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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