Technology offers range of solutions for proud trade's revival

When the COVID-19 pandemic left 60 percent of Hong Kong's fishermen without any income, Gary Wong Po-man seized his chance and saw his sales of fish triple.

Wong, who attributes his success to technology, runs a laboratory-like fishery at his company, Smart Farming Hong Kong.

Unlike traditional fishermen, he operates on land at a farm in Fung Ka Wai, a village in the city's Yuen Long area, where he has constructed 12 circular pools, each containing 40 metric tons of water. The pools, which are 7 meters in diameter and 1.5 meters deep, are encircled by blue plastic sheeting.

This type of fishery, known as semi-intensive fish farming, uses advanced agricultural techniques to increase fish density and overall yield. It can control the flow, temperature and quality of water, and withstand typhoons, floods, extreme heat and red tides.

This method of fish farming can typically raise 75 to 150 kilograms of fish per cubic meter of water, compared with traditional methods that produce 2 kilograms of fish per cu m.

At Wong's fishery, each pool contains an average of 2.5 metric tons of fish.

He was among the first in Hong Kong to apply information and communication technology, the internet of things, big data and blockchain－a method for keeping data synchronized across multiple, independent stakeholders－to aquaculture.

A camera placed over each pool monitors activity, along with an underwater camera connected to a floating 5G antenna. This equipment enables Wong to monitor, film and record the entire fish farming process in real time.

By analyzing the collected data, he determines the most efficient and healthy way of fishing, shortens the fish growth cycle, and builds a database for further research with other fishermen or local universities.

Citing the example of the empurau, a popular fish that originated in Malaysia and which is also known as the Wangbuliao Fish－which means "a fish that is hard to forget"－Wong managed to reduce its growth cycle from 36 months to 18 months at his farm.

His customers receive information about the fishing process, including fry hatcheries, farming, packaging, and produce sales by scanning a QR code on the packaging.

A separate water filtration system installed in each pool recycles the water. The water consumption is one-tenth that of a traditional fishery, which saves considerable sewage treatment costs.

Wong even bought seven food waste digesters to handle the waste he recycled from local restaurants. After being decomposed, probiotics are added to the waste to make fish feed. The machines can process up to 30 tons of food waste a day, generating 4 tons of feed or fertilizer. Their introduction has significantly reduced the cost of fish feed.

With the help of technology, the survival rate for fish at Wong's farm is nearly 100 percent－two to three times higher than for traditional methods. In addition, due to the reduction of various costs such as water, feed and rent－and a better price for selling the fish－Wong's profits are about 30 times higher than those of traditional fish farms.

Jonathan Chan Pok-chi, first vice-president of the Hong Kong Fishermen Consortium, or HKFC, said the pandemic hit the city's fishing industry to varying degrees, leaving 60 percent of fishermen with no income. However, it also pushed fishermen to upgrade the traditional industry, embrace new technologies, and seize fresh opportunities.

Like Wong, many young people are making innovative attempts to rejuvenate the fishing industry in Hong Kong, which used to be known as a fishing village.

Dramatic shift

Fishing is one of the city's oldest economic activities. In the 1960s and '70s, the industry reached its peak, with 4 percent of Hong Kong residents working as fishermen and living at sea.

The city's economic structure shifted dramatically in the next few decades, with agriculture shrinking year by year.

Chan said there are now only about 30,000 fishermen in Hong Kong involved in three types of fisheries－capture, mariculture, and pond fish culture. He said 20,000 fishermen work in capture fisheries, with the remainder involved in the other two types.

Cheung Siu-keung, chairman of the HKFC, said, "All three types have been hit by the pandemic to a certain extent."

The brunt of the pandemic has been borne by 5,000 to 6,000 fishermen in capture fisheries, who are also known as "Hong Kong mobile fishermen". They had to leave the city's waters to fish the South China Sea－from Taiwan in the east to Hainan province in the west.

Born to a fishing family, Cheung Siuchung, 44, became a fisherman when he was 22. Since the end of 2012, he has been fishing off Nansha district in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

He hired 15 fishermen for the 38-meter vessels. At first, he was able to make a small profit. In 2019, he just about broke even, but after the pandemic struck in the following year, the situation worsened.

With pandemic control measures in place in Hong Kong and Guangdong, fishermen were required to berth in mainland waters and take three nucleic acid tests in five days when entering and leaving the mainland. They were quarantined for 10 days if they went ashore.

A round trip to Hong Kong could take fishermen 10 to 24 days due to pandemic controls.

Before the pandemic emerged, 50 percent of the fish caught could be sold directly to the mainland market after each trip, but local quarantine measures made it hard for vessels to dock, denying access to this market.

There was no demand for fish in Hong Kong, as the city's restaurants closed due to the pandemic.

Cheung said: "Only rare species of marine fish can be sold during the pandemic. There have been no buyers for 80 percent of the fish that are easiest to catch at sea, as the market is saturated. Fishermen have been forced to give fish away, sell it at low prices, or even dump it at the sea."

To save money, some fishermen lived at sea for months in an attempt to reduce the frequency of passing through customs. Some left the sea and went to work ashore.

Love of the sea

Chan, the HKFC vice-president, said fishermen are nostalgic and love the sea. They are typically not well educated and find it hard to learn about fish farming. Some do not have the money to buy fishing rafts and fish fry, or do not know how to make a start in aquaculture. However, the pandemic has forced a change of approach, he said.

Amy Wong Tingyan, 26, is one of those trying to break with tradition.

She was born to a fishing family on the island of Cheung Chau, which lies southwest of Hong Kong Island and was once a busy fishing port. Her family members fished at sea 20 years ago, but as the industry shrank each year, they left the trade.

After graduating from college, she joined a government-sponsored modern mariculture training program in May, which was launched by Hong Kong's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department.

The city boasts 26 fish culture zones with some 920 licensed operators, but most licensed farms still raise fish on traditional wooden rafts near the sea, which are susceptible to wind and waves. To help the local mariculture industry adopt advanced technologies in June last year, the department established a modern mariculture demonstration farm on Tung Lung Chau, an island in the New Territories, to provide hands-on training for newcomers.

Amy Wong spent four days learning basic theoretical knowledge, including the industry's history, operations, and fishing methods. She was also given tips on steering a boat.

The demonstration farm has a wealth of modern technology. A steel cage design was adopted for the facility, which has half its structure under the sea－able to withstand strong winds, waves, ocean currents and red tides.

A surveillance and water quality monitoring system enables fishermen to observe operations in real time through smartphones or computers. An automated feeding system sprays fish bait twice a day, while a solar- and wind-powered generation system provides sustainable energy.

Divided into groups, Amy Wong and four other students are tasked with raising 250 fish. They also take classes to learn about slaughtering fish, flash-freezing, packing and marketing.

When training ends next May, Amy Wong has decided to raise fish with her classmates.

"I once thought the fishing industry was out of date, but I have changed my mind. I have witnessed the advanced technology in this industry, and the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) stresses that the nation will support Hong Kong to upgrade its fishing industry, which also boosts my confidence," she said.

Making a name

Local fisherman Alex Lam, 46, who was a stylist and makeup artist 10 years ago, developed a love for fishing and decided to change his career.

He established his company, Hong Kong Aquaculture, in the Yung Shue O fish culture zone in Sai Kung in 2019, with the aim of producing high-quality local fish.

"'Made in Hong Kong' has been a symbol of high quality known around the world, and the city's aquaculture should have its own reputation as well," Lam said.

To improve the quality of fish, he feeds them natural nutrients, including powder ground from fruit peel, cinnamon, cloves and other herbs. He buys feed supplements from South Korea to enhance the immune systems of fish, and has even fed them water probiotics, which helps fish digest food, strengthens their gastrointestinal tract, and reduces mental stress. Traditional fishermen use machines to slaughter fish, but this method can spoil the freshness of the meat. To keep the meat fresh, Lam uses ikejime, a fish slaughtering method that originated in Japan.

Ikejime involves inserting a spike quickly and directly into a fish's hindbrain, causing immediate brain death and preventing further muscle movement. It can retain the meat's quality, produce a better-colored and flavored fillet, and prolong shelf life, Lam said.

However, this manual method is time－and energy-consuming. For example, it takes six people six hours to process 100 fish.

Lam said: "Hong Kong people have always demanded high-quality food. During the pandemic, many residents are preparing food at home, resulting in orders for my company rising by 50 percent. I raise about 200,000 fish a year, and each one can produce a net profit of HK$20 ($2.50). Last year, I made a profit of HK$4 million."

Aiming high

Gary Wong, the fish farm owner and former real estate agent born to a fishing family, kindled his faith in the industry by learning advanced fish farming techniques and about species from various places during his travels.

About eight years ago, he found his target, the empurau, the fish that originated in Malaysia. Native to rivers in ancient forests, the empurau is extremely difficult to catch and artificially cultivate. It also sells for up to HK$3,000 a kilo. An empurau dish at a Hong Kong restaurant often costs more than HK$12,000. Even so, the fish is in short supply.

Gary Wong bought empurau fish fry in Malaysia and raised them at his semi-intensive fishery. He used biotechnology and probiotics to purify and sterilize the fry.

He makes the water quality in his pools close to the standard of that in Malaysia. He also creates a faster water flow, providing the fish with a pristine environment, and feeds them avocado to provide a fruity taste.

After becoming the first fisherman to raise empurau in Hong Kong, his orders quickly flooded in.

His customers include the city's top restaurants and clubs, celebrities and other wealthy people, who regard the empurau as a luxury food and a status symbol.

The net profit earned from one empurau is nine times that of an ordinary fish. There will always be a market for fish with a high value, and they will only rise in price during the pandemic.

Gary Wong, who once sold an empurau for HK$120,000, has about 2,000 of them at his fishery. After the pandemic emerged, rising numbers of international food purchasers approached him, bolstering his confidence in making Hong Kong a world hub for aquatic products.

"The city has many advantages in geography, policy, taxation and scientific research－among other benefits. If local fishermen improve their capabilities and fully use these advantages, Hong Kong will become a world center for aquatic products in five years," he said.

With the 14th Five-Year Plan supporting the upgrading of the city's fishing industry, the central and Hong Kong governments have introduced a series of policies to develop the trade.

In 2020, a deep-sea mariculture zone was set up in Huizhou city, Guangdong, to provide Hong Kong fishermen with opportunities to engage in mariculture.

The Hong Kong government has installed monitoring systems in 16 culture zones to check water quality and warn fishermen about abnormalities. Four new fish culture zones with a total area of about 600 hectares are also being prepared in Hong Kong. The issuance of marine fish culture licenses, which has been suspended for about 20 years, will resume after these zones are ready.

Lam, Amy Wong and Gary Wong are waiting to apply for such licenses.

With no end in sight to the pandemic, it has unintentionally fueled the upgrading and transformation of one of the city's oldest trades.

Young fishermen such as Gary Wong are already enjoying a taste of success by making full use of technology, which for them is the solution to the fishing industry's revival.