Copyright 1998 South China Morning Post Ltd.
South China Morning Post
April 16, 1998
SECTION: News; Pg. 3
LENGTH: 399 words
HEADLINE: Race against time to collect dead fish amid fears of
toxin growth
BYLINE: ANNE STEWART
BODY:
Only 140 tonnes of dead fish from toxic red tide fishing
zones was collected yesterday, leaving 1,210 tonnes still to be
disposed of.
Since Saturday, 290 tonnes has been removed.
Environmentalists believe the clean-up will take at least
another week,but want the Government to get the fish out of the
water quickly, before theirdecay sparks more toxic algal blooms.
But fishermen, tired of waiting for Agriculture and Fisheries
Department staff to distribute plastic bags, have already started
dumping fish back into the sea - despite officers handing out
10,000 bags in the hardest-hit areas.
Sai Kung, Tolo Harbour, Lamma and Lantau were the focus of
the clean-up and will continue to be targeted today.
Stalls at Sai Kung and Tai Po will be set up today to hand
out plastic bags to fishermen, who are expected to clean up and
deliver the waste fish to fisheries officers.
The Marine Department yesterday sent out 42 vessels, including
19 contracted motorised sampans, and 155 workers to clean up Luk
Chau Wan and Sok Kwu Wan on Lamma and Chi Ma Wan on Lantau. It
also visited Tap Mun, Sai Kung, and Yung Shue Au and Yim Tin Tsai
near Tolo Harbour.
Twenty Regional Services Department officers and six vehicles
took the dead fish from Sam Mun Tsai and Wong Shek piers to landfills.
Hong Kong Greenpeace spokesman Anne Dingwall said the priority
should be to get the fish out of the water as quickly as possible.
"But disposal is a bit of a problem until they know what
exactly is causing this," she added.
An Environmental Protection Department spokesman said it was
considering building an animal incinerator, something Friends
of the Earth said was essential.
Spokesman Plato Yip Kwong-to said: "Last time with landfills
we had problems with the chickens. These fish have a high water
content and if squeezed into a landfill the blood and toxins could
contaminate the soil."
Mr Yip said rotting fish left in the water would cause more
problems as algae and parasites fed on the carcasses.
Swimmers were warned against entering the water at Stanley,
Shek O, Tung Wan (Cheung Chau) and South Bay beaches yesterday
because of the red tide.
Meanwhile, about 100 Urban Services Department staff checked
food stores and markets in six Kowloon districts. No fish unfit
for human consumption was found for sale. Checks will continue
today.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: April 16, 1998