Live Marine Fish Trade and Mariculture in Hong Kong

 

Louise W. H. Li[1]

 

Abstract

Fish is a major component of the diet in Hong Kong, where live fish are naturally selected because of their freshness and flavour. Rapid economic growth over the past decades has fuelled demand for these quality fishes. The market is restaurant-based and dominated by the steady demand from medium-priced restaurants where the majority of the population can afford to eat. However, the demand for certain reef fish has expanded to become a significant part in the trade, particularly the premium sector. Some of these fish may be captured using cyanide in producing countries, resulting in destruction of coral reefs. The government has implemented an action plan to help combat such destructive fishing methods locally and internationally. Apart from importation by foreign countries, mariculture also plays a significant role in the supply of live marine fish for consumption in Hong Kong. Cage culture has been the only method practised and is regulated under the Marine Fish Culture Ordinance which requires all operations to be performed under licenses within designated Fish Culture Zones (FCZs). It is anticipated that mariculture may experience a period of slow growth in the near future mainly attributed to lack of suitable land and water space, lack of fish fry or fingerlings, competition from foreign imports, self pollution and fish disease outbreaks. One viable solution to support steady and sustainable mariculture production, as well as supply to the restaurants would be to introduce open sea culture system in exposed sites in the territory, coupled with the use of improved feed formulation and better monitored husbandry practice.

 

Introduction

Situated at the southeast coast of the People's Republic of China (PRC), Hong Kong covers a total land area of 1,100 sq km and territorial waters of 1,700 sq km. Local waters are influenced by the Pearl River discharge in the west and the offshore oceanic flow regimes in the east associated with winter and summer seasons which are characterized by distinctive currents. The waters are subtropical with high summer water temperatures at a range of 20-30oC, and minimum winter temperatures ranging from 10oC to 16oC (EPD,1994).  Fish farms are located in fairly sheltered conditions mainly in eastern and southern areas protected from prevailing winds (Figure 1).

Fish is a major component of the diet in Hong Kong which has a population of 6.2 million people. Hong Kong people being devoted fish eaters, live fish are naturally selected with priority to fresh, chilled or frozen ones not only because of their freshness and flavour. Under the free trade policy, rapid economic growth and the growing affluence over the past decades has fuelled demand for these quality fishes. Recent health awareness promotions such as the preference of low cholesterol content in marine fish have boosted its market demands.

The current total annual consumption of all fisheries products amounts to 282,000 tonnes or 46kg in per capita term, which has steadily increased from an average of about 40kg per capita in 1980s.  The majority of consumption includes marine products. Separately, fisheries is one of the significant primary industries in Hong Kong although these contribute less than one percent of the gross domestic production (GDP). At present, local capture fisheries and aquaculture produce about two-fifth of the total fisheries consumption which has decreased gradually from about one-half in the 1980s. Marine fish culture currently constitute about one-third of the total consumption of live marine fish in Hong Kong, and the rest of the demand would be supplemented mainly by imports including cultured and captured species. Beginning in the 1970s, marine fish culture in Hong Kong has the shortest history among the three sectors of the aquaculture industry which also includes oyster culture and freshwater pond fish culture.


Figure 1.  Location of the culture farms in Hong Kong

Market Characteristics

Demand

Fish is a symbol of prosperity and good fortune in Chinese culture. In fact, the word "fish" in Chinese is suggestive of abundance and wealth. Fish named with the word "Red" are popular as the colour itself symbolizes luck and happiness, for example, the red grouper (Epinephelus akaara). Hong Kong people, mostly Cantonese in origin, enjoy eating marine fish that are alive until moments before reaching the dining table. It is believed that live fish can retain the sweet flavour and soft texture before the fish has gone through rigour. Consuming freshly-killed fish is also believed to bring vigour and good health to the body. The desired Cantonese cuisine is to steam the fish whole in order to avoid changing the flavour and tenderness. Therefore, species like groupers with low fat content, a firm taste of flesh, and fine-grained skin are preferred. In addition, wild caught fish can fetch significantly higher prices than farmed fish owing to their superior appearance and the perceived flavour and texture. During peak seasons, prices of wild caught groupers for species such as the green grouper (Epinephelus coioides) can rise up to 30% higher than farmed ones.

In the live marine fish trade, three sectors may be identified, namely, the domestic home consumption market, the medium-priced restaurant market, and the premium-priced restaurant market (Table 1). Household demand for  marine fish largely relies on the supply from retailing stalls. These stalls mainly sell fresh, chilled and frozen fish of mainly demersal species with a retailing price range of US$2-20 per kg. Common live fish species, usually sold by weight, include gold-lined seabream (Rhabdosarga sarba), brown-spotted grouper (Epinephelus bleekeri), and mangrove snapper (Lutjanus argentimaculatus). The retail price range is around US$9-28 per kg and the size range is about 0.4-0.8kg. These are mainly harvested from local mariculture and supplied from imported culture species; while some other low-priced live fish such as rabbitfish, rockfish and tigerfish which seldom exceed 0.2kg are collected from inshore capture fisheries.

The live fish market is restaurant-based and dominated by the relatively steady demand from medium-priced restaurants where the majority of the population can afford. Dining out is important socially as well as in business. A typical restaurant banquet meal would include a dozen courses, one of which is fish, and take several hours to finish. The steamed fish often becomes the focused seafood dish of a conventional wedding banquet with each table seating 12 guests. Each wedding usually caters for a few hundred guests and requires 15-30 fish of optimal size of 0.6-1kg.  In fact, demand for live marine fish is believed to be closely linked to events on the Chinese lunar calendar. It generally peaks at festivities like the Chinese New Year around February. Various species of groupers, snappers and seabreams are popular in this sector. They are supplied by mariculture, capture fisheries, and import. Recently, there has been an increasing trend of demand for other reef fish such as parrotfish (Scaridae), wrasses (Labridae), and coral trout (Plectropomus spp.) which are seldom cultured. Preferable sizes of fish range from 0.5 kg to 1.5 kg. Fishes that are above 1 kg, seldom exceed 2 kg, would be usually sold by piece instead of weight. The wholesale price range is around US$9-40 per kg depending upon factors such as purposes of consumption, sources of supply, different species, desirable sizes, and availability at a particular season.

In the 1960s, live seafood was regarded as luxury product that few could afford. The most important species was the red grouper (Epinephelus akaara), or Hong Kong grouper, which was the most popular fish species used for steaming as a main dish in wedding banquets. Usually a couple of fish would be served in one dish for the fortune of the bridge and groom.  The fish could be caught at a marketable size of 0.4 kg along the east coast of China or cultured locally with the supply of wild caught fry or fingerling from China. However, in the 1970s, adult stocks were severely depleted.  This influenced fry supply to the local culture industry leading to the collapse of the market for this fish.  Coral reef fishes mainly from Indo-Pacific regions then gradually dominated the premium market. The recently improved long-distance transport collapse of the market for this fish. The premium market was then gradually dominated by coral reef fishes mainly from Indo-Pacific regions. With the recently improved long-distance transport technique for live fish, the amount of marine live fish imported to Hong Kong has increased tremendously supplying to seafood restaurants particularly company-based chain restaurants. Some of the preferred species are humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus), giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus), highfin (humpback) grouper (Cromileptes altivelis) and leopard coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus). The demand of these fish is also partly supplied from offshore capture fleet. Desirable sizes of fish varies with species. For example, the giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus) can be found in the market of up to 30kg, or above, of which the split portions are usually shared among 10 to 20 tables.  Preferred sizes for other species like leopard coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus) would be around 1-2kg. The wholesale prices per kg in the premium market range from US$37 to US$80. The trend of demand is dynamic as different species may become fashionable from time to time. 

 

                                       Table 1.   Demand for marine live fish for consumption in Hong Kong

 

Demand

Purposes

Price Range

(US $)

Preferred

Size Range

(kg)

 

Common species

 

Supplier

Domestic

Household consumption

 

 

Gold-lined seabream (Rhabdosarga sarba)

Yellow-finned seabream (Sparus latus)

Red pargo (Pagrosomus major)

Brown-spotted grouper  (Epinephelus bleekeri)

Yellow grouper (E. awoara)

Mangrove snapper (Lutjanus argentimaculatus)

Russell’s snapper (L. russelli)

Pompano (Trachinotus blochii)

Rabbitfish (Siganus canaliculatus)

Rockfish (Sebasticus marmoratus)

Tigerfish (Terapon spp.)

Mariculture

 

Importer (cultured species)

 

Inshore fishing boat

Medium-priced restaurants

Wedding banquet

Business entertainment

Hosting celebration: birthdays, family reunions, Thanksgiving, etc.

 

 

Gold-lined seabream (Rhabdosarga sarba)

Pampano (Trachinotus blochii)

Brown spotted grouper  (Epinephelus bleekeri)

Green grouper (E. coioides)

Malabar grouper (E. malabaricus)

Tiger grouper (E. fuscoguttatus)

Flowery grouper

(E. polyphekadion)

Parrotfish (Scaridae)

Wrasses (Labridae)

Coral trout (Plectropomus spp.)

Mariculture

 

Importer (cultured species)

 

Capture fisheries

Premium-priced restaurants

Tourists attractions

Wedding banquet

Business entertainment

Hosting celebrations

Checking-out eateries

37-80 per kg

(wholesale)

1-2 kg or above

Humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus)

Highfin grouper (Cromileptes altivelis)

Giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus)

Leopard coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus)

Red grouper (Epinephelus akaara)

Stonefish (Synanceidae)

Importer (capture fisheries)

 

Offshore fishing fleet

Supply and Distribution Channels

The patterns of various distribution channels for live marine fish in Hong Kong involves the primary distributors’ network, in addition to the major supplies, importers, capture fishermen and mariculturists (Figure 2).  In local waters, collector boats transport fish from marine fish farms and inshore fishing boats in relatively remote areas to landing ports near potential markets. These family-based boats are usually about 8-18m in length and equipped with live fish holds with a capacity of a few tonnes. At the landing ports, fish are either transferred to live fish transporting trucks provided by primary distributors or they are loaded to nearby retailing stalls. Live fish trucks are equipped with aerators and conditioned water in order to distribute the fish to various markets and restaurants where similar stocking facilities are available for keeping the fish alive before selling or cooking.  Separately, it is not uncommon to find direct supply from inshore fishermen to households as they may directly load and sell the fish at better prices at their own retailing stalls close to the landing ports.

Primary distributors are playing a more significant role in marketing the fish with their integrated networks. Some primary distributors collect fish directly from mariculturists as they may have their own collector boats and retailing stalls in addition to live fish trucks. They also collect live fish from various sources including importers and be able to provide fast delivery to restaurants and retailers, as well as re-export to China. However, some large restaurants may collect fish directly with their own trucks from these primary distributors with abundant sources of supply of live reef fish.

The live fish market, however, is recently dominated by import supplies through air or sea transport mode.  In particular, the special live fish transport vessels possessed by some large fish traders may also be connected with established distribution or marketing networks, namely restaurateurs, fish retailers,  fish farmers or those involved in re-export trade.  In the early 1990s, about one-fourth of the collected live reef fish was re-exported to China which has increased currently to around two-fifth. Hong Kong re-export of live reef fish remains as the major supply to the growing demand from China, mainly in places such as  Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai and other southeast coastal areas.

The live fish transport vessels are purposely built for collecting fish directly from fishermen or middlemen from countries of origin such as Indonesia and the Philippines. These vessels, commonly over 25m in length, can travel for months at sea with advance navigation and holding facilities of carrying up to 10-15 tonnes of live fish. The fish, upon arrival, are usually kept at mariculture farm cages owned by fish traders for temporary stocking before selling to distributors. During the January-February cold period, traders tend to use land-based holding facilities to avoid losses due to losses associated with temperature fluctuations. The survival rate of transporting fish in such manner is high as compared to air packing, which requires the use of anaesthetics and, thus, a higher mortality rate.   A large variety of sizes and species are transported widely in this manner in contrast to the limitations of airfreight transportation.

Apart from wild caught reef fish species, cultured species commonly collected by live fish transport vessels are malabar grouper (Epinephelus malabaricus) and green grouper (E. coioides) which are also imported by air freight from countries like Thailand and Philippines. Other species commonly imported by air freight are leopard coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus) from Indonesia and Australia. In general, for imports by air, the fish are mainly dealt and transported by a separate group of traders. To provide an optimal condition for air transport. about a dozen of fish of 1-1.5kg are contained in a small box added with minimal anaesthetics dissolved in conditioned water of about 16-18oC supersaturated with oxygen.

 

Local Capture Fisheries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Figure 2.  Distribution channels of marine live fish in Hong Kong

Destructive Fishing Problem

Recently, Hong Kong has been identified as one of the major demand areas for certain species of reef fish, notably humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) that may be captured with the use of cyanide by fishermen from producing countries, resulting in adverse impacts on coral reefs and nearby village communities. as a responsible consumer economy, Hong Kong has been taking proactive steps to help combat destructive fishing, including the use of cyanide. They are integrated into an action plan which includes improvement in enforcement, monitoring, education, as well as publicity and lobbying (Appendix 1).

 

Mariculture Supply

Apart from the importation of other countries, local mariculture also supply live marine fish for consumption in Hong Kong. The Marine Fish Culture Ordinance was implemented in 1982 to protect and control marine the fish farming industry which has developed rapidly in recent years. This legislation requires all marine fish culture operations to be practised under license within gazetted Fish Culture Zones. The majority of these FCZs are situated in eastern waters away from development sites, urban population and navigational fairways, and usually sited to the west of islands or in sheltered bays for protection from dominant easterly prevailing winds and the associated high waves. Rearing prime species of groupers, snappers and seabreams from fry or fingerling to marketable size is performed in floating cages suspended by wooden rafts for 18-24 months. Cage culture methods remains the only method of marine fish farming in the territory since its early establishment in 1970s. This floating netcage system requires good water quality in which the important parameters to be considered  are Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD<5.0mg/L), Dissolved Oxygen (DO>4mg/L), Ammoniacal nitrogen (free ammonia<100mg/L) and Suspended Solids (SS<50mg/L) (Wilson,1995).

Production Economics

There are currently 26 FCZs with some 1,600 licensed operators occupying a total sea area of 210 ha. The annual production in 1995 was 2,950 tonnes valued at HK$180 million, or US$23 million (Figure 3). The production has increased three fold to a peak of 3,860 tonnes in 1991 since the implementation of the legislation. Most farm units are still family-based consisting of few rafts with areas ranging from 100-1,000 m2 (Wong, 1994). Economic profiles show that about one-half of the total operating expenses for marine fish culture are for purchase of fish fry and feed. Labour cost increased substantially at around 29% per year from 1987 to 1990 and then the increase showed down to 8% per year from 1990 to 1993, which is comparable to the inflation rates. These small-scale operations are becoming less profitable since it would take six years for the initial capital investment to be recovered in 1993 while only two years were needed for such return in 1990. The farmer, thus, can only make a living if unpaid family labour is used. Separately, there are only about 20 larger company-run farms which are partly used for temporary stock keeping of imported fish. These farmers may also own their restaurants and retailing stores. The high return from guaranteed market for the products, would improve culture operations and make the farm more economically viable.

Supply of fish fry or fingerling

Seedstock for marine fish culture are therefore either collected from the wild or imported from neighbouring countries, but the supply is very variable. Common fish species currently cultured in Hong Kong are numerous (Appendix 2). The fry of purple amberjack (Seriola dumerili), seabreams and grunts can be collected by seine nets from local waters during late winter and early spring. Gold-lined Seabream is also popularly cultured as it can clean up the nets and provide good anti-fouling effect, in particular, when mix cultured with carnivorous species. Although red pargo (Pagrosomus major) fry are found naturally in Hong Kong waters, they are seldom cultured locally because the texture of the flesh means the fish does not fetch good prices in the steamed fish market. Similarly, purple amberjack (Seriola dumerili) is not considered a preferable species due to its high fat content resulting in loose texture after steaming. Recently, farmers have reared fry of purple amberjack and red pargo to approximately 6-10 cm and sold to Japanese traders for culture in Japan. These traders come to Hong Kong by their live fish holding vessels and purchase the fry at high prices since these species can also fetch high prices in the Japanese sashimi market.

 

Figure 3.  Annual production of cultured marine fish in Hong Kong

There are virtually no established hatcheries due to shortage of land and suitable water resources. The industry relies heavily on the availability of imported fry which also determines the species for culture and the continuity of production of a particular species supply to the market. In 1993, expenses for fry increased some sixty percent over 1990 costs due to the dependence on imported fry resources, which had rapidly decreased resulting in escalated fry prices (Table 2). Fry of green grouper (Epinephelus coioides), malabar grouper (E. malabaricus), brown-spotted grouper (E. bleekeri), russel snapper (Lutjanus russelli) and pompano (Trachinotus blochii) are mainly imported from Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines and China. Red grouper (E. akaara) and green grouper (Epinephelus coioides) initially were two top ranking species cultured in the early 1980s, but the production decreased drastically in recent years due to difficulties in obtaining the fry. Instead, brown-spotted grouper (E. bleekeri) culture is commonly practised in the territory and the market demand is good. It is used as a substitute for red grouper (E. akaara) due to its similarity and the relatively steady supply of fry.

Feeding and Husbandry

Feed is the other primary expense in fish culture, although from 1987 to 1993 the price of trash fish remained fairly stable (Table 2). Feeding trash fish resulted in high feed losses and self-pollution, which in turn affected fish health and growth. Recently, moist pelleted feeds have been developed to reduce environmental impact resulting from leachate from mined fish and provide a balanced diet to the fish. The feed conversion ratio for moist pellets is around 3:1 and for trash fish is about 10:1. These feeds reduce mortality and improve overall fish health. The harvest weights and profit margin on the farm can, in turn, cover the higher costs of pellet feeds as compared to trash fish. In fact, some farmers recently reporting doubled costs for trash fish due to shortage of supply from local fishermen. Therefore, it is anticipated that moist pellets will replace trash fish as the major feed used for culture in a few years.

Table 2.  Cost and earnings of a fish farm in Hong Kong

Item

1987

1990

1993

Capital investment

6,120

79,419 (30 %)

10,329 (30 %)

Operating expenses (US $)

   Fry and fingerlings

   Feed

   Labour

   Others

   Total

 

5,314

6,024

6,491

2,482

20,311

 

5,231 (-2%)

6,687 (11%)

12,115 (87%)

3,509 (41 %)

27,542 (36%)

 

8,508 (63%)

6,641 (-1%)

15,114 (25%)

4,284 (22 %)

34,547 (25 %)

Gross Income (US ($)

23,077

32,071 (39%)

36,367 (13 %)

Net Income (US $)

2,766

4,529 (64%)

1,820 (-60 %)

Net Farm Income (US $)

9,257

16,644 (80%)

16,934 (2%)

Return on Capital (%)

45

57

18

Cultured fish has long been considered inferior and less competitive to wild caught fish that have better perceived outlook and finer-textured taste of flesh. The prices of locally cultured fish are only 70-80% of those captured fish largely supplied from imports (Figure 2) (Wilson, 1995). The difference is related to the quality and quantity of feed used in fish farm, as well as the feeding and husbandry habits. Overstocking and overfeeding have caused low survival rate and the cultured fish are commonly underexcised and obese with unfavourably high fat content. In addition to optimal stocking and controlled feeding, improved husbandry techniques such as water quality monitoring and efficient aeration are also required to reduce fish losses by oxygen depletion and disease.

Import competition

With the rapid development of marine fish culture in Southeast Asia, coupled with the perfected long-distance transport technique for live fish,  there has been an increase in the amount of live cultured marine fish imported from neighbouring countries. This may cause saturation of the demand for particular species and reduction in price as well as profit gain for local mariculturists. An example is sited that the local production of mangrove snapper (Lutjanus argentimaculatus) has been dropped drastically in recent years due to the increased competition from import of cultured fish of the same species with comparable prices and good quality. It is believed that the culture of new species may lead to development of new markets. The pompano (Trachinotus blochii) recently cultured because of its resemblance to pomfret (Bramidae), has attracted favour from consumers and gets a fairly good market price.

Future Perspectives

It is envisaged that the demand for good quality marine live fish in Hong Kong will continue to remain high, in particular, for wedding and business banquets in restaurants. With the boosting demand from the mainland China, Hong Kong is expected to continue to act as a trading centre with its established marketing networks re-exporting high-valued reef fish to business centres and Cantonese-origin places in China.

There is little future for the establishment of local commercial hatchery production of seedstocks due to the lack of suitable land-based facilities.  Seedstocks will continue to be supplied from nearby countries.

Introduction of new species for culture is suggested to create new markets as to reduce competition when the demand for a particular species is saturated. Alternative species for culture, thus, should be selected based on their steamed quality and outlook which require improvement in feed formulation and culture condition, as well as establishment of proper promotion and marketing plan.

Local mariculture is expected to develop within constraints for species of good market prices. Recently, development of cage culture at exposed sites coupled with the use of moist pelleted feeds is recommended for reducing environmental impacts associated with conflicting uses of inshore waters and sheltered areas. Such would require substantial financial inputs, knowledge and practical skills. Company-run farms with strong financial support are more capable of adopting such new procedures that improve the culture environment and product quality.

It is unlikely that Hong Kong can cater for the growing demand for reef fish even with improved feed formulation due to the lack of enough suitable space and technique for commercially viable culture. Research on environmentally sustainable seedstock production and culture techniques of high-valued reef fishermen to be a practical solution towards alleviating the impacts of destructive fishing in coral reef regions.

 

Acknowledgement

I wish to thank the Director of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hong Kong for permission to attend the Workshop on Aquaculture of Coral Fishes and Sustainable Reef Fisheries. I also gratefully acknowledge the contributions of my colleagues in the Agriculture and Fisheries Department for the information they provided for this paper.

Literature Cited

Csavas, I. 1995. Recent developments and issues in aquaculture in Asia and the Pacific. 72pp. In Aquaculture in Asia and the Pacific - A Seminar Report. Asian Productivity Organization. Tokyo.

Choi, K.C. 1996. Hong Kong. Seminar on Improving Management of Aquaculture (SEM-20-96), Taiwan. Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Centre, the Philippines.

EPD. 1994. Marine Water Quality in Hong Kong for 1992. Environmental Protection Department, Hong Kong.

Everitt, S.J. 1996. Aquaculture and Environmental Legislation in Hong Kong. In Regional Study and Workshop on Aquaculture Sustainability and the Environment (RETA 5534), Beijing. Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific, Bangkok (in press).

Heemstra, P.C., & J.E. Randall. 1993. Groupers of the World (Family Serranidae, subfamily Epinephelinae). FAO Species Catalogue. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125.

Johannes, R.E., & M. Riepen. 1995. Environmental, economic, and social implications of the live reef trade in Asia and the western Pacific. The Nature Conservancy and the South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency.

Wilson, K.D.P., & C. K. Wong, 1995. Fisheries, Mariculture and Marine Protected Areas. 17pp. In  Symposium on Hydraulics of Hong Kong Waters. Civil Engineering Department, Hong Kong.

Wilson, K.D.P., & P. S. Wong. 1996. Policy for Marine Cage Culture in Hong Kong. Policy and Management for Sustainable Aquaculture-Proceedings of World Aquaculture 96. Bangkok.

Wong, P.S. 1995. Hong Kong. Aquaculture in Asia and the Pacific - A Seminar Report. Asian Productivity Organization. Tokyo.

Wong, P.S. 1994. The production Economics and Marketing Aspects of Marine Finfish Culture in Asia. 10pp. In Culture of High-Value Marine Fish in Asia and the United State - Proceedings of Workshop in Honolulu, Hawaii, August 8-12,1994. The Oceanic Institute, Honolulu.

Appendix 1

 

Action Plan to Combat Destructive Fishing Hong Kong

 

Enforcement and Monitoring

1.       Review the Fisheries Protection Ordinance and propose to increase the maximum penalty.

2.       Examine target species at entry points for cyanide.

3.       Conduct joint patrols with the marine police.

4.        Revise classification system for fish import declaration.

 

Education, Publicity and Lobbying

1.       Hold seminars to fishermen about fisheries protection.

2.       Erect signposts to publicize marine resource conservation.

3.       Raise the issue at APEC forums and request for cooperation.

4.       Organize workshop to address the issue on long term basis.

5.       Liaise with various parties including green groups, live fish traders, legislators and the media to discuss and review the progress.

 

 

Appendix 2

 

Common Marine Fish Species[2]Cultured in Hong Kong - 1996

 

Serranidae

Epinephelus bleekeri ~ brown-spotted grouper

Epinephelus coioides ~ green grouper

Epinephelus malabaricus ~ malabar grouper

 

Sparidae

Acanthopagrus berda (Sparus berda, syn.) ~ white seabream

Acanthopagrus latus (Sparus latus, syn.) ~ yellow-finned seabream

Pagrus major (Pagrosomus major, syn.) ~ red pargo

Rhabdosargus sarba          (Sparus sarba, syn.) ~ gold-lined seabream

 

 

Lutjanidae

Lutjanus argentimaculatus ~ mangrove snapper

Lutjanus russellii  ~ Russel snapper

Lutjanus gibbus~ red snapper

Lutjanus sanguineus ~ red snapper

 

Others

Girella melanichthys ~ black-tipped rudderfish

Lateolabrax japonicus ~ Japanese seabas

Nibea miichthioides ? ~ slaty croaker

Pomadasys argenteus (P. hasta, syn.) ~ head grunt

Parapristipoma trilineatum ~ chicken grunt

Seriola dumerili/ purpurascens ? ~ purple amberjack

Siganus canaliculatus (S. oramin, syn.) ~ rabbitfish

Trachinotus blochii ~ pampano


 


[1] Agriculture and Fisheries Department, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

[2] Editor’s note:  All scientific names were checked against FishBase 1998.  Syn. is contraction for synonymn. ? indicates no match with names in FishBase.