Why is Hong Kong releasing 83,500 young fish into its waters?
Airport Authority also says it has finished deploying 500 artificial reefs as ‘housing’ for fish in waters surrounding facility
Hong Kong authorities have released 83,500 juvenile fish into waters near the airport and other locations as part of a string of events intended to enrich marine resources.
The initiatives by the Airport Authority and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department on Friday marked the annual National Fish Releasing Day on June 6.
The authority, which oversees the city’s airport, released 60,000 “larger-than-fist-sized” fish into a vessel-prohibited area west of the airport’s central runway and 1,000,000 tiger prawn larvae into waters off neighbouring coasts.
The department, meanwhile, introduced 23,500 fry fish, made up of five native species, into the waters around Tung Ping Chau and near Shenzhen in Mirs Bay.
Among the 60,000 fish released by the authority were 10,000 crescent sweetlips raised in the Sai Kung Sham Wan Culture Zone. The other 50,000 fish were reared in mainland China.
The authority said it had also finished deploying 500 artificial reefs as “housing” for the fish to help improve the marine ecology. It began setting them up at the start of the year.