Diving in Sai Kung Issue

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Diving in Sai KungIssue Gap Analysis

• Andries Temme
• Susan Voelkl

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Content

• Former Knowledge Gaps
• Problems (Baseline Conditions)
• Concerns Stakeholder
• Benchmarking against other models
• Alternatives/Suggestions
• Issues Difficulties

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Former Knowledge Gaps

• Artificial Reefs in Hong Kong
• Boat Pollution (waste practices)
• Influence of NGOs, NPOs
• Statistics
• Equipment Supplier

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Artificial Reefs in HK - Purposes

• Enhance Marine resources
• Fisheries enhancement purposes
• Attracting Supporting large populations of fish
• Feeding opportunities for fish
• Rehabilitate degraded habitats
• Protect spawning and nursery grounds and MPAs
  (trawlers)
• Enhance habitat quality in open seabed areas
  provide complex, hard surface habitat

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ARs in HK - Locations
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ARs in HK Port Shelter
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ARs in HK - Background

• July 1995 HK Government announced HK108 million
  AR Project
• 1996 AR division within AFCD
• 168,700m² of ARs in HK
• Deployment of vessels, concrete, quarry rock, and
  tyre reefs

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ARs in HK - Studies

• Combination of ARs no take fisheries
  protection areas -gt significant ecological
  economic benefits
• Benefits of no take zones outweigh AR
• Trawl ban would lead to gains in biomass,
  benefits to remaining fishing sectors, long-term
  economic gains
• planned that AR deployment area at Outer Port
  Shelter will form part of future FPAs will be
  managed as "no-take" area where no fishing
  activities will be permitted

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Boat Pollution

• Illegal fuel (mainland)
• Common practice
• Suntan, shampoo, shower gel
• We tell our customers not to use it but
  sometimes it happens
• Toilets
• Most small boats dont have a toilet on board
• Waste practices on board
• We tell our customers not to throw anything over
  board.....

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Boat Pollution

• Disposal of waste
• Diving boats Facilities at Sai Kung harbour
• Local fisher man ocean
• Junk Boats ocean
• Noise pollution
• Sound travels 4 times faster in water (1,230
  m/sec) than in air (340 m/sec)
• Military sonar, ships, oil exploration
  drilling, offshore construction, motor boats, jet
  skis
• Disrupting and/or killing whales, dolphins, and
  other marine life
• Longterm effects are NOT known

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Influence of NGOs / NPOs

• Groups that collaborate with Government
• WWF
• Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society
• No direct influence but
• Raising awareness
• Marker Buoys
• Reefcheck
• Since 1997 (carried out by WWF)
• Government since 2000
• WWF Government could do much more

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Statistics

• 29 32 diving agencies in Hong Kong
• Not all are members of the HKUA
• 3 big companies
• Employees
• Big agencies 10 employees
• Small agencies 5 employees
• Mainly part-time (instructors)
• 173 employees
• Boats
• 30 diving boats are leaving the harbor of SK on
  a typical Sunday
• Not all companies have their own boats

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Equipment Suppliers

• The good guys and the bad guys......
• Cheap agencies in Kowloon
• Mainly from China
• The ones that like to live
• Mainly from Thailand US (special parts from
  Italy)
• No special ties

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Problems

• Boat Pollution
• Suntan
• Waste (toilet, food)
• Fecal bacteria have negative influence on coral
  and fish growth
• Noise
• Overland Pollution
• Public transport
• Anchoring
• Scares away fish and damages coral
• Retrieval can cause large chunk of coral to be
  broken

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Problems

• Disturbance
• Touching and Breaking of Coral
• Beginner Courses Buoyancy
• Oil and bacteria from skin harms corals
• Breaking can lead to infection at wound site
• Raising of sediment from the seafloor
• Reduces photossynthesis of zooxathelae
• Physical presence
• Even though divers are very careful, statistics
  dictate that as more divers dive disturbances
  will increase

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Concerns Stakeholder

• Diving Community
• Overfishing Trawling
• Anchoring
• Recreational activities (Junk boats, Jet Ski)
• Pollution, Safety
• Low-price agencies in Kowloon
• Price dumping / safety issues
• AFCD
• Raising awareness (protection of corals,
  anchoring, beginner courses...)
• Overfishing / fishing practices / trawling
• But limited activities....
• Disturbance of underwater life

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Concerns Stakeholder

• Environmental groups
• WWF SOS Campaign (next slide)
• Overfishing / Fishing practices / Trawling
• Healthy Marinelife, great biodiversity
• Responsible waste disposal
• Disappointment with government
• Sai Kung residents
• Amount of divers, traffic (limited concern...)
• Money flow into SK / Income
• Boats, Restaurants

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WWF - SOS Campaign

• AFCD 2004 seeking 3 changes to Fisheries
  Protection Ordinance
• WWF Thats not enough
• Fishing Licence Scheme
• Commercial fishing ? licence (outside MPAs)
• WWF Recreational fishing should also be covered
• Fisheries Protection Areas
• Port Shelter, Tolo Harbour and Channel
• Bottom Trawling banned, other commercial fishing
  types allowed with permit (except AR)
• WWF FPAs should be no-take zones (no fishing all
  year round) all Marine Parks, Port Shelter,
  Tolo Harbour and Channel, Long Harbour. Network
  of no-take zones. Also recreational fishing
  banned.

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Alternatives/Suggestions

• Governmental restrictions
• Toilets
• Boats that accomodate gt than x people ? toilet
• Annually Boat Check
• Clean propeller, well tuned engines that are
  insulated from hull (noise pollution)
• Quotas for certain spots during summer time
• Carrying capacity, Corals need to rest (Port
  Shelter)
• Stronger control
• Fuel use (illegal fuel)
• Disposal at SK harbour

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Alternatives/Suggestions

• MPAs or better No take zones
• No or only licenced fishing
• No anchoring
• No trawling
• Education
• Why does Anchoring harm corals...
• Suntan, Shampoo, Shower gel
• Beginner courses on sandy bottom
• Carrying capacity of Corals
• Waste disposal Sai Kung boats

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Benchmarking against other models

• Israel Eilat
• Coral reserve
• No trawling
• No taking of corrals
• Small patchy reef areas, similar in size to HK
• gt250 000 divers per year on all sites
• High use sites show a decrease in coral cover
• Carrying capacity at current types of use around
  25,000 per year
• Can be increased

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Benchmarking against other models

• Thailand marine parks
• Fishing is allowed
• No trawling
• No explosives
• Not allowed to take any animals out of MP
• Environmental and physical carrying capacity
  reached
• Congestion
• Loss of marine life
• Tourism important income
• No quotas (e.g. for diving)

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Issues Difficulties

• Diving is no real problem in HK
• Carrying capacity (except Port Shelter)
• More harmful Junk boats, waste, overfishing,
  trawling...
• Government
• Contradictionary role (restrictions might seem
  ridiculous to the diving community)
• Fishermen
• Community against MPAs and No Take Zones
• Government provide training, new jobs...
• Junk Boat trips / Recreational activities
• Will still go on

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References

• Interviews with Bunns Diving Center
  Prodive Diving Center Splash Diving Center
  AFCD WWF
• http//dmoz.org/Recreation/Outdoors/Scuba_Diving/U
  nderwater_Life/
• http//www.padi.com/padi/common/dcnr1/results.aspx
  ?countryHGKG
• http//www.dive-centers.net/diving-hong_kong-33.ht
  ml
• http//oceanlink.island.net/oceanmatters/noise20p
  ollution.html
• http//see-the-sea.org/topics/pollution/noise/nois
  e_pollution.html
• http//www.americanboating.org/clean.aspHow20to
  20Be20a20Clean20Boater
• http//www.wwf.org.hk/eng/conservation/sos/index.p
  hp
• http//www.afcd.gov.hk/english/country/cou_vis/cou
  _vis_cou/cou_vis_cou.html
• http//www.artificial-reef.net/
• http//www.forest.go.th/nrco/english/mnpd.htmMana
  gement

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Thx for your attention!!