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 Trawling
is one of the most destructive fishing methods, since it not
only kills fish indiscriminately but also destroys the seabed
habitat that nurtures the fish in the first place.
Imagine a giant net being dragged along the plains of the Serengeti, scooping
up all wildlife in its path – Lions, Cheetahs and Elephants, vast herds
of Wildebeest and Zebra, as well as countless smaller creatures unable to escape
through the mesh.
Imagine further the heavy boom of the net tearing up all the trees and plants
in its path, thereby destroying the habitat on which the wildlife is sustained.
Imagine finally that only one-quarter of the wildlife so caught is actually consumed
for food, the rest simply thrown away as being unfit for consumption or uneconomical.
This is a vivid analogy of the devastation and waste that is actually taking
place in our seas through trawling.
Our seas are experiencing a scale of slaughter and destruction which, if it took
place on land, would simply not be tolerated, would indeed cause public outcry.
Many of our neighbouring countries have trawling bans, in recognition of the
extreme destructiveness of inshore trawling. Why should this indiscriminate slaughter
and environmental vandalism continue to be tolerated in Hong Kong?
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