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Hong Kong mega bridge finally hooks visitors as anglers give police bumper catch

  • Mainlanders reprimanded by police after being caught fishing from piers of the underused bridge linking Hong Kong with its neighbours Zhuhai and Macau
  • Group of 11 arranged their trip after being attracted by the location, not realising it was a restricted zone

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Maritime police arrested a dozen fishing enthusiasts at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge last week. Photo: Weibo
Phoebe Zhang
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge may not yet have attracted motorists in the numbers hoped for, but it has become a new-found haven for anglers – illegally so, as a group of them discovered last week.
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The mega bridge, which cost HK$120 billion (US$15.3 billion) to build and is the world’s longest sea crossing, has struggled to live up to its billing since it opened in 2018, attracting fewer than 200 vehicles a day in July.

However, its spectacular, peaceful setting and conveniently designed supporting structure proved irresistible to 11 anglers who were detained by maritime police on Sunday last week after being caught fishing from its piers.

According to a report posted by the Maritime Safety Administration, the 11 came from mainland cities including Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Guangzhou and Foshan, and had arranged the fishing trip after being attracted by the location, not realising that access to the piers was restricted.

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Underused Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge marks one-year anniversary

Underused Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge marks one-year anniversary

The police also detained an operator who had ferried the anglers to the piers and confiscated his profits, the report said. The anglers were reprimanded by the police and released after expressing “remorse” for breaking the law.

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