish Culture Zone (Designation) Order (Cap.
353B), and existing FCZs in the vicinity.
This EIA Study did not identify any other existing or committed projects
in the vicinity of the Project site which may potentially interface with the
construction and operation of this Project.
The cumulative impact assessment is based on the
worst-case scenarios of concurrent operation of all existing and planned FCZs
as sources of pollution and the impacts are addressed in this EIA Study.
For all types of advanced aquaculture technologies, the
construction of the proposed Project will mainly involve the setup of fish farm
structures, including fish rafts / cages, auxiliary facilities (such as storage
areas on communal rafts) and mooring system at sea. No land-based works, structures and
activities are involved in the Project and no landscape areas will be
affected. The scale of construction work
on-site is relatively small, and the installation of fish farm structures are expected
to be completed within a few weeks for each fish raft. Main
components of the rafts / cages are manufactured off-site and will be towed to
the Project site using tug boat. On-site assembly and anchoring of the fish rafts /
cages will be assisted by a small number of marine vessels such as sampans and
small speed boats for up to a few trips per day. These vessels will be the major means of
transport to the Project site during the construction phase and anchoring of
these vessels might be required. No
dredging works are required during the construction phase and no heavy
construction plant would be used. Fish
rafts / cages and auxiliary facilities, such as storage space and shelters,
will be positioned by anchor lines attaching to the anchorage points on the
seabed. Use of winch might also be
required during the assembly and anchorage of fish rafts / cages. Depending on the design and specifications,
required works to assemble fish rafts onsite could vary and may include tighten
up connections by nuts and bolts, ropes or equivalent, assembling parts with
pre-casted grooves, etc. All
construction activities shall be conducted during daylight hours.
Mariculture
activities, such as management of fish raft / cages and fish stocks within the
Project site at sea will be undertaken during operation phase. No land-based works, structures and
activities are involved in the Project and no landscape areas will be
affected. Limited numbers of small power
generators will be used on fish rafts to support daily mariculture
activities. The transportation of fish
stocks, fish feed, fish raft equipment and workforce as well as occasional
visitors will mainly make use of small marine vessels such as sampans and speed
boats for a few trips a day. These
vessels will be the major means of transport to the Project site during
operation phase. As the fish farm
facilities will be used mainly for fish farming purposes, auxiliary facilities
such as storage space and shelters will be present, while as automated / remote
fish feeder machines will be adopted in the Project to reduce physical labour
input. Mariculturists
are not anticipated to live on the rafts as in some traditional fish
farms. No maintenance dredging or
sediment removal will be required during FCZ operation.
AFCD will
limit the number of marine fish culture licences issued to control the standing
stock of the Project site to within its maximum carrying capacity of 5683.5 ton
at any given time as identified in this EIA study. Licensees would be required to submit a fish
farm operational plan to AFCD under the Marine Fish Culture Ordinance (Cap.
353) that describes site practices and control of mariculture activities to
minimise impacts on the environment. The general management of the new FCZs shall follow the Marine Fish Culture Ordinance (Cap. 353) and
Marine Fish Culture Regulations (Cap.
353A).
Subject to
the completion of this EIA study and issuance of EP, legislative exercise will
be carried out to amend the Schedule
to the Fish Culture Zone (Designation)
Order (Cap. 353B) by negative vetting for designating new FCZ. Consequential
amendments to other related ordinances will also be made as necessary. After the designation of the new FCZ
tentatively in Year 2023, AFCD will grant new marine fish culture licences to
the mariculturists who successfully apply to operate in this FCZ.
Construction
activities by licensees are expected to commence in Year 2024, subject to the
timing of application and approval of the new marine fish culture licence. Mariculture activities are expected to
commence after the completion of construction by licensees, and would typically last for more than
10 years without major repair.
This EIA
Study has described the potential impacts associated with the construction and
operation of the Project on water quality that have been identified and
analysed for compliance with the prevailing WQOs stipulated under the Water
Pollution Control Ordinance (WPCO) and the Technical
Memorandum Standards for Effluents Discharged into Drainage and Sewerage
Systems, Inland and Coastal Waters (TM-ICW), Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines (HKPSG), and the
criteria and guidelines stated in the EIAO-TM Annexes 6 and 14 respectively.
The
Assessment Area for water quality assessment covers the Mirs Bay and the Tolo Harbour and
Channel Water Control Zones (WCZs).
The water quality in the Assessment Area was very good with high levels of
dissolved oxygen (DO), and low nutrient and E.
coli levels. Compliance with the
Water Quality Objectives (WQOs) is generally observed in most parameters at the
selected monitoring stations at the two WCZs. Water Sensitive Receivers
(WSRs) were identified in the Assessment Area, including:
n
Recreational areas, such as secondary
contact recreation subzones of WCZs;
n
Marine Park;
n
Existing and proposed FCZs;
n
Habitats for marine organisms
including coral and benthic communities, and Finless Porpoise;
n
Spawning ground and nursery area of
fisheries resources;
n
Intertidal area;
n
Sites of Special Scientific
Interest (SSSIs); and
n
Non-gazetted beaches.
The
potential impacts arising from the construction and operation phases of this
Project to these WSRs have been evaluated and the findings are summarised in Section
5.1.
The
potential impacts of the construction and operation activities of this Project
on marine ecology have been assessed in this EIA Report. The impacts have been identified and analysed
for compliance with the criteria and guidelines stated in the EIAO-TM Annexes 8 and 16 respectively.
The
Assessment Area for marine ecological impact assessment is the same as the
assessment area for water quality impact assessment. Known marine ecological important habitats
and species in the vicinity of the Project site within the Assessment Area
including existing Country Parks, SSSI, existing
marine parks, mangroves, coral communities, marine benthos of conservation
interest, and ecologically important species including Amphioxus and
White-bellied Sea Eagle.
Field
surveys, which include subtidal (benthic and coral) surveys were conducted
during September 2020 to February 2021 to update the baseline conditions of the
marine habitats and assemblages within and around the Project’s footprint. Results of the field surveys confirmed the
findings of the literature review, and are presented below:
§ Recognised
Sites of Conservation Importance: These
include a number of existing country parks (Sai Kung East Country Park, Sai Kung West Country Park and Sai Kung West
Country Park (Wan Tsai Extension)), existing marine park (Hoi
Ha Wan Marine Park (HHWMP)), as well as SSSI (Hoi Ha Wan SSSI).
§ Marine
Mammals: According to the latest AFCD Marine Mammal
Monitoring Report 2021/22 ([2]),
no records of Hong Kong’s resident marine mammal species, the
Finless Porpoise (FP) Neophocaena phocaenoides and the Chinese White Dolphin
(CWD) Sousa chinensis, are present in the Assessment
Area. FPs are mainly distributed in the southern and
eastern waters of Hong Kong and CWDs are
mainly distributed at western and southwestern Lantau waters, and so their habitats do not overlap with the Project site.
§ Horseshoe Crab, and its Breeding and Nursery Grounds: Two species of horseshoe crab, Tachypleus tridentatus
and Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda have previously been recorded around Hong Kong waters. Adult horseshoe crabs are not recorded in the
northeastern waters of Hong Kong. The nearest confirmed nursery site and key
nursery ground are located at Lai Chi Wo in YCTMP which is out of the
Assessment Area and are considered to be too remote to
be affected by the Project.
§ Mangroves: Patches of
mangroves are found along the coastline from Tai
Tan to Ham Tin Wan and at Hoi Ha Wan. The nearest mangrove is located at Chek
Keng and Ham Tin which are ~3.1 km away from the
Project site and most of them are located more than 3.5 km away. These sites are considered
to be far away to be affected by the Project.
§ Coral Communities:
The field survey results indicated that the majority of corals recorded within the
Assessment Area were common and widespread species in Hong Kong, including hard
corals Montipora peltiformis,
Plesiastrea versipora and
Porites sp.. Isolated colonies of soft coral Dendronephthya sp., black corals Antipathes
curvata and Cirripathes
sp. were recorded at the surveyed area. The coral coverage were
generally low (<5%-10%) at areas in the vicinity of the Project site. Higher coral coverage was recorded near Nam
She Wan.
§ Amphioxus: The
baseline subtidal benthos field survey results indicated that three species of
amphioxus, including Branchiostoma
belcheri was
found in both wet and dry seasons, and two other species B. japonicum
and B. malayanum were found in
dry season only within the Project
site. Sampling Station MB9 was found to
have high density of amphioxus during both seasons.
§ Other Intertidal and Subtidal Assemblages: Other intertidal
and subtidal benthos species reported from the field surveys and literature
review in the Assessment Area are common and widespread in Hong Kong with no
species of conservation importance. Previous studies have indicated that the benthic
communities of the Assessment Area were impoverished.
Seagrass (Halophila minor) was
reported to be present at To Kwa Peng; however, as it is located far from the
Project site (~3.9 km) to be affected by the
Project.
§ White-Bellied Sea Eagle (WBSE): The species was spotted on Port Island and Tsim Chau at 2.7 km and >4
km away from the Project site respectively. The species is uncommon but widespread in
Hong Kong. The nesting grounds of WBSE
is also considered far away to be affected by the Project.
Based
on the literature and survey data, the ecological importance of waters at the
Project site is considered low. Other marine habitats (e.g.
intertidal, subtidal hard bottom, subtidal soft bottom) at the Project Site and
its vicinity are generally considered as of low ecological importance, while
moderate ecological importance was recorded at subtidal habitats near Nam She
Wan and at specific amphioxus habitat within and in the vicinity of the Project
site.
The
potential impacts arising from the construction and operation phases of this
Project to these marine ecological resources have been evaluated and the
findings are summarised in Section 5.2.
The
potential impacts to fisheries caused by the construction and operational
activities of this Project have been assessed in this EIA Report. The impacts have been identified and analysed
for compliance with the criteria and guidelines stated in the EIAO-TM Annexes 9 and 17 respectively.
The
Assessment Area is the same as that identified in the water quality impact
assessment and sensitive receivers for fisheries are identified as follows:
§ Recognised spawning ground and nursery area of commercial fisheries resources in
northeastern waters which are located at ~5.9 km and ~0.7 km from the Project
site respectively;
§ FCZs at Tap Mun (located at ~2.1 km northwest of Project site), Kau Lau
Wan (located at ~1.4 km west of Project site) and Sham Wan (located at ~4.0 km
southwest of Project site); and
§ ARs in Long Harbour (33,420 m3) and
HHWMP (9,530 m3), located at >2.3 km and ~4.5 km west of the
Project site respectively.
A review of
baseline information on commercial fisheries resources, habitats and fishing
operations surrounding the waters of the Project site from available literature
has been undertaken. Results from the
review indicated that low to high levels of fishing operation with low to
moderate levels of fisheries production were reported at the Project site. The Assessment Area including the Project
site mainly supported fish families of low commercial value. Areas which supported fish families of higher
commercial values, such as HHWMP, is located at some distances from the Project
site. The Project site is located out of
the recognised spawning ground and nursery area. The potential for the Project
site and its immediate vicinity to function as a unique and important spawning
ground and nursery area is relatively low.
The
potential impacts arising from the construction and operation of this Project
on these sensitive receivers have been evaluated and the findings are
summarised in Section 5.3.
The
potential waste management implications caused by construction and operation
activities of this Project have been assessed in this EIA Report. The assessment followed the technical
requirements given in Appendix E of
the Study Brief. The impacts have been identified and analysed for compliance
with the criteria and guidelines stated in the EIAO-TM Annexes 7 and 15,
respectively.
An analysis
of waste generation activities was conducted to identify the quantity, quality
and timing of the waste arising from the construction and operation activities
of the Project. Appropriate waste
management measures including waste generation reduction, recycling
and disposal options, as well as alternative project design, are also proposed
for each type of wastes taking account of potential hazard, air and odour
emission, noise, wastewater discharge and public transport in order to minimise
waste generation and maximise waste reduction within the Project site.
The
potential impacts arising from the construction and operation of this Project
on waste management have been evaluated and the findings are summarised in Section
5.4.
This EIA Study
has described the visual impacts associated with the construction and operation
of this Project. The purpose of the
assessment was to evaluate the predicted impacts to Visual Sensitive Receivers
(VSRs) as per EIAO GN 8/2010 and the criteria and guidelines stated in
the EIAO-TM Annexes 10 and 18 respectively.
This EIA
Study has identified six VSRs, including visitors at Tap Mun campsite, Kau Lau
Wan and Nam She Wan beach, residents at Kau Lau Wan, hikers / recreational
viewers from elevated areas of Nam She Wan and Sai Kung East Country Park and
hikers at Tai Tan Country Trail. The
quality of most existing views towards the Project is generally good, with a
high degree of visibility to natural views.
The
potential visual impacts and glare effect from the construction and operation
of this Project to these sensitive receivers have been evaluated and the
findings are summarised in Section 5.5.
The
potential air quality impacts caused by construction and operation activities
of this Project have been assessed in this EIA Report. The impacts have been identified and analysed
for compliance with the criteria and guidelines stated in the EIAO-TM Annexes 4 and 12 respectively and the applicable
criteria stipulated under the Air
Pollution Control Ordinance (APCO).
The
Assessment Area is defined as an area within 500 m from the Project site
boundary, with representative air sensitive receivers (ASRs) identified beyond
the 500 m Assessment Area, including village houses of Tap Mun New Fisherman’s
Village and Kau Lau Wan. The potential
impacts arising from construction and operation of the Project on the
identified representative ASRs have been evaluated and the findings are
summarised in Section 5.6.
The
potential impacts of noise caused by the construction and operation activities
of this Project have been assessed in this EIA Report. The impacts have been identified and analysed
for compliance with the criteria and guidelines stated in the EIAO-TM Annexes 5 and 13 respectively and the applicable
criteria stipulated under the Noise
Control Ordinance (NCO).
The Project
site is located about 100m north of Sai Kung East Country Park and is located in an open sea.
Background noise at the Project site and the surrounding environment is
dominated by the prevailing sea waves.
Three Noise Sensitive Receivers (NSRs) have been identified, including
Sai Kung East Country Park and village houses at Tap Mun and Ko Lau Wan and the
potential impacts arising from the construction and operation phases of the Project
on these representative NSRs have been evaluated where appropriate. Sai Kung East Country Park has been
identified within 300 m Assessment Area.
Other NSRs are located 1.1 km away from the Project site boundary. The potential impacts arising from construction
and operation of the Project on the identified representative NSRs have been
evaluated and the findings are summarised in Section 5.7.
The
potential impacts to cultural heritage, in particular marine archaeology,
associated with the construction and operational of this Project have been
assessed in this EIA Report. The assessment followed the Requirements for
Marine Archaeological Investigation (MAI) (Appendix
I of EIA Study Brief). The impacts
have been identified and analysed to be in compliance with
the criteria and guidelines stated in the EIAO-TM
Annexes 10 and 19 respectively.
No sites of archaeological interest, declared monuments,
proposed monuments, graded historic sites / buildings / structures, or
Government historic sites identified by Antiquities and Monuments Office are
present within the Assessment Area. The
MAI identified one
sonar contact within the Assessment Area, which is
most likely to be modern, recently deposited debris that would not be of high
archaeological potential.
The
potential impacts arising from the construction and operation of this Project
on cultural heritage have been evaluated and the findings are summarised in Section
5.8.
The
construction for this Project will not involve civil or marine works. The construction works include the assembly
of parts to form fish rafts for mariculture, as well as the towing and anchoring
of fish rafts from other location(s) to the new FCZ using tug
boat. The towing and anchoring of
fish rafts is expected to have very limited impact on
water quality. The level of sediment
suspended in the water column from anchoring will be very limited and
localised. Besides, the Project site is
overall deep enough such that propeller would not have
interaction with the seabed sediment and so SS elevation due to
propeller wash is not anticipated. The
use of chemicals on-site is expected to be minimal and no unacceptable water
quality impact from the onsite installation of fish raft would be
expected. Details of tools and materials
adopted on-site would be determined by the future licensees.
Because of
the lack of major works to be conducted, it is unlikely there will be a
significant workforce present during construction phase, and any sewage /
wastewater generated shall be collected at the transportation / work vessel(s)
for disposal at appropriate facilities on land.
No unacceptable water quality impact from sewage / wastewater from
workforce is anticipated.
The maximum
standing stock of the Project site was estimated using an established computer
modelling system. AFCD will ensure the
production scale of the Project site will not exceed the maximum standing stock
level by controlling the mariculture production scale permitted under
individual license. The potential change
in water quality due to mariculture activities at the Project site have been
assessed using computer simulations, which considered the influence of other
nearby FCZ operations as well as pollutants from the rest of HK and the
Guangdong area. Compliance with WQO is
achieved at all of the WSRs (except for the DO
criterion which showed baseline exceedance at WSR of planned Wong Chuk Kok Hoi
FCZ), and no project contribution to Wong Chuk Kok Hoi FCZ is expected from the
mariculture operation of the Project.
Therefore, no unacceptable water quality impact has been predicted.
Temporary
relocation of fish rafts may be conducted at the discretion of licensees with
AFCD’s agreement in case of potential circumstances that affect mariculture
activities. The fish rafts will be
relocated away from ecological and fisheries sensitive areas, as well as marine
fairways and utilities. Such relocation
will be temporary and the fish rafts will return to
the Project site upon the cease of the circumstances. Given the operation phase modelling results
indicated no unacceptable change in water quality from mariculture activities
at the Project site, if some of the mariculture operation is temporarily
relocated, the associated pollution load would likely to be more spread out to
a wider area and the potential change in water quality would be even less
significant. Therefore, it is expected
the potential temporary relocation of fish rafts would not result in adverse
change in water quality exceeding the case under normal operation.
Sufficient
separation distance will be maintained between fish rafts / cages to allow
water flow. Therefore, the presence of
floating structures of fish rafts will not exert significant drag on the tidal
stream and no notable change in flow regime would be expected.
Mariculturists
at the Project site would be required to strictly observe the requirement under
Cap. 529 Veterinary Surgeons Registration Ordinance and have strict
control on prescription drugs. In AFCD’s
regular inspection of existing FCZs in recent years, there was no identified
case of excessive storage of drugs or pharmaceuticals. Therefore, there would be very limited
pharmaceuticals for fish kept onsite and those would be stored at secured
locations, and discharge of water containing pharmaceuticals is not expected
from daily operation. In view of the
above, the risk of spillage of fish drugs or pharmaceuticals is low.
Only pellet
feed or alternative feed with better feed conversion ratio will be permitted
within the proposed FCZ. Spilled /
excess fish feed generally does not persist for considerable amount of time
because of attempt for recovery by crew or consumption by existing fish
population. Bags of feed dropping into
the sea during storage or transportation will be recovered by the crew. Even if not recovered, the bag would limit
the exchange materials such that the nutrient content would unlikely be
released all at once and result in significant water quality impact. In view of this, the risk and consequence of
such scenario are deemed minimal and no unacceptable impact on water quality is
expected.
Operational
activities would involve the removal of fouling organisms of the rafts. Fouling
organisms are usually removed mechanically so chemical is generally not
required. Dislodged fouling biomass
falling into the sea would not constitute additional pollution load because such
biomass has fed on the original pollution source from the fish farm operation.
Disinfection
of culture gears is required for disease control. Amongst different methods of disinfection,
submersion to water dosed with formaldehyde or bleach within enclosed container
could be used. Chemical used will be
required to be stored properly onsite and disposed of by licensed
contractor. No onsite disposal would be
allowed.
Given small
marine vessels such as sampans and speed boats will be used during mariculture
operation for a few trips a day, increased marine traffic would not result in
notable change in water quality.
Generation of sewage by staff and visitors onsite would be limited. Sewage shall be stored on vessels or at the
mariculture facilities and be regularly disposed by licensed contractor, and no
sewage from staff will be discharged into the sea.
The
disturbance of marine habitats (up to ~410 ha, including marine waters and
benthic habitats) due to the assembly and installation activities of fish rafts
are considered as environmentally acceptable to marine ecology due to the
temporary nature of the construction activities (a
few weeks for each fish raft / cage), limited
disturbance to small extent of surface layer of seabed, the availability of
similar habitat in the vicinity and overall low ecological importance of the
affected area. Although a small extent of amphioxus habitat was
identified within the Project site, the majority of
the Project site is of muddy and silty nature and therefore is not considered
an important recruitment area and spawning ground for amphioxus. Nevertheless, specific mitigation measures,
including avoidance of construction works within the amphioxus habitat within
the Project site, will be implemented to further avoid / minimise the potential
impact from disturbance to marine habitats.
Other
disturbances including the generation of noise, glare
and dust from construction activities such as assembly of fish raft are
considered environmentally acceptable to marine ecology as marine species,
mostly fishes, would temporarily avoid areas in the vicinity of the works area
or close to the source of disturbance, while major lighting sources will be pointed inward and
downwards to avoid disturbance to wildlife.
Underwater
sound and increase marine traffic generated from marine construction activities
are also not expected to result in unacceptable impacts to marine ecological
resources, considering the relatively small number of marine vessels present
temporarily during fish farm construction and the habituation of similar sounds
by marine organisms in the current underwater soundscape.
As the fish
farm structures will not occupy all of the Project site,
the disturbance of about <410 ha of marine habitats within the Project
footprint is considered to be acceptable to marine ecology with the area
affected which is of overall low ecological importance. Although a small
extent of amphioxus habitat was identified within the Project site, the majority of the Project site is of muddy and silty
nature and therefore is not considered an important recruitment area and
spawning ground for amphioxus.
Nevertheless, specific mitigation measures, including avoidance of
operation works within the amphioxus habitat within the Project site, will be
implemented to further avoid / minimise the potential impact from disturbance
to marine habitats. Recolonisation by
marine organisms in the new artificial habitats provided by the fish farm
structures is expected to occur.
Fish rafts /
cages are built with permeable nets to allow water exchange with the marine
environment and no unacceptable change in hydrodynamics is expected to
occur.
Other
disturbances including the generation of noise, glare
and dust from operation activities such as cleaning of fish cages and the use
of lighting are considered environmentally acceptable to marine ecology as
marine species, mostly fishes, would temporarily avoid areas in the vicinity of
operational area or close to the source of disturbance, while major lighting sources will be pointed
inward and downwards to avoid disturbance to wildlife.
Unacceptable
adverse impacts to marine ecological resources and marine parks, associated
with increased marine traffic and underwater sound from project vessels, are
not expected to occur during Project operation. Isolated
incidents (e.g. typhoon and algal bloom) may require temporary relocation of fish raft and
additional vessel movements during such emergency conditions, however,
considering the small number of marine vessels required and the temporary
nature of the operation, unacceptable impacts of increased marine traffic due
to temporary relocation of fish rafts on marine ecological resources are not
expected.
Increase of
underwater sound due to fish farm operation would be temporary which the underwater sound
characteristics of these vessels are similar to the operations
at Tap Mun FCZ, Kau Lau Wan FCZ and marine traffic at ferry routes nearby. Marine organisms in these waters are
habituated to the background level of underwater sound and unacceptable impacts on marine ecological resources are not
anticipated.
Impacts of changes in water quality
arising from mariculture activities are predicted to be largely confined in the
vicinity of the Project site. No
unacceptable change in water quality is predicted at all marine ecological
sensitive receivers when comparing the baseline and project scenarios.
Potential Impact on the
introduction of invasive species is considered minor with regular monitoring of
mariculture facilities to prevent fish escape.
No unacceptable impacts to marine ecological resources and species of
conservation importance are expected to occur.
Considering
the temporary nature of the disturbance (a few weeks for each fish raft/cage),
unacceptable impacts on fisheries are not expected. Direct impacts arising from the proposed fish
farm construction works include temporary disturbance (a few weeks for each fish raft / cage) to
fisheries habitats within the area and water column partially occupied by the fish farm structures, and loss of
access to potential fishing ground with an area of approximately 410 ha. Fish farm structures, such as fish cages will
occupy a section of the water column and the disturbance of seabed due to the
anchorage of fish farm structures will be confined to a thin surface layer
(<0.5 m) within a small area. Considering the temporary nature of
disturbance during construction phase, the impacts on fishing activity are considered to be of minor significance. Potential impacts of elevated levels of
underwater sound as a result of construction
activities are considered acceptable with the presence of existing underwater
sound from Tap Mun FCZ, Kau Lau
Wan FCZ and marine traffic at ferry routes nearby. No unacceptable construction phase impacts to
fisheries are expected to occur and no fisheries-specific mitigation measures
are required during construction.
Direct
impacts arising from mariculture activities will include changes in fisheries
habitat within the area and water column occupied by the fish farm structures,
and loss of access to fishing grounds within the FCZ (410 ha). The fish farm structures will not fully
occupy all of the Project site area but mainly a
section of the water column and a small area of seabed confined to a thin
surface layer (<0.5 m). The presence of
fish farm structures will also provide hard substrates that could be colonised
by a variety of marine organisms and bringing potential positive effect on
fisheries resources. Although the
Project site covers some areas of Mirs Bay, majority
of fisheries resources found in and around the vicinity of the Project site are
of low commercial value, unacceptable impacts on fisheries are not
expected. Impacts on fishing activity
are localized with moderate impact on fishing operation as fishing activities
are not allowed inside fish farm structures. Considering that suitable fishing
grounds outside of these structures can allow similar fishing activities to
take place, unacceptable impacts on fishing activity are not expected. Potential impacts of elevated levels of
underwater sound generated from the marine vessels in the vicinity of the
Project site are considered acceptable with the presence of existing underwater
sound from Tap Mun FCZ, Kau Lau
Wan FCZ and marine traffic at ferry routes nearby. Temporary relocation of fish rafts may occur
over a short time, therefore, unacceptable impacts are
not anticipated. Impacts of changes in
water quality arising from mariculture activities are predicted to be largely
confined in the vicinity of the Project site.
The management of fish health will be conducted regularly to prevent
fish disease outbreaks, including the Fish Health Inspection Programme to be
conducted regularly by AFCD and the implementation of good mariculture
practices by licensees. No unacceptable
operational phase impacts to fisheries are expected to occur and no
fisheries-specific mitigation measures are required during operation.
The
assessment concludes that no C&D materials and chemical waste will arise
from the construction of the Project.
The amount of general refuse generated from site workers and the
floating refuse entrapped by the fish cages/ fish rafts are anticipated to be
insignificant. The construction of the
Project site will take only a few weeks for each fish raft.
Adequate
waste containers will be provided at appropriate locations to facilitate
recovery of recyclables within the Project site. Regular clearance and disposal of waste are
also required to avoid odour and litter impact.
With the implementation of the mitigation measures recommended, no
unacceptable environmental impacts arising from storage, handling, collection, transport and disposal of wastes during the construction
phase are anticipated.
It is
expected that less than 315 kg organic waste, including uneaten fish feed, fish
excretion and fish carcasses, will be generated per day during the operation
phase. Regular removal of these organic
wastage will be required within the licensed area with proper storage using
enclosed containers and disposed of at the nearest accessible FEHD refuse
collection points with public pier following the existing practice under Cap.
353. In the unlikely case that
significant amount of dead fish occur, the licensed
fish farmers would inform AFCD immediately.
AFCD will then liaise with relevant Government departments (e.g. Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Marine
Department) to collect the dead fish from the Project site directly as
necessary. All staff and visitors shall
refrain from littering to the sea.
Waste
impact related to generation of general refuse, as well as the entrapment of
marine floating refuse, within the Project site are expected to be
insignificant. Adequate waste containers
will be provided at appropriate locations to facilitate recovery of recyclables
within the Project site. Regular
clearance and disposal of waste are also required to avoid odour and litter
impact. Small amount
of chemical wastes will be generated, which will be carefully handled under the
Code of Practice on the Packaging,
Labelling and Storage of Chemical Wastes and collected by licensed chemical
waste collector to licensed chemical waste treatment facilities for disposal at
the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre (CWTC) at Tsing
Yi. With the implementation of the
mitigation measures recommended, no unacceptable environmental impacts arising
from storage, handling, collection, transport and
disposal of wastes during the operation phase are anticipated.
With
the implementation of mitigation measures, unacceptable visual impacts due to
the construction of the Project are not anticipated.
The FCZ
facilities are not expected to be higher than 3 m in height above water (except during maintenance), and only the upper part
of the fish rafts / cages would be above waters, they would only block part of
the view in the vast sea. The impact is
reversible. The new structures will be
designed in accordance with relevant marine safety standards and regulations.
Sensitive architecture design will be considered where practicable. Residual visual impacts will be between
insignificant and slight to moderate. No
unacceptable residual visual impact is expected.
Night-lighting
will be used for safety purpose in this Project and the light sources will
generally be of low intensity, the orientation of light will point towards to
the fish rafts / cages, and will not be pointing
horizontally and to the VSRs. In
addition, no mirrors or polished materials will be installed on the fish rafts
/ cages, reflectance of light will be low.
Therefore, the night lighting and glare impact is considered
acceptable.
With the
implementation of mitigation measures, unacceptable visual impacts due to the
operation of the Project are not anticipated.
Potential
sources of impacts will mainly arise from emissions from small marine vessels
such as tug boats, sampans and speed boats for towing
the fish rafts / cages to the Project site for setup, assembly and anchoring on
site. Given the small
scale construction works, only a few trips per day for the transport of
the fish rafts / cages would be required and thus the potential emissions from
the operation of these small marine vessels are expected to be minor. In addition, construction equipment may also
be used to assist with the assembly and anchoring of the fish rafts / cages, as
well as installation of the auxiliary facilities on site. The associated emissions are also expected to
be minor given the limited number of construction equipment to be used on
site. Potential emissions from these
small marine vessels and construction equipment would be short-term as the
construction period would take a few weeks for each fish raft.
Considering
the large separation distance between the Project site and the nearest ASR
(more than 1 km away), as well as the limited and short-term air emissions
associated with the construction works, adverse air quality impact arising from
the construction of the Project is not anticipated. The Air
Pollution Control (Marine Light Diesel) Regulation and Air Pollution Control (Fuel for Vessels) Regulation will be
followed to control emissions from the operation of the marine vessels. Air
Pollution Control (Non-road Mobile Machinery)
(Emission) Regulation and Air
Pollution Control (Fuel Restriction) Regulation will also be followed to
control emissions from the operation of the construction equipment.
A few small
power generators will be used within the Project site to support daily
mariculture activities during operation phase.
It is also expected there would be a few trips per day of small marine
vessels such as sampans and speed boats for the transportation of fish stock,
fish raft equipment, daily necessities and occasional
visitors to and from the Project site.
As these operational activities only involve limited number of small
power generators and just a few vessel trips per day, potential emissions from
the operation of these small power generators and vessels are expected to be
very minor.
Considering
the large separation distance between the Project site and the nearest ASR
(more than 1 km away) and that the potential air emissions associated with the
operational activities of the Project would be limited, adverse air quality
impact arising from the operation of the Project is not anticipated. The Air
Pollution Control (Marine Light Diesel) Regulation and the Air Pollution Control (Fuel for Vessels)
Regulation will be followed to control emissions from the operation of the
marine vessels. Air Pollution Control (Non-road Mobile
Machinery) (Emission) Regulation and Air
Pollution Control (Fuel Restriction) Regulation will also be followed to
control emissions from the operation of the small power generators within the
Project site.
Potential
sources of impacts will mainly arise from towing of fish rafts to FCZ by tug boat, and assembly and anchoring of fish rafts by
winch. The construction of the Project
would take a few weeks for each fish raft.
No heavy powered mechanical equipment (PME) is required
and no noisy activities will take place during the construction phase. All construction works will be carried out
during non-restricted hours only. The
main components of the fish rafts and cages will be manufactured off-site.
Sai Kung
East Country Park is identified within the 300 m Assessment Area, and no
specific noise limit for Country Parks is available from the relevant
legislation and guidelines, including EIAO-TM and GW-TM. The area
of Sai Kung East Country Park within 300m of the Project is not accessible by
any hiking trail and the nearest accessible hiking trail is more than 300m away
from the Project. Other NSRs are located
away from the Project Site (at least 1.1 km).
In view of small scale of the Project with limited numbers of marine vessel
trips / day and noisy activities are not required, adverse noise impact during
construction phase is not anticipated. No mitigation
measures during construction of the Project are required. Good site practices are recommended despite
no adverse construction noise impact is anticipated.
Limited
numbers of small power generators will be used on fish raft to support the
daily mariculture activities. The transportation
of fish stock, fish feed, fish raft equipment, other daily necessities as
required by the workforce at fish farm, as well as occasional visitors will
occur with the use of small marine vessels such as sampans and speed boats for
a few trips a day. No PA system or
loudspeaker will be used on-site during operation of the Project. No maintenance dredging or sediment removal
is anticipated during FCZ operation.
Sai Kung
East Country Park is identified within the 300 m Assessment Area, however, the
area of Sai Kung East Country Park within 300 m of the Project are not
accessible by any hiking trail due to steep slope. The nearest accessible hiking trail is more
than 300 m from the Project. There is no specific operation phase noise criteria for Country
Parks in the relevant guidelines and TMs.
Other NSRs are located far away from the Project Site (at least 1.1
km). With the small number of marine
vessel trips / day for transportation, limited numbers of small power
generators and no noisy operational activities within the Project site, adverse
noise impact due to operation of the Project is not anticipated. No mitigation measures during operation of
the Project are required.
Potential
impact on a sonar contact C1-SC006 that may have marine archaeological
potential is identified for construction phase of the Project. A buffer area of 20m radius from C1-SC006 is
recommended to avoid any tug boat anchoring, and
anchoring of the fish rafts / cages in the area so as to avoid any impact to C1-SC006. The locations and
relocations of fish rafts / cages are regulated by the Marine Fish Culture Ordinance (Cap. 353), and AFCD will ensure the
locations of anchoring of vessels and fish rafts / cages will not be located within
the buffer area. Site inspections on a
regular basis by the Environmental Team (ET) are recommended to check if any
seabed disturbance work is conducted in the buffer area. With the implementation of mitigation
measures, unacceptable impacts on cultural heritage due to the construction of
the Project are not anticipated.
Potential impact on sonar contact C1-SC006 during
operation phase can be avoided by setting a buffer
area of 20m radius from C1-SC006 to avoid any tug boat
anchoring, and anchoring of the fish rafts / cages in the area so as to avoid any impact to C1-SC006. The locations and
relocations of fish rafts / cages are regulated by the Marine Fish Culture Ordinance (Cap. 353), and AFCD will ensure the
locations of anchoring of vessels and fish rafts / cages will not be located
within the buffer area. AFCD will
conduct regular site inspections to check if any seabed disturbance work is
conducted in the buffer area. With the implementation of mitigation
measures, unacceptable impacts on cultural heritage due to the operation of the
Project are not anticipated.
A summary
of the environmental impacts is presented in Table 5.1. This EIA Study of the Project has been
demonstrated to comply with the EIAO-TM requirements. Actual impacts during the construction and
operation works will be monitored through a detailed EM&A programme. Full details of the programme are presented in
the EM&A Manual associated with this EIA Report. This programme will provide management
actions and supplemental mitigation measures to be employed should any impacts
arise, thereby ensuring the environmental acceptability of the construction and
operation of this Project.
Baseline
marine water quality monitoring at all designated monitoring
stations including control stations shall be
conducted prior to the commencement of the Project construction of any licenced fish raft.
In
addition, bi-weekly site inspections are recommended to be conducted regularly
by the ET during construction phase of the Project to verify that appropriate
environmental protection and pollution control mitigation measures are properly
implemented in accordance with this EIA.
Water quality monitoring at selected WSRs will be conducted during the operation
phase of the Project according to the EM&A programme to confirm no unacceptable
change in water quality at the nearby water sensitive receivers. Details of the programme
are presented in the EM&A Manual associated with this
EIA Report.
Mariculture
water quality monitoring will also be conducted by AFCD, in addition to the
operational phase water quality monitoring at sensitive receivers, to regular
monitor the operation and water quality within the proposed FCZ.
Table 5.1 Summary of Environmental Impacts
Sensitive
Receivers / Assessment Points |
Relevant
Standards and Criteria |
Results of
Impact Predictions |
Extents of
Exceedances Predicted |
Impact Avoidance
Measures Considered |
Mitigation
Measures Proposed |
Residual Impacts
(After Mitigation) |
|
Potential
Impacts |
Significance of
Impacts (Without Mitigation) |
||||||
Water Quality |
|||||||
Water Sensitive Receivers
(WSRs) within Mirs Bay WCZ and Tolo Harbour and Channel WCZ: § Recreational
areas, such as secondary contact recreation subzones of WCZs; § Marine Parks; § Existing and
proposed FCZs; § Habitats for
marine organisms including coral and benthic communities, and Finless Porpoise; § Spawning
ground and nursery area of fisheries resources; § Artificial
reefs (ARs); § Intertidal area; § Sites of
Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs); § Non-gazetted beaches. |
§ Annexes 6 and 14 of EIAO-TM § Water Pollution Control Ordinance § Technical Memorandum for Effluents Discharged
into Drainage and Sewerage Systems, Inland and Coastal Waters § WQOs for: ·
Mirs Bay WCZ ·
Tolo Harbour and Channel WCZ § Hong Kong
Planning Standards and Guidelines (HKPSG) |
Construction Phase § Towing and
onsite installation of fish rafts § Sewage / wastewater
from workforce |
§ No unacceptable
impacts § No unacceptable
impacts |
No |
§ Sufficient
separation distance will be maintained between fish rafts / cages to allow
adequate water flow and reduce impacts on water quality such as changes in
flow regime. § Licensing
would be based on the estimated carrying capacity of the Project site to
limit potential change in water quality. § No sediment
removal/ dredging works will be conducted. § No on-site
construction except for assembly and towing works will be conducted. |
Construction Phase § Any sewage /
wastewater generated should be collected at the transportation / work
vessel(s) for disposal at appropriate facilities on land. |
§ No
unacceptable residual impacts are anticipated. |
Operation Phase § Changes in
water quality from pollution loadings arise from mariculture operation § Changes in
hydrology and flow regime due to presence of mariculture facilities § Spillage of
fish drugs, pharmaceutical chemicals and feed
additives § Wastewater
from daily operation of fish farms, disinfection of gears, and sewage from
workforce § Increased
marine traffic, boating and visitor activities |
§ No unacceptable
impacts § No unacceptable
impacts § No unacceptable
impacts § No unacceptable
impacts § No unacceptable
impacts |
Compliance
with WQO criterion is achieved at most of the water sensitive receivers, and
no contribution to WQO exceedance is expected from the operation of the
Project |
Operation Phase § Standing stock
should not exceed 5683.5 tonnes. AFCD
will ensure the production scale of the Project site will not
exceed the maximum standing stock level by controlling the mariculture
production scale permitted under individual license. § In
case of potential circumstances (e.g. red tide
event, outbreak of fish disease), the licensees will review the need of fish
raft relocation and propose the fish raft relocation plan as necessary for
agreement with AFCD. § Only
pellet feed or alternative feed with better feed conversion ratio will be
permitted within the proposed FCZ. § No
chemically-laden solution from culture gears
disinfection should be discharged into the sea. § Onsite
storage of chemicals should be controlled and minimised as practicable. Excess chemicals as well as chemical waste
generated should be removed from the site at appropriate facilities or by
licensed contractor as soon as possible. § Fuel
storage onsite should be minimised, and if needed, be located at sheltered
and secure location. § Littering
of the sea should be prohibited. |
||||
Marine Ecology |
|||||||
Marine Ecological Sensitive
Receivers within Mirs Bay WCZ and Tolo Harbour and Channel WCZ: § Country Parks § SSSI § Existing
marine parks § Mangroves § Coral
communities § Amphioxus § White-bellied
Sea Eagle |
§ Annexes 8 and 16 of the EIAO-TM § EIAO Guidance Notes No. 6/2010, 7/2010 and 11/2010 § Marine Parks Ordinance § Wild Animals Protection Ordinance § Protection of Endangered Species of
Animals and Plants Ordinance § Country Parks Ordinance § Town Planning Ordinance § Hong Kong Planning Standards and
Guidelines Chapter 10 (HKPSG) § United Nations Convention on
Biodiversity (1992) § Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC)
Regulations and Guidelines |
Construction Phase § Habitat
disturbance § Underwater
sound generated from marine construction activities and
marine vessels |
§ Minor
significance § Minor
significance |
No |
§ Avoidance
measures as detailed above. § Avoid areas
of high marine ecological importance, such as existing marine parks and
amphioxus habitat. |
Construction
Phase § Avoid
construction works at areas identified with high density of amphioxus (i.e. Station MB9). |
§ No
unacceptable residual marine ecological impacts during the construction and
operation of the Project are anticipated. § The fish farm
structures, which would provide artificial substrates for forming habitat and
shelter for juveniles or adult fisheries, would provide positive effects on
marine ecological resources within and adjacent to the Project Site. |
Operation Phase § Changes in marine habitats (marine
waters and benthic habitat) § Change in water quality due to
temporary relocation of fish rafts § Underwater
sound from daily operations and marine vessels § Change in water quality during fish farm operation § Introduction
of invasive species |
§ Minor
significance § Minor
significance § Minor
significance § Minor
significance § Minor
significance |
No |
Operation Phase § Avoid
operation works at areas identified with high density of amphioxus (i.e. Station MB9). § Mitigation
measures proposed for water quality. |
||||
Fisheries |
|||||||
Fisheries Sensitive Receivers
within Mirs Bay WCZ and Tolo
Harbour and Channel WCZ: § Recognised spawning ground and
nursery area of commercial fisheries resources § Tap Mun FCZ,
Kau Lau Wan FCZ, Sham Wan FCZ § ARs in Long Harbour and HHWMP |
§ Annexes 9 and 17 of the EIAO-TM § Fisheries
Protection Ordinance § Marine Fish
Culture Ordinance § Water
Pollution Control Ordinance |
Construction Phase § Direct
disturbances to fisheries habitat and loss of access to fishing grounds § Underwater
sound generated from marine construction activities and marine vessels |
§ Minor
significance § Minor
significance |
No |
§ Avoidance
measures as detailed above § Avoid areas
of high fisheries importance. |
Construction
Phase § N/A |
§ No
unacceptable residual fisheries impacts during the
construction and operation of the Project are anticipated. § While the
proposed FCZ would provide more fisheries resources to the local and global
fisheries market, the fish farm structures would also provide artificial
substrates, which could form habitat and shelter for juveniles or adult
fisheries resources. Besides, the reduced fishing pressure may also have
potential positive effect on fisheries resources within and adjacent to the
Project site. |
Operation Phase § Changes in
fisheries habitats and loss of access to fishing grounds at the location of
fish farm structures § Change in water quality due to
temporary relocation of fish rafts § Underwater
sound from daily operations and marine vessels § Change in
water quality during fish farm operation § Potential
outbreak of fish diseases |
§ Minor
significance § Minor
significance § Minor
significance § Minor
significance § Minor
significance |
No |
Operation Phase § Same as
mitigation measures proposed for water quality. |
||||
Waste Management |
|||||||
Project Area |
§ Annexes 7 and 15 of the EIAO-TM § Technical
requirements as stated in Appendix E
of the Study Brief § Waste Disposal Ordinance (WDO) (Cap 354) § Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General)
Regulation (Cap 354C); § Marine Fish Culture Ordinance (Cap 353) § Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance
(Cap 28) § Public Health and Municipal Services
Ordinance (Cap 132) - Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation § Merchant Shipping (Prevention and Control
of Pollution) Ordinance (Cap 413) § Waste Disposal (Charging for Municipal
Solid Waste) (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 |
Construction Phase § General
refuse and floating refuse generated |
§ No
unacceptable impact |
No |
§ Migration to
environmentally friendly modernised mariculture § Adopt modern
prefabricated fish culture raft § Adopt modern
fish farm designs and advanced mariculture technologies § Adopt fish
farm designs and layout to maintain adequate water flushing |
Construction Phase § Nomination of
approved personnel (e.g. environmental officer of
the contractor(s), representative of the project proponent) to be responsible
for good site practices, arrangements for collection and effective disposal
to an appropriate facility of all wastes generated at the site. § Training of
site personnel in proper waste management and handling procedures by AFCD. § Provision of
sufficient waste disposal points and regular collection for disposal. § Appropriate
measures to reduce windblown / floating litter and dust during transportation
of waste by transporting wastes in enclosed containers. § A recording
system (e.g. log book for mariculture operation) for
the amount of wastes generated, recycled and disposed of and the disposal
sites for checking by AFCD. § Provision of
adequate waste containers at strategic locations to facilitate recovery of
recyclables. § Regular
clearance and disposal of waste to avoid odour and
litter impact. |
§ No
unacceptable residual impacts are anticipated. |
Operation Phase § Organic
waste, chemical waste, general refuse and floating
refuse generated |
§ No
unacceptable impact |
No |
Operation Phase § Nomination of
approved personnel (e.g. environmental officer of
the contractor(s), representative of the project proponent) to be responsible
for good site practices, arrangements for collection and effective disposal
to an appropriate facility of all wastes generated at the site. § Training of
site personnel in proper waste management and handling procedures by AFCD. § Provision of
sufficient waste disposal points and regular collection for disposal. § Appropriate
measures to reduce windblown / floating litter and dust during transportation
of waste by transporting wastes in enclosed containers. § A recording
system (e.g. log book for mariculture operation) for
the amount of wastes generated, recycled and disposed of and the disposal
sites for checking by AFCD. § Regular
removal of organic wastes within the licensed area with proper storage using
enclosed containers and dispose at the nearest accessible FEHD refuse
collection points with public pier. § Provision of
adequate waste containers at strategic locations to facilitate recovery of
recyclables. § Regular
clearance and disposal of waste to avoid odour and
litter impact. § Careful
handling of chemical waste under the Code of Practice on the Packaging,
Labelling and Storage of Chemical Wastes. § Use of
properly designed fish cages/ rafts with no sharp turns or abrupt indentation
to minimise trapped or accumulated floating refuse. § Use of
good-quality feed, i.e. pellet feed, to reduce
uneaten feed wastage. § The fish
farmers will keep detailed operational records to allow more accurate
estimation of fish feed input and to minimise
unnecessary wastage of feeds. § The uneaten
feeds should be cleaned up immediately to minimise
leaching to the adjacent water. |
||||
Visual |
|||||||
Visual Sensitive Receivers
(VSRs) that may be affected by the Project: § Recreational user § Residential users |
§ Annexes 10
and 18 of the EIAO-TM and EIAO
Guidance Note 8/2010 (Preparation of Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment
under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance) § Hong
Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines (HKPSG) issued by the Planning
Department (November 2015), in particular Chapter 11
Urban Design Guidelines § Study
on Landscape Value Mapping of Hong Kong |
Construction Phase §
Setup of fish rafts /
cages §
Provision of
auxiliary facilities |
§ No unacceptable impact |
No |
§ Site
selection at some distance away from visual sensitive receivers. |
Construction Phase § Pre-construction
and construction period for the Project site should be reduced as far as
practical to lower visual impact. § The new
structures will be designed in accordance with relevant marine safety
standards and regulations. Sensitive architectural design will be considered
where practicable. This should take into account
material texture, colour, finishes to structures to
ensure the fish rafts / cages blend into the existing context, cause least
disturbance to the existing seascape, and are the most visually appealing. |
§ No unacceptable residual impacts are anticipated. |
Operation Phase § The presence and operation of the FCZ,
including night time lighting for the sake of safety
purpose |
§ No
unacceptable impact |
No |
Operation Phase § After
operation, the open water occupied by the Project site will be reinstated to
their former state. § Light
intensity and beam directional angle should be controlled at the Project site
at the design stage to reduce light pollution and glare (e.g.
hooded lights, specific directional focus, etc.). |
||||
Air Quality |
|||||||
Air Sensitive Receivers (ASRs) identified beyond 500m from the
Assessment Area: § Village House of Tap Mun
New Fisherman’s Village § Village Houses of Kau Lau
Wan |
§ Annex 4 of EIAO-TM § Air Pollution
Control Ordinance § AQO |
Construction Phase § Emissions
from small marine vessels and construction equipment |
§ No adverse
impact is anticipated |
No |
§ Optimise the number of small marine
vessels and construction equipment in operation as far as practicable during
construction phase. § Optimise the number of small
marine vessels for goods transportation and visitors, as well as the number
of small power generators in operation as far as practicable during operation
phase. |
Construction Phase § Relevant
control measures as stipulated in the Air
Pollution Control (Marine Light Diesel) Regulation, Air Pollution Control (Fuel for Vessels) Regulation, Air Pollution Control (Non-road
Mobile Machinery) (Emission) Regulation and Air Pollution Control (Fuel Restriction) Regulation. |
§ No adverse
residual impacts are anticipated. |
Operation Phase § Emissions
from small marine vessels and small power generators on site |
§ No adverse
impact is anticipated |
No |
Operation Phase § Relevant
control measures as stipulated in the Air
Pollution Control (Marine Light Diesel) Regulation, Air Pollution Control (Fuel for Vessels) Regulation, Air Pollution Control (Non-road
Mobile Machinery) (Emission) Regulation and Air Pollution Control (Fuel Restriction) Regulation. |
||||
Noise |
|||||||
Noise Sensitive Receivers (NSRs) within 300m from
the Assessment Area § Sai Kung East Country
Park Noise Sensitive Receivers (NSRs) beyond 300m from
the Assessment Area § Village House at Tap Mun § Village House at Ko Lau
Wan |
§ Annexes 5 and 13 of
EIAO-TM § Noise Control
Ordinance |
Construction Phase: § Noise from towing of
fish using tug boat § Noise from assembly
and anchoring of fish rafts by winch. |
§ No adverse
impact anticipated |
No |
§ Project site
located in remoted location avoiding impacts. |
Good site
practice |
§ No adverse
residual impacts are anticipated. |
Operation Phase: § Noise from
mariculture activities § Transportation of
fish stock, fish feed, fish raft equipment and workforce as well as
occasional visitors using small marine vessels |
§ No adverse
impact anticipated |
No |
|||||
Cultural Heritage |
|||||||
Sensitive Receivers: § One sonar
contact C1-SC006 that may be of marine archaeological potential
identified in the
Assessment Area |
§ The study
methodology follows the criteria and guidelines as stated in Annexes 10 and 19 of the EIAO-TM and the Requirements for MAI as stated
in Appendix I of the Study Brief |
Construction Phase § Potential
impact on a sonar contact C1-SC006 that may have marine
archaeological potential is possible during tug boat
anchoring and anchoring of fish rafts / cages as the seabed will be disturbed
by the anchoring but confined to a thin vertical surface layer (<0.5 m),
and <2 m horizontally. |
§ Potential
impact anticipated |
No |
§ A buffer area of 20m radius from
C1-SC006 to avoid any tug boat anchoring and
anchoring of the fish rafts / cages in the area. |
Construction Phase § A buffer area of 20m radius from
C1-SC006 to avoid any tug boat anchoring and
anchoring of the fish rafts / cages in the area. § The locations and
relocations of fish rafts / cages are regulated by the Marine Fish Culture
Ordinance (Cap. 353), and AFCD will ensure the locations of anchoring of
vessels and fish rafts / cages will not be located within the buffer
area. |
§ No impacts to
terrestrial and marine cultural heritage resources are expected, no adverse
residual impacts are expected. |
Operation Phase § Potential
impact on a sonar contact C1-SC006 that may have marine archaeological
potential is possible. |
§ Potential
impact anticipated |
No |
Operation Phase § A buffer area of 20m radius from
C1-SC006 to avoid any tug boat anchoring and
anchoring of the fish rafts / cages in the area. § AFCD will maintain the record of the
buffer area and the locations of the fish rafts / cages. The locations and relocations of fish rafts
/ cages are regulated by the Marine Fish Culture Ordinance (Cap. 353), and
AFCD will ensure the locations of anchoring of vessels and fish rafts / cages
will not be located within the buffer area. § AFCD will conduct regular inspections
to check if any seabed disturbance work is conducted in the buffer area. |
This EIA
Study has critically assessed the overall acceptability of the environmental
impacts likely to arise as a result of the
construction and operation of the Project.
It has demonstrated the acceptability of any residual impacts from this
Project and the protection of the population and the environmentally sensitive
resources. This EIA Study concluded
that, with the implementation of the recommended mitigation measures, the
Project would be environmentally acceptable and in compliance with the relevant
assessment standards / criteria of the EIAO-TM. Where appropriate, EM&A mechanisms have
been recommended to verify the accuracy of the EIA predictions to ensure the
effectiveness of the recommended mitigation measures.
The
implementation of this Project is in line with the HKSAR Government’s objective
of creating room for the mariculture sector to grow further with the
establishment of the new FCZs, to allow capture fishermen to switch to a
sustainable mode of operation and making it possible for the development of newer
type of deep-water mariculture in the open sea and attracting new entrants into
the fisheries industry.