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Consultancy
Ref.: AFCD/FIS/02/19 Consultancy Service for Environmental Impact Assessment
Study for Designation of New Fish Culture Zones Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) Report for Establishment of Fish Culture Zone at
Outer Tap Mun November
2022 |
Marine
fish culture has been an important activity for fisheries production in Hong
Kong over decades. Mariculture activities are required to operate under licence in
designated Fish Culture Zones (FCZs) under the Marine Fish Culture Ordinance (MFCO) (Cap. 353). In view of the environmental impact resulting
from mariculture, there has been a moratorium on the issue of new marine fish
culture licences (MFCLs) and licensed raft area extensions in the existing FCZs
since 1990, as well as on the designation of new FCZs, except for a limited
number of forced re-siting necessitated by public works. Given the technical advancement in
mariculture techniques and strengthening of regulatory measures, together with
the changes in the operation of the sector over the years, the environment of
FCZs and marine environment in the vicinity have improved significantly in the
past two decades.
In
2010, the Committee on Sustainable Fisheries (CSF), which was established by
the Government to study the long-term goals, direction and feasible options for
the sustainable development of local fisheries industry, recommended a review of the moratorium to facilitate fishermen to switch from
capture fisheries to mariculture.
Mariculture is considered a practical alternative for capture fishermen
to make a living as their knowledge on marine environment and fish would be
useful in farming marine fish.
To pave the
way for facilitating the sustainable development of the local mariculture
sector, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) proposed
to lift the moratorium by designating new FCZs and issuing new MFCLs. In 2014, the AFCD commissioned a consultancy
study to explore suitable sites as new FCZs on the
basis of a list of social and environmental criteria with reference to the
latest international fish culture practices ([1]). Relevant stakeholders, including Government
bureaux / departments and mariculture representatives, have been consulted to
gauge their views on site selection. The
mariculture sector in general supported the designation of new FCZs and agreed
that the sector should be modernised.
Four locations have been shortlisted as potential sites for the
designation of new FCZs, including Wong Chuk Kok Hoi FCZ, Outer Tap Mun FCZ,
Mirs Bay FCZ and Po Toi (Southeast) FCZ.
The Chief Executive announced in the 2018 Policy Address that the
Government would recommend designating new FCZs at suitable locations, which
would create room for the mariculture sector to grow further, including
allowing capture fishermen to switch to this sustainable mode of operation,
making it possible for the development of newer type of deep-water mariculture
in the open sea, and attracting new entrants.
This
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report presents the assessment findings
of one of the proposed FCZ sites, i.e. Outer Tap Mun FCZ (hereafter referred to
as “the Project”). The location plan of
the Project is shown in Figure 1.1.
The
Project aims to establish a new FCZ at Outer Tap Mun to facilitate the sustainable
development of the local mariculture sector.
The scope of the Project includes:
§ Assembly and anchorage of fish
farm structures which are manufactured off-site, including fish rafts / cages, auxiliary facilities and mooring
system, within the Project site; and
§ Marine fish culture activities
within the Project site regulated under the Marine
Fish Culture Ordinance (Cap. 353).
No land-based works, structures and activities will be involved in the
Project.
The
Project is a designated project by virtue of Item M.1(a) of Part I of Schedule 2 of
the EIAO, which specifies “A fish culture zone more than 5 ha in size”
and requires an Environmental Permit (EP) under the EIAO for its
construction and operation.
In
accordance with the requirements of Section 5(1)(a) of the EIAO, an
application for an EIA Study Brief for the Project was submitted on 15 October
2019 under EIAO with a Project Profile (PP) (No. PP-591/2019). An EIA Study
Brief (No.ESB-325/2019) for the Project (hereafter referred to as “the Study
Brief”) was issued on 27 November 2019 in accordance with Section 5(7)(a) of
the EIAO.
The
purpose of this EIA study is to provide information on the nature and extent of
environmental impacts arising from the construction and operation of the
Project and associated works that will take place concurrently. This information will contribute to decisions
by the Director of Environmental Protection on:
n
the overall acceptability of any
adverse environmental consequences that are likely to arise as a result of the
Project;
n
the conditions and requirements for
the detailed design, construction and operation of the Project to mitigate
against adverse environmental consequences wherever practicable; and
n
the acceptability of residual
impacts after the proposed mitigation measures are implemented.
In more
detail, the specific objectives of this EIA study defined in the Study Brief
are as follows:
(i) to
describe the Project and associated works together with the requirements and
environmental benefits for carrying out the proposed project;
(ii) to
identify and describe the elements of the community and environment likely to
be affected by the Project and/or likely to cause adverse impacts to the
Project, including both the natural and man-made environment and the associated
environmental constraints;
(iii) to
identify and quantify emission sources and determine the significance of
impacts on sensitive receivers and potential affected uses;
(iv) to
identify and quantify any potential losses or damage to flora, fauna and
natural habitats;
(v) to
identify and quantify any potential water quality, marine ecological and
fisheries impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project
and to propose measures to mitigate these impacts;
(vi) to
identify any landscape and visual impacts and to propose measures to mitigate
these impacts;
(vii) to
identify any negative impacts on sites of cultural heritage and to propose
measures to mitigate these impacts;
(viii) to
propose the provision of infrastructure or mitigation measures so as to
minimise pollution, environmental disturbance and nuisance during construction
and operation of the Project;
(ix) to
investigate the feasibility, effectiveness and implications of the proposed
mitigation measures;
(x) to
identify, predict and evaluate the residual environmental impacts (i.e. after
practicable mitigation) and the cumulative effects expected to arise during the
construction and operation phases of the Project in relation to the sensitive
receivers and potential affected uses;
(xi) to
identify, assess and specify methods, measures and standards, to be included in
the detailed design, construction and operation of the Project which are
necessary to mitigate these residual environmental impacts and cumulative
effects and reduce them to acceptable levels;
(xii) to
design and specify the environmental monitoring and audit requirements; and
(xiii) to
identify any additional studies necessary to implement the mitigation measures
of monitoring and proposals recommended in this EIA report.
This EIA
Report has been prepared in accordance with the requirements in the EIA Study
Brief (No. ESB-325/2019) and the Technical
Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process issued under the EIAO (EIAO-TM) for the Project, the aim being to obtain an EP under the EIAO. The description of the Project presented in
this EIA Report has been based on the best available information from AFCD that
describes the relevant construction activities, operational details and baseline
information describing the conditions relating to the Project and its
surrounding environment.
Project
Profile No. PP-591/2019 was exhibited to the public for comments on 16 October
2019. Public offered their views during
the 14-day public inspection period of the Project Profile. The key comments received from the public and
responses are summarised in Appendix
1A.
During the
course of this EIA Study for the Project, AFCD have been reaching out to
potential stakeholders to explain the Project, and seek their views and
opinions. Stakeholder engagement
activities, which commenced in June 2021, included briefings and meetings with
interest groups including members of the Legislation Council, fishermen groups,
mariculturists, environmental bodies etc.
Details of the stakeholder engagement activities undertaken and the
feedback received are presented in Appendix
1A. The feedback and
opinions obtained from the stakeholders have been fully considered and
incorporated, where applicable, as part of the technical assessments undertaken
in this EIA Study.
Following
this introductory section, the remainder of this EIA Report is arranged as
follows:
n
Section 2
presents the description of the Project and need for the new FCZ and site
selection;
n
Section 3
presents the water quality impact assessment;
n
Section 4
presents the marine ecological impact assessment;
n
Section 5
presents the fisheries impact assessment;
n
Section 6
presents the assessment of the waste management implications;
n
Section 7 presents
the visual impact assessment;
n
Section 8 presents
the air quality impact assessment;
n
Section 9
presents the assessment of cultural heritage impact including marine
archaeological impact;
n
Section 10 presents
the Environmental Monitoring and Audit Requirements; and
n
Section 11
provides a summary of the conclusions and environmental outcomes.