Untitled

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