Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 11:26:14 -0400 (EDT)

HONG KONG CALLS IN EXPERTS TO TACKLE 'RED TIDE'

Hong Kong said today it will bring in "red tide" experts to prevent a repeat of the algae bloom that has crippled its fish farming industry, and workers battled to clear local waters of thousands of rotting fish.

The government will bring together experts on "red tide" and satellite technology, both locally and from the mainland, and seek views from overseas experts, a spokesman said, adding that experts from the Hong Kong Observatory also would be approached.

An invasion of algae bloom has killed at least 1,500 tons of farmed fish over the past week, equal to half the entire amount produced in Hong Kong waters last year.

"We have arranged to meet both local and mainland experts," the Agriculture and Fisheries Department spokesman said.

"We will also contact overseas experts to solicit their views on how to improve monitoring systems and set up an early warning system," the spokesman told Reuters.

He did not have details on when the meeting would be held.

This particular algae attack has been fatal to fish because it invades their gills, suffocating them. Made up of microscopic organisms, the algae multiplies rapidly and turns swathes of sea a reddish brown.

Fish farmers estimate they have lost at least HK$250 million (US$32.3 million) from the algae attack, and many blame the government for not having warned them early enough.

The government's estimate of the loss, however, is HK$80 million.

Environmental groups are pressing the government to do more to fight pollution, which they say is a key reason for the more frequent occurrences of red tide in Hong Kong in recent years.

The meeting of experts will address the pollution issue, other sources said. The government has deployed dozens of workers and a flotilla of ships and waterborne bulldozers since Sunday to collect the dead fish, fearing they may cause serious pollution if left to rot in the water as the weather gets warmer.

The clean-up has been painstaking and slow.

Many of the fish farms have been abandoned as farmers try to catch up on lost sleep of several days and nights, when they tried in vain to save their stock from the killer algae.

"Many fish farmers are not at the farms and we are trying to locate them so that we can collect the dead fish," the government spokesman said.

By late Thursday, 500 tons of dead fish had been collected and dumped in landfills.

Source: Reuters

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