The Impact of Seafood Consumption on Endangered Marine Species on Hong Kong Thomas Ng The University of Hong Kong

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1 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Volume 1, No 7, 2011 Copyright 2010 All rights reserved Integrated Publishing Association Research article ISSN The Impact of Seafood Consumption on Endangered Marine Species on Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong ABSTRACT Seafood consumption has become a societal norm among people in Hong Kong. The local consumption of seafood products is placed 11th among 100 countries worldwide, much larger than developed countries, despite the fact Hong Kong is just a city. Due to the lack of local fishery production, Hong Kong imports at least 1.8 times the local fishery products from other countries to satisfy demands. Being one of the international centers of trade in seafood, Hong Kong also re exports seafood products to other countries, especially Mainland China. As a result of this large seafood trade, Hong Kong not only affects endangered seafood species from local waters, but also threatens species worldwide. Sharks, croakers, sea cucumbers, abalones, reef fishes and seahorses are identified as the species being endangered by the seafood trade. This paper analyzed Hong Kong s impacts from the seafood trade through the trade data. It was demonstrated the impact on sharks and croakers were significant. Moreover, imports of the seafood products made from endangered species originate from all over the world. Keywords: Hong Kong, Fishery, Seafood, Abalones, Shark, Croaker, Sea Cucumber, Endangered Species. 1. Introduction Seafood is an important food source for humans, which includes fish and shellfish (such as mollusks and crustaceans). It is known that Hong Kong people consume huge amounts of seafood, including live reef fish, shrimps, crabs, squids, cuttlefish and shellfish etc. The consumption of fishery products per person in Hong Kong in 1999 to 2009 is 58.0 kilograms each year (Food and Agricultural Organization, FAO, 2009). It is calculated by the local production and imports of fishery products, excluding those for non food uses and exports: Production Non food uses + Imports Exports = Food supply Compared with over 100 other countries, the consumption of fishery products by Hong Kong people is placed 11th, just behind those countries or areas where seafood is their main food source (Table 1.1) Table 1: Consumption of fish and fishery products per person in 1999 to 2009 Country Amount of seafood consumed per person (kg/ year) Maldives Palau 91.8 Iceland 91.5 Faeroe Is Country Amount of seafood consumed per person (kg/ year) Received on April 2011 Published on August

2 St. Helena 85.4 Greenland 84.3 St. Pier Mq Kiribati 75.5 Japan 66.1 Samoa 63.9 Hong Kong SAR 58.0 Seychelles 57.6 (Source: FAO, 2009) When compared with 53 developed countries or areas, Hong Kong is in fourth position, just behind Iceland, Faeroe Is. and Japan. Moreover, the consumption of fish and fishery products by Hong Kong people is much higher among the averages of various categories. Table 2: Consumption of fish and fishery products (divided by countries or area) in Countries or Area Amount of seafood consumed per person (kg/year) Developed countries or areas 22.9 Developed countries or areas 14.2 Low income food deficit countries 13.7 World 16.1 (Source: FAO, 2009) Regarding dried seafood products, each Hong Kong person consumed 1.14 kg of dried seafood with a total value of $1562 million in 1996 (Conover and Dong, 1998), and this unfortunately is the most up to date data available. With the large seafood consumption, there is a suspicion that Hong Kong people overconsume seafood products, which leads to adverse impacts on the populations of seafood species. Although Hong Kong people have a huge consumption of seafood, the fishery production in Hong Kong regional waters is itself rather limited. The demand on seafood products is thus fulfilled by importing vast quantities from different countries. Being an international center of seafood trade, Hong Kong would re export seafood products from country to country. For instance, Hong Kong is the gateway of China, and Mainland China has become the largest import and re export destination for Hong Kong. Importing seafood products for local consumption, in addition to re exporting seafood products as economic activities contribute to the seafood trade in Hong Kong. However, the trade may affect those endangered seafood species around the world. If this is the case, Hong Kong should be respond by mitigating the problems, so that endangered species can be conserved. 2. Literature Review 2.1 Situation of over exploitation of seafood worldwide When a species is harvested at a rate that exceeds the rate of the species to regenerate, the exploitation is considered to be over the species capacity and over exploitation (overfishing) occurs. Over exploitation, followed by habitat destruction, is the major cause of marine losses and it accounts for 55% of the marine extinction (Dulvy, Sadovy and Reynolds, 2003). Over exploitation can be identified by a decline in overall abundance of the targeted species, or decrease in average size of the species caught (Chen, 1999). Seafood production in the world is 132,989 x 10³ tones in 2009 (FAO, 2009). Among this, production from capture 2049

3 fisheries is much larger than that from aquaculture (Vannuccini, 2004), which means most of the seafood products are harvested from the wild. In the world capture fisheries production, herrings, sardines and anchovies are caught the most in 2008 (FAO, 2009). However, over exploitation of seafood species exists all over the world. 58% of fish stocks in the Western Central Pacific and 70% of fish stocks in the North west Pacific are considered to be exploited at or beyond their maximum sustainable yield (Clarke, 2004). Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) is the largest long term average catch that can be taken from the stock in the environment (European Environment Agency, 2005). Beyond the MSY, species cannot be sustained, through its natural growth or replenishment. Therefore, over exploitation results in the decrease of fish stock, in terms of numbers and species diversity worldwide. Species endangered by over exploitation worldwide include sharks, whales, abalones, seahorses, salmon, sturgeon and cod, etc. (IUCN, 2004). 2.2 Situation of over exploitation of seafood in Asian countries The situation of over exploitation of seafood also occurs in Asian countries. There is a substantial increase in seafood consumption, no matter in total consumption or in consumption per person per year, in East Asian countries after rapid economic expansion in the mid to late 1990s (Clarke, 2002). In Mainland China, the problem of over exploitation has become even more serious. A 50% reduction in the reported seafood consumption there would still lead to tremendous exploitation of seafood species. (Clarke, 2004). 2.3 Background of seafood trade in Hong Kong Eating habits of the local population Seafood products have been a traditional part of our diet for thousands of years. They can be utilized as food directly (for example, live reef fish and shark fin), or as ingredients of traditional Chinese medicines (for example, sea cucumbers and seahorses) (Handwerk, 2003). Eating seafood is also an important part of business dinners and banquets. Shark fin soup, steamed reef fish for instance, are dishes which cannot be excluded from such meals. This phenomenon is caused by traditional Chinese culture in which Chinese people are concerned about the lost of face (lost of social standing and status). Serving clients and family members with these dishes in banquets or dinners maintain a façade of social standing (Lau and Parry Jones, 1999). Chinese people have a preference for live fish and they are used to keeping the fish alive till cooking to ensure maximum freshness (Lau and Parry Jones, 1999). There is a cultural believe that live fish taste better and provide a more succulent flesh The Hong Kong Fishery Aquaculture and capture fisheries are the fish production methods found in Hong Kong. Currently, the fishery industry in Hong Kong consists of around 4,600 fishing vessels (Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department, AFCD, 2005). Fishing methods used by fisherman in Hong Kong include trawling, long lining, gill netting, purse seining, hang lining, and cage trapping (AFCD, 2005). Among the fishing methods, bottom trawling disturbs sea bottom habitats and affects the marine environment. Large fishes that mostly live in deeper waters may thus be overfished (Cheung, 2001). Fish bombing is a particularly destructive fishing method used by fisherman in Hong Kong in the past, but is now banned and is illegal. Although fish bombing can increase production yield of fishes, other nontargeted marine species nearby are killed and corals are damaged (Cheung, 2001). 2050

4 In 2003, Hong Kong produced an estimated 157,400 tonnes of fishery products, valued at $1,500 million, with about 90% of the total catch coming from waters outside Hong Kong (AFCD, 2005). The fishery production consists of large high valued fishes, small fishes and invertebrates (Cheung, 2001). Regarding fishes, 107,970 tonnes of live, chilled and frozen marine fish are supplied in 2004 (Census and Statistics Department, CSD, 2004). The amount includes the estimate of those which are not sold through the Fish Marketing Organization. In fact, fish production in Hong Kong is steadily declining and has decreased by 12.1% over the past five years (Table 2.1). Table 3: Fish Production in Hong Kong Year Fish Production 122, , , , ,970 (Source: AFCD, 2004) It is revealed that marine resources in Hong Kong waters are over exploited (Cheung, 2001) and the amount of seafood, supply is insufficient from local inshore waters. Therefore, fishermen usually have to undertake fishing in more distant, offshore areas including those outside of the territory (Clarke, 2004). Moreover, the number of people involved in the fishery industry has become fewer due to natural wastage and as the younger generation turn to other types of industries instead. In the seafood markets, all fresh marine fish in Hong Kong are sold at the wholesale fish markets operated by the Fish Marketing Organization (AFCD, 2005). Seafood products are then freshly retailed in markets. For the dried fish products, there are no wholesale markets, retail shops and supermarkets (Conover and Dong, 1998). Among them, shark fins, fish maws and sea cucumbers make up most of the products sold (Conover and Dong, 1998). Fish maw is the stomach of the fish. It also refers to the swim bladder, which is found in some fish species. Seafood products sold in the markets are in the form of live, dried and frozen products, etc Consumption of seafood products Hong Kong has a population of 6.8 million people, with 98% who are of Chinese ethnicity, affected by local traditional culture, the total consumption of seafood products by Hong Kong people amount to 394,640 tonnes (in live weight) each year (FAO, 2002). The consumption rate is 2.7 times the rate of consumption of residents in United States. It is also 12 kgs more compared with the previous 5 year period (Cheung, 2001). As a result, Hong Kong's ecological footprint is actually very large. Ecological footprint measures the material intensity of our economy. (FoE, 2005) It also shows our consumption of natural resources, compared with other countries. According to the Hong Kong chapter of Friends of the Earth, the seafood footprint of Hong Kong exceeds the actual seafood fair share (i.e. the productive resources divided by the world population) by almost 200%. This means seafood consumption by Hong Kong people is two times larger than what they should have. Moreover, supply of the seafood to Hong Kong in 1997 required over 131,000 km2 of sea area, i.e. about 75 times Hong Kong's total sea area (Planning Department, 2002) Import of seafood products The availability of local resources does not meet the large demand on seafood products. As a result, Hong Kong needs to import fishery products from other countries. In 2003, 290,

5 tonnes of fish, crustacean and mollusks are imported to Hong Kong (CSD, 2004), which is 1.8 times the local fishery production. The import quantity has increased by 28.6% compared with Furthermore, more than 50,000 tones dried seafood was imported to Hong Kong in 2003 (Legislative Council, 2004). Most of it came from Mainland China, Japan, Canada, Australia and Southeast Asia. According to the international trade in fishery products, Hong Kong has the total value of imports in the amount of $USD$1,766,128,000, just behind countries with a much larger population (Table 2.2) Table 4: International trade in fishery products by importers (with ranks) in 2000 to 2009 Country 1 Japan 2 USA 3 Spain 4 France 5 Italy 6 Germany 7 United Kingdom 8 China 9 South Korea 10 Denmark 11 Hong Kong Re export of seafood products Hong Kong is located between Mainland China and the rest of Southeast Asia, most of the trade between eastern and western countries would pass through Hong Kong since it is a world centre in trade and finance. China is a large country with an enormous population and high domestic production. In addition to the geographical position, Hong Kong has become the gateway or corridor to China, other Asian countries and even to countries in the west. Re export has been a major part of Hong Kong s trade industry. More than half of imports are re exported and over 97 to 99% of the export belongs to re exports (Conover and Dong, 1998). Among the re export, over 80% are sent to Mainland China with Japan second Export of seafood products Although Hong Kong relies heavily on seafood products from different countries, it also exports some of these products. For instance, Hong Kong exported 182,242 metric tons of fishery products, which were worth USD$619,432 x 10³in 1999 (City University, 1995), while it exported fishery products with the value of USD$410,601 x 10³ in 2002 (FAO, 2002). Although Hong Kong is an exporter of several seafood products, it is mainly an importer in the seafood trade. In 2002, Hong Kong net imported fishery products were valued at US$1,355,526 x 10³ (FAO, 2002) Endangered species Species which are endangered face a high risk of extinction in the wild. Endangered species are defined by reduction of its observed or estimated population size and limitation of its geographic range (The World Conservation Union, IUCN, 2004). Some species may be 2052

6 originally rare or threatened and causes of their reduction may not be understood. On the other hand, some species are endangered because trading in them removes their population, for example, sea cucumbers around the Galapagos Islands, there are various endangered marine species threatened by over exploitation in the world, and tools have been developed to distinguish their conservation status. The IUCN Red list of threatened Species (IUCN Red List) is set up by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), which is the world s largest conservation network, bringing government agencies together in a worldwide partnership (IUCN, 2005). IUCN Red list is an inventory providing conservation status and risk of extinction of species. Species are divided into different categories, in terms of risk of global extinction (Critically Endangered, Endangered, and Vulnerable), Extinct or Extinct in the Wild, Data Deficient, Near Threatened, Least Concern and Not Evaluated (IUCN, 2004). The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement between governments. It ensures that international trade of wild animals and plants between countries does not threaten their survival (CITIES, 2005). Countries become a party and commit to the convention voluntarily. In CITES, species listed in Appendix I means they are the most endangered. They will be threatened by extinction if international trade is not monitored, thus international trade of these is prohibited (WWF, 2005). Species listed in Appendix II are those which maybe threatened if international trade is not controlled and monitored. Export or re export permit is required from the country. Appendix III species are protected within individual countries. If other countries import them, export permit or certificate of origin is needed. The globally endangered species that are consumed by Hong Kong residents include sharks, croakers, sea cucumbers, abalones, reef fishes (giant grouper and humphead wrasse) and seahorses, as discussed in more detail below Shark fins Sharks are the marine species with the greatest international conservation concern (Clarke, 2004). In the past, people (especially in Chinese culture) used shark fin as traditional Chinese medicine and as the main ingredient of shark fin soup. Nowadays, shark fins are mostly served in Chinese restaurants as luxury gourmet (Conover and Dong, 1998). They are a luxury product which cost between HK$400 per kg on average (Handwerk, 2003). In total, 30 to 40 species of shark are used worldwide (Clarke, 2004). In 2003, the global capture of sharks, combined with rays and chimaeras was 856,699 tonnes (FAO, 2002). Fins of some of the sharks caught are then processed as shark fin sold in the Hong Kong market. In the past ten years, 11 metric tonnes of shark fins have been imported into Hong Kong annually (Lee, 2004). Among the imports, shark fins mostly come from Mainland China, which accounts for more than 40% of the total quantity and 77% of the total value (Conover and Dong 1998). Although it seems, that Mainland China exports the largest amount of shark funs to Hong Kong, the actual process and the origin of the sharks are dominated by Europe (Clarke, 2002). Besides mainland China, Hong Kong also imports shark fins from around 125 countries or areas (Clarke, 2004). Part of the imports are reexported to other countries, which accounts for 47% of the quantity and 72% of the value (Conover and Dong, 1998). In total, Hong Kong is estimated to handle 50% to 80% of the world s shark fin trade (Handwerk, 2003). Analysis has been taken to estimate the optimal harvest size and age of blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) based on Hong Kong buyers preference (Fong and Anderson, 2002). It shows that the impacts of shark fin trade in Hong Kong are of significant concern. 2053

7 Unfortunately, sharks are over exploited because of the impact from humans. Since people generally consume fins of the shark only, shark fins cost much higher than shark flesh and the practice of shark finning continues. When fishermen catch the shark, they slice the fins of the live shark and dump the rest of the body into the ocean (Shivji et al., 2002). The shark without its fins is unable to swim and die either consumed by other predators, or a slow graduate death when they sink. Although some countries (e.g. the United States) have prohibited or controlled the practice of shark finning, sharks are still overexploited since the countries that limit this practice as in a minority (Ichthyology, 2004). Furthermore, sharks may be catch in international waters (also known as high seas), which are not under the jurisdiction or any nation, thus fishing in such areas are unregulated and catches of sharks are unreported (Bonfil, 1994). Sharks are k selected species which are long lived and slow growing animal that are late to reach sexual maturity (Vannuccini, 2004). Their fecundity rate is low, which means small number of eggs are produced over long period of time. As a result, replacement of shark population is low and exploited populations take at least decades to recover (Ichthyology, 2002). The global shark fin trade is underestimated (Handwerk, 2003) because many catches are either unreported or underreported. The actual amount of the trade is estimated to much larger than reported. Additionally, it is a challenge to obtain accurate statistics since fishermen fail to identify different shark species (Handwerk, 2003). Such a problem is also made worst by shark finning since no morphological characteristics can be found in shark fins (Shivji et al, 2002). Currently, recognized endangered species include the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus), great white shark (Carcharodon Carcharias) and whale shark (Rhincodon typus) (Clarke, 2004) (Figure 1 3). These three species are now listed under Appendix II of CITES, which means trade in these species is restricted (CITIES, 2005). Unfortunately, since the status of many shark populations in the world is poorly known, certain endangered shark species may not have been discovered (Shivji et al., 2002). Figure 1: Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus) Photo by: Jeremy Stafford Deitsch ( Figure 2: Great white shark (Carcharodon Carcharias) Photo by: Jeremy Stafford Deitsch ( 2054

8 Figure 3: Whale shark (Rhincodon Typus) Photo by: Jeremy Stafford Deitsch ( Fish maws Fish maws are mainly the swim bladders of croakers (the fish family Sciaenidae) and eels (the Anguillidae) (Clarke, 2004). They are served as soups in Chinese restaurants and are believed to cure coughs. There are different dried maw products in the Hong Kong market, such as Spider maw, Pak Fa Kau, Chat Kau, Eel maw, and Check Yue Kau (Clarke, 2004). Mainland China is the country with which Hong Kong imports fish maws from and exports fish maws to at the same time. It may supply local, small fish to Hong Kong and import larger fish maws from Hong Kong (Clarke, 2002). Fish maws are valuable because of its huge size (Sadovy and Cheung, 2003). Prices for fish maws are between USD$101 to $USD $127 each (Clarke, 2002). The value is higher for larger fish maw. As a result croakers with larger fish maws are the most significant species of concern. Fish maws of the giant yellow croaker (Chinese bahaba) (Bahaba taipingenisis) cost several tens of thousands of US dollars (Clarke, 2004) which shows that the availability of fish maws of this species is severely limited. Apart from being the world s largest trading centre (Clarke, 2004), Hong Kong drove Chinese bahaba to local extinction in It is the first case of a highly fecund but extinct marine fish species (Sadovy and Cheung, 2001). Chinese bahaba is the largest species of croaker, which can attain 2 metres long (Sadovy and Cheung, 2003). It is restricted to the coast of China, occurring from the Yangtze River to Hong Kong. Fish maws of Chinese bahaba cost a few $USD in 1930s and in 2001 the top retail price exceeded that of gold sevenfold (around $USD20,000 to $USD64,000) (Sadovy and Cheung, 2003). Because of its commercial importance, fisherman harvested them without concern for their numbers and the species became overexploited. In 1930s, 50 tonnes of Chinese bahabas were caught annually; but in 1990s, only small ones were caught and large ones became increasing rare (Sadovy and Cheung, 2003). Finally, it became extinct locally in 1997 which is a species existing only for decades in Hong Kong. Being locally extinct in Hong Kong, Chinese bahaba became a State Protected Species in China (Sadovy and Cheung, 2003). Moreover, Totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) has been listed in CITIES Appendix I, since it was the most threatened by extinction caused by international trade (CITIES, 2005). Since fish maw is a body part of fish, it is difficult to identify the fish species by the product alone and trade data is inaccurate. 2055

9 Abalones Figure 4: Dried fish maw Photo by: Abalones (Phylum Mollusca: family Haliotidae) are invertebrates seafood. Its shell can be made into Chinese medicine (Concha Haliotidus) (Green Power, 2004) and some of the abalone species are consumed in fresh form. Also, the more valuable abalone species are available as dried and canned products (Clarke, 2004). Chinese people believe that the larger the abalone, the more valuable it is. In 2008, 121,657 tonnes of abalone were captured worldwide (FAO, 2009). Japan and China (including Hong Kong) consumed over 80% of the world catch between them (Clarke, 2004). However, the global harvest of abalones has declined by 45% in the past 20 years (Green power, 2004). In Hong Kong, Haliotis discus hanni and Haliotis acquatilis are two common fresh species in the market (Green power, 2004). For dried abalones, 844,000 metric tonnes of abalones have been imported into the region annually in the past ten years (Lee, 2004). Canned and dried products of 25 species are then re exported to China (Clarke, 2004). Nevertheless, the trade of abalone in Hong Kong has a direct impact of the abalone populations in South Africa and Australia. For instance, abalones in South Africa are popular among Asian people, fisherman there would illegally catch abalones to satisfy demand, which is mainly from mainland China (Tarr, 1992). They may even utilize destructive methods, such as fishing guns and knives, which threaten the survival of abalones (Green Power, 2004). After quotas are set for the harvest of abalones, fisherman in South Africa even smuggle abalones, which were reexported from Hong Kong afterwards. In 2001, 380,000 tonnes of smuggled abalones were confiscated (Tarr, 1992). Furthermore, some abalones are imported from no take zones and during no take seasons (Lee, 2004). Since abalones, especially the high valued ones, are traded in dried or canned forms, it is difficult to identify the species from the product size, texture and meat colour (Clarke, 2004). Besides, there is aquaculture of abalones in operation in certain parts of the world (such as Australia), which can reduce the pressure on capture fishery, although it is still not clear whether culturing affects the wild populations as some breeding stocks may be collected from the open sea (Clarke, 2004). Currently, USA classifies white abalone (Haliotis sorenseni), which lives in California and Mexico (Haaker, 2000), as endangered and a permit is required in its trade (Clarke, 2004). Aggregation areas of the brood stock are protected (Hobday, Tegner and Haaker, 2000), and depth and locations of the harvest are controlled as well (Lafferty et al., 2004). However, no abalone species is actually on the IUCN Red List, i.e. considered as endangered (IUCN, 2004). 2056

10 Sea cucumbers Sea cucumbers (Phylum Echinodermata; Class Holothuroidea) are believed to be a tonic and are served as a celebratory dish in Chinese restaurants (Clarke, 2004). People are used to steam or boil them with meat (Conover and Dong, 1998). In the wild, sea cucumbers are collected from the seabed by hand, spears or free diving (Clarke, 2004). Approximately 300 species are being consumed and the spiked Japanese sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) is the most expensive species (Clarke, 2004). In the past ten years, 5.3 million metric tonnes of dried sea cucumbers have been imported annually into Hong Kong (Lee, 2004), contributed from Indonesia, the Philippines and South Pacific (Clarke, 2004). Among them, 87% are re exports for Mainland China. Re exports of Hong Kong and those for Mainland China have also continuously increased. Due to reexports, Hong Kong accounts for 80% of the global supply (Clarke, 2004). However, sea cucumber trade in Hong Kong has led to illegal fishing around the Galapagos Islands. Consequently, Galapagos Islands have banned the fishing of sea cucumbers for four years, but sea cucumbers are still illegally fished and are mostly sent to Hong Kong (WWF, 2004). Isostichopus fuscus from the coasts of Ecuador, Galapagos, Mexico and Peru has been included in CITES Appendix III (which is the only one) since 2002 (CITES, 2005) Reef fishes A reef fish is a fish that is associated with a rocky or coral reef. Live reef food fish is regarded as fish with good taste, good texture and freshness (Chan, 2000). Hong Kong is the largest consumer of live reef food fish in Asia and people in Hong Kong consume around 27,000 tonnes of reef fishes per year. 75% of the reef fishes being consumed are imported from over 10 different countries (Lau and Parry Jones, 1999). Table 5: Wholesale prices of live reef food fish in Hong Kong Live Reef Fish HK$/kg Common name Scientific name Captured Cultured Red grouper Epinephelus akaara Green grouper Epinephelus coioides Yellow grouper Epinephelus awoara Areolate grouper Epinephelus areolatus Russell s snapper Lutjanus russellii Mangrove snapper Lutjanus argentimaculatus Cresent sweetlips Plectorhinchus cinctus Moray eel Gymnothorax spp Green wrasse Choerodon schoenleinii Humphead wrasse Cheilinus undulatus Brown marbled grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus Giant grouper Epinephelus lanceolatus Camouflage grouper Epinephelus polyphekadion Squaretail coralgrouper Plectropomus areolatus Leopard coralgrouper Plectropomus leopardus Humpback grouper Cromileptes altivelis (Source: Fisheries Management Division, Fisheries Branch, AFCD, April 2005) 2057

11 Tropical reefs in the Southeast Asian countries, in particular Indonesia and the Philippines, are the main sources of reef fishes (Chan, 2000). Popular reef fish species include Leopard coralgrouper (Plectropomus leopardus), Mangrove snapper (Lutjanus argentimaculatus), Humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulates), Green grouper (Epinephelus coioides) and Russell s Snapper (Lutjanus russellii) (Chan, 2000). During banquets, Hong Kong people generally order fish that weight kilograms and cost less than HK$200 to $400 (Chan, 2000). Leopard Coral groupers, which is one of the popular reef fish species, can cost around HK $150 per kg (Chen, 1999) (Table 2.5). In addition, Hong Kong is the centre in re exporting reef fishes. In 1997, 3,200 to 6,400 tonnes of live reef fish were re exported to Mainland China (Lau and Parry Jones, 1999). Nevertheless, reef fish trade in Hong Kong seriously damages the marine environments of the Philippines, Indonesia and even Malaysia (Chen, 1999). The number of reef fishes is decreasing as reflected by the falling number of catches reported by the market (Lee, 2004). Moreover, reef fish stocks in Indonesia are exploiting and policy is needed there to improve the capture fisheries management and marine protected areas (Mous et al., 2005). Because of over exploitation, 8 species of groupers, including Epinephelus akaara, E. areolatus, E. bruneus, E. coioides, and E. quoyanus, which were locally common in the 1990s, are no longer commonly found in Hong Kong (Cheung, 2001). Some of the reef fishes have become vulnerable that are susceptible to overfishing. For example, the giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus) and humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) have long life cycles (TRAFFIC East Asia and WWF, 2004). It takes a long time for them to become mature and able to reproduce, so their population size is naturally small as well. However, high demands on their juveniles decline the numbers of sexually mature fish for reproduction. Nowadays, both the giant grouper and humphead wrasse are listed as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List (IUCN, 2004). Recently, the humphead wrasse has also been included onto Appendix II of CITES (CITES, 2005). Human impacts on the reef fishes also include destructive fishing practices by using cyanide on, for example, humphead wrasse (Lau and Parry Jones, 1999). Such types of fishing methods not only harm the fish species, but also threaten other marine animals associated with the reef and inflict considerable damage to the coral organisms themselves (Chan, 2000) Seahorses Seahorses (Class Actinopterygii; Genus Hippocampus) are one of the dried seafood used as traditional Chinese medicine. They belong to the Family Syngnathidae, which also includes seadragons, pipefishes and pipehorses (Foster and Vincent, 2004). There are 32 species of seahorses in the world. Hippocampus kelloggi, Hippocampus kuda and Hippocampus trimaculatus are those recorded in Hong Kong waters (Green Power, 2002). Unfortunately, most of the seahorses are vulnerable to over exploitation because of its life history characteristics. These include low growth rates, low fecundity, low mobility, limited distribution and lengthy parental care (Foster and Vincent, 2004). For instance, limited distribution makes seahorse species difficult to find a mate and thus their populations become small. They may easily become over exploited once the harvest is beyond the sustainable amount. In spite of the vulnerability of seahorses, at least 47 countries or areas have been involved in the trade (Green Powers, 2002). Trade of dried seahorses was estimated to be over 20 million individuals (Salin, Yohannan and Nair, 2005). Hong Kong, together with Mainland China 2058

12 and Taiwan are the major importers. For instance, seahorses are a major fishery product from the south coast of India. Most of them are exported to Southeast Asian countries, including Hong Kong (Salin, Yohannan and Nair, 2005). In 2004, Hong Kong imported 26 tonnes of seahorses (Census and Statistics Department, CSD, 2005). As a result, 10 seahorse species were listed as Vulnerable or Endangered on the IUCN Red List in 2003 (Foster and Vincent, 2004). The situation of the other 23 species are not much better and are listed as Data Deficient, some may even be heavily exploited. Therefore, it has been suggested that all seahorse species should be put onto Appendix II of CITES, so that the international trade between countries would be managed and would not threaten the wild populations (Foster and Vincent, 2004). All seahorses in the genus Hippocampus were subsequently included in Appendix II of CITES (CITES, 2005), which became effective in May Impact of the over exploitation of seafood resources To sum up, Hong Kong, people not only over consume seafood products, which lead to overexploitation of certain marine species in the territory, its seafood trade is also large. Seafood trade in Hong Kong consists of import (for local consumption) and re exports. Because of its large import and re export, Hong Kong has become a trade centre for several seafood products. Seafood trade in Hong Kong results in over exploitation of endangered marine species worldwide, most of which originates from other countries. Over exploitation of seafood species has several impacts. It will reduce the number of targeted species, lead to decline of the fish stocks and affect food security. Moreover, species composition in the marine living environment would change. Large, long lived and high value predator species reduce, and small, short lived and lower value prey species increase (United Nations Atlas of the Oceans, 2005). Marine biodiversity thus declines. Furthermore, over exploitation affects the balance of marine ecosystem. Some of the seafood species, for example, sharks and large reef fishes, are top predators of the sea. Over exploitation of them changes the marine food web and numbers of their prey increase dramatically. As a result, prey species compete for scarce food and the less competitive ones die. Marine ecosystem may even collapse since species are correlated and decrease in one species affects others which rely on it. Hong Kong inshore waters, for instance, have the lowest biomasses, per unit area, among the Indo Pacific Ocean (Sadovy and Cornish, 2000). When targeted species reduces, fishermen would fish down the marine food web and cause ecosystem drift, which may lead to ecosystem collapse (Sadovy, 2002). Moreover, destructive fishing practices, e.g. dynamite and by catch are also resulted. Destructive fishing, more seriously, affects non targeted species. It also damages the marine ecosystem. For instance, fishermen use bottom trawling to increase their catches. Such fishing method destructs the seabed and coral reefs which are important habitat of marine species. Overexploitation is reflected by the rising price of seafood products and extension of their fishing areas (Cheung, 2001). When the capture production declines, the income of fishermen is also affected. Table 6: Summary on the endangered species concerned and the problems related to Hong Kong consumption and trade Seafood item Endangered species concerned Problem(s) related to HK consumption and trade Countries or areas affected by HK consumption and trade 2059

13 Shark fins Fish maws Abalones Sea cucumbers Reef fishes Basking shark Great white shark Whale shark (CITES Appendix II) Croakers Chinese bahaba (locally extinct) Totoaba (CITES Appendix I) White abalone (classified as endangered in USA) Isostichopus fuscus (CITES Appendix III) 8 species of Groupers (not commonly found in HK) Seahorses Genus Hippocampus (CITES Appendix II) Shark fining 47% of the quantities of imports are reexported Handle 50 80% of the world s shark fin trade World s largest trading centre Europe and other 125 countries Mainland China Japan and China Abalones (including HK) consume over 80% of the world catch 80% of the global Sea cucumbers supply Reef fishes 8 species of Groupers (not commonly found in HK) Major importer Philippines and other Southeast Asia Note: Some of the particular species threatened by the Hong Kong consumption and trade is unknown because of limited information. However, being the major trader of all of the above seafood items, Hong Kong definitely contributes to the endangered species concerned. 3. Materials and methods In order to investigate the current impacts arising from the Hong Kong seafood trade and how the trade might be affecting endangered species, data were collected for analysis. 3.1 Data Source To know more about the seafood consumption by Hong Kong people and which seafood species are affected by the demand from the Hong Kong market, information regarding the quantity of seafood of different types sold in the local markets would be the most relevant. Unfortunately, such data are not available because the wholesale fish markets managed by the Fish Marketing Organization (FMO) only record dead fish, but not live fish or seafood other than fishes (FMO, pers. comm.). Data from the FMO and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) can only be obtained in the Hong Kong Annual Digest of Statistics as presented in Tables 3.1 and 3.2. Table 7: Fresh Marine Fish sold through the Fish Marketing Organization in 2003 (tonnes) Quantity (tonnes) Species Fork tail 7 Ginkgo 84 Golden Thread 7,338 Melon Coat 635 Melon Seed

14 Red Goatfish 96 Red Snapper <1 Yellow Belly 122 Genera Big eyes 2,725 Conger pike Eels 554 Crevalles 7 Hair tails 1,138 Horse heads 2,637 Lizardfishes 916 Mackerels 1,227 Sardines 14 Scads 1,574 Soles 676 Tuna <1 Families Anchovies <1 Breams 1,318 Croakers 985 Garoupa 713 Pomfrets 1,792 Round Herrings 29 Snappers 118 Yellow Croakers 1,925 Order Sharks 18 Mixed Others 13,038 Total 40,101 (Source: AFCD, 2004) Table 8: Salted/Dried Marine Fish Sold through the Fish Marketing Organization in 2003 Quantity (tonnes) Anchovies 0 Croakers <1 Golden Thread 0 Ginkgo 0 Lizardfishes 1 Round Herrings 0 Sardines 0 Scads 0 Snappers 0 Others 0 Total 1 (Source: AFCD, 2004) As a result, the way to assess the seafood consumption by Hong Kong people is to modify the trade data, which might then reveal Hong Kong s impacts on certain marine resources from the sea food trade. Raw data were extracted from the Trade Analysis Section, Census and Statistics Department (CSD). The data is given according to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System of the World Customs Organization, and is based on traders self declarations to the Customs and Exercise Department with inspection and audit by the 2061

15 Hong Kong Government (Clarke, 2004). Sample of the trade data in 2003 to 2004 recorded by hand are shown in Appendix A. Among the CSD data, those commodity codes with a heading 0301 to 0307 are the ones related to fish and crustaceans, mollusks and other aquatic invertebrates. After these data were collected, data concerning ornamental fishes and freshwater species were excluded from the seafood items. Furthermore, seafood products of the same species but sold in different forms needed to be combined in order to show the actual amount of the seafood species. For instance, the number of frozen lobsters, live, fresh or chilled lobsters and lobsters dried, salted, in brine or cooked by steaming or by boiling in water were added up to show the total number of lobsters being traded. Since only specified seafood products are studied, products which are made of unknown seafood species were excluded from the list. Examples of these are fish fillets, livers and roes, and other fish meat, etc. After modifying the data, analysis was done as follows: 3.2 Data Analysis Imports Table 9: The quantity and ranks of the ten seafood items of highest import quantity imported into Hong Kong during 2001 to Seafood Quantity Seafood (kg) 1 Shrimps & 24,299,590 Shrimps & Shrimps & Squid prawns prawns prawns 2 Cuttlefish 12,135,408 Shark fins Squid Shark fins 3 Squid 9,526,261 Squid Shark fins Fish, salted & in brine 4 Shark fins 9,284,607 Cuttlefish Fish, salted & Rock lobster in brine 5 Fish, salted & 6,938,266 Fish, salted & Rock lobster Cuttlefish in brine in brine 6 Rock lobster 6,470,711 Rock lobster Crabs Oysters 7 Scallops 6,149,382 Scallops Scallops Bêche de mer 8 Crabs 5,512,701 Crabs Cuttlefish Scallops 9 Bêche de mer 5,069,825 Bêche de mer Bêche de mer Mussels 10 Oysters 4,695,082 Oysters Mussels Lobsters Note: Fish, salted & in brine include fish maws, dried whole fish and dried fillets, etc. of which fish maws comprise the largest quantity (Clarke, 2002). Bêche de mer refers to sea cucumbers. (Source: Census and Statistics Department, 2005) The ten seafood items with the highest import quantity in kilograms in the past four years are shown in Table 3.3. In general, Hong Kong imports large amount of shrimps and prawns and squid. However, there may be some discrepancies in the amount of these seafood products because some freshwater species are not classified and unavoidable counted. Regarding sharks fins, only shark fins with cartilage were included to avoid double counting since most of the shark fins with cartilage imported into Hong Kong are raw products to be re exported to Mainland China for processing. They will then be imported into Hong Kong again as items called shark fins without cartilage (Clarke, 2004). 2062

16 As can be seen in Table 3.3, the imports of shark fins remained the highest (among the endangered species mentioned in the previous chapter) in the past four years, while fish maws came next. If we analyze the data in terms of the total quantity imported, by summing up the data from 2001 to 2004, shrimps and prawns and squid become the largest imports while shark fins, cuttlefish and fish maws are next (Table 3.4). Sea cucumber (i.e. Bêche de mer) also comes the eighth. Table 10: The ten seafood items imported in the highest quantities summed over the past 4 years ( ) Seafood Quantity (kg) 1 Shrimps & prawns 84,283,181 2 Squid 41,486,661 3 Shark fins 39,494,279 4 Cuttlefish 32,378,167 5 Fish, salted & in brine 28,684,436 6 Rock lobster 26,150,692 7 Scallops 22,546,961 8 Bêche de mer 18,524,947 9 Oysters 17,178, Crabs 17,083,040 (Source: Census and Statistics Department, 2005) When we see the total value of seafood items for each year, shark fins contributed the highest value in 2004 and 2003, while abalone was the second in 2004 (Table 3.5). Also, import values of sea cucumber, fish maws and leopard coral grouper (one kind of reef fishes mentioned) remained high in both years. Table 11: The ten seafood items of highest value imported into Hong Kong in 2003 and Seafood Value Seafood Value (HK thousand (HK thousand dollars) dollars) 1 Shark fins 9,284,607 Shark fins 10,936,482 2 Abalone 2,367,467 Rock lobster 6,673,556 3 Rock lobster 6,470,711 Scallops 6,281,211 4 Shrimps & prawns 24,299,590 Abalone 2,081,539 5 Scallops 6,149,382 Shrimps & prawns 27,030,260 6 Bêche de mer 5,069,825 Bêche de mer 4,655,496 7 Fish, salted & in brine 6,938,266 Fish, salted & in brine 6,806,100 8 Leopard coral trout 2,346,167 Leopard coral 2,179,984 trout 9 Lobsters 2,390,409 Lobsters 1,918, Cuttlefish 12,135,408 Sea bass 2,791,842 Note: Leopard coral trout refers to Leopard coralgrouper (Plectropomus leopardus) (Source: Census and Statistics Department, 2005). 2063

17 However, in order to show how valuable the seafood species are, which means their availability, the value in each unit may help. Therefore, values of the seafood items were divided by their quantity. Results are shown below in Table 3.6: Table 12: The value (in each unit) of seafood items imported into Hong Kong in 2003 and Seafood Value (HK$/kg) Seafood 1 Abalone Southern bluefin tunas 2 Seahorses Seahorses 3 Bluefin tunas Abalone 4 Hake High finned grouper 5 High finned grouper Pipefishes 6 Shark fins Skipjack 7 Skipjack Hake 8 Bêche de mer Humphead wrasse 9 Humphead wrasse Shark fins 10 Rock lobster Scallops (Source: Census and Statistics Department, 2005) From Table 3.6, it is revealed that abalones and seahorses were the two most valuable seafood products imported in High finned grouper (also known as humpback grouper, Cromileptes altivelis) was the third most valuable imported item among the endangered seafood species in 2003 after abalones and seahorses. Shark fins and humphead wrasse were also listed in the ten seafood items with the highest average value Re exports Some of the imported seafood products are subsequently re exported to other countries. Reexport is export of product, which originates from other countries, without large manufacturing process except packaging in small scale (CSD, pers. comm.). The quantity of re exports is shown below in Table 3.7: Table 13: The quantity and ranks of the ten seafood items of highest re export quantity reexported for 2002 to Total Seafood Quantity (kg) Seafood Seafood Seafood 1 Shark fins 8,193,952 Shark fins Shrimps & Shark fins prawns 2 Bêche de mer 4,073,775 Shrimps & Shark fins Shrimps & prawns prawns 3 Fish, salted & in brine 3,674,741 Fish, salted & in brine Squid Fish, salted & in brine 4 Shrimps & 3,329,276 Squid Fish, salted & in Squid prawns brine 5 Cuttlefish 2,857,064 Cuttlefish Bêche de mer Bêche de mer 6 Squid 2,429,461 Bêche de mer Cuttlefish Cuttlefish 7 Halibut 767,852 Halibut Sea bass Sea bass 8 Scallops 755,742 Scallops Mussels Scallops 9 Chinese mitten 670,049 Sea bass Scallops Halibut 2064

18 crabs 10 Sea bass 667,831 Mussels Cod Mussels (Source: Census and Statistics Department, 2005) Shark fin was the item re exported in the highest quantity in the past three years, with fish maws being second. The quantity of sea cucumber also remained large in re export. For the average value of the re exported seafood products, however, seahorses, leopard coral grouper and abalone were the three items with the highest value as shown in Table 3.8. Table 14: The value (in each unit) of seafood items re exported in 2003 and Seafood Value (HK$/kg) Seafood 1 Shark fins Pipefishes 2 Leopard coral trout Seahorses 3 Abalone Leopard coral trout 4 Rock lobster Abalone 5 Shark fins Trout 6 Scallops Shark fins 7 Lobsters Scallops 8 Snails Rock lobster 9 Green grouper Yellowfin tunas 10 Sea bass Oysters 11 Fish, salted & in brine Lobsters 12 Bêche de mer Groupers (Source: Census and Statistics Department, 2005) Exports Hong Kong depends heavily on seafood products imported from other countries. On the other hand, it has insignificant number of seafood products exported to other countries and Table 3.9 and 3.10 below give the eight exported items ranked in order of total quantity and value per unit respectively: Table 15: Seafood items exported from Hong Kong in 2004 Seafood Quantity (kg) Value (HK thousand dollars) 1 Fish, salted & in brine 72,409 3,392 2 Shrimps & prawns 70,213 5,489 3 Squid 16, Crabs 2, Green grouper Mollusks, dried Octopus Mussels 44 1 (Source: Census and Statistics Department, 2005) Table 16: The value (in each unit) of seafood items exported from Hong Kong in 2004 Seafood Value (HK$/kg) 2065

19 Mollusks, dried Octopus Shrimps & prawns Green grouper Fish, salted & in brine Squid Crabs Mussels (Source: Census and Statistics Department, 2005) Seafood consumption in Hong Kong In order to know more about Hong Kong people s consumption of seafood, the import data was extracted by the re export figures to show the imported seafood products actually consumed locally, i.e.: Imports re exports = actual locally consumed Since local production of most of the seafood products (except fish maws) are not significant, the actual locally consumed amount can also represent the local consumption by Hong Kong people (CSD, pers. comm.). Table 17: Imported seafood items consumed locally during 2002 to Shrimps & prawns Shrimps & prawns Shrimps & prawns 2 Squid Rock lobster Cuttlefish 3 Rock lobster Squid Squid 4 Crabs Cuttlefish Rock lobster 5 Scallops Scallops Crabs 6 Cuttlefish Oysters Scallops 7 Fish, salted & in brine Fish, salted & in brine Oysters 8 Oysters Mussels Mussels 9 Mussels Flatfish Flatfish 10 Sea bass Leopard coral trout Fish, salted & in brine 11 Lobsters Bêche de mer Leopard coral trout 12 Leopard coral trout Shark fins Lobsters 13 Abalone Halibut Abalone 14 Groupers Abalone Sea bass 15 Bêche de mer Lobsters Snooks & basses (Source: Census and Statistics Department, 2005) In fact, the people of Hong Kong consume large amount of shrimps and prawns, as well as cuttlefish, squid and octopus. In the past three years, fish maws and leopard coral grouper were consumed the most (Table 3.11). This might be due to the high price of abalone, shark fins and sea cucumber, which were mostly served in banquets. Regarding the consumption 2066

20 value, Hong Kong people spent the most money on eating shark fins and abalone as shown in Table Table 18: The value (in each unit) of imported seafood items consumed locally in 2003 and Shark fins Shark fins 2 Rock lobster Abalone 3 Scallops Rock lobster 4 Abalone Scallops 5 Shrimps & prawns Shrimps & prawns 6 Bêche de mer Bêche de mer 7 Fish, salted & in brine Fish, salted & in brine 8 Leopard coral trout Leopard coral trout 9 Lobsters Lobsters 10 Oysters Oysters (Source: Census and Statistics Department, 2005) After analyzing the above trade data, shark fins and fish maws are found to be significant due to several reasons. Shark fins have the highest quantity of trade in forms of import and re export and they are also the most valuable per unit. Fish maws are the only concerned seafood product (except green grouper), which are exported from Hong Kong to other countries. In addition, local consumption of fish maws is large. Therefore, shark fins and fish maws are chosen as the case studies to be investigated in greater detail in the following sections Shark fins In 2004, the total trade of shark fins cost HK$3.6 billion with a 7.1% increase compared with the previous year. The amount of shark fins consumed locally from 2000 to 2004 is shown (Figure 6). Although the quantity consumed had gradually decreased following the peak in 2001, the price of shark fins had become more and more expensive (Figure 7). However, Consumer Price Index in Hong Kong has decreased over recent years (Figure 8). It implies the supply of shark fins had been reduced. In 2004, a total quantity of 6,700 tonnes of shark fins was imported from 78 countries. Figure 9 shows the ten countries from which the largest quantities of shark fins were imported. From Figure 9, it is shown that Mainland China contributed the most and that shark fins were imported from countries all over the world. Although Mainland China was the largest import country, some of the shark fin products might not actually be produced by China itself. The products might have been imported from other countries and then processed by Mainland China before being transported to Hong Kong. Therefore, sharks being affected by the trade may not be the species found in Chinese seas, but are those from countries who are exporting to Mainland China. Therefore, Mainland China is the country of consignment and countries of origin are further investigated in Figure

21 Figure 6: HK Consumption of Shark fins Figure 7: Price of Shark fins (Source: Census and Statistics Department, 2005) Figure 8: Consumer Price Indices in Hong Kong 2068

22 Figure 9: Import Countries of Shark fins in Fish maws Figure 10: Countries of Origin of Shark fins in 2004 Fish maw is another seafood product which was investigated in more detail for the present study. In the past five years, Hong Kong people have consumed a steady quantity of fish maws, represented by item, fish, salted & in brine (Figure 11): The price of fish maws has increased (Figure 12). As can be seen in Figure 13, Consumer Price Index in Hong Kong has decreased over recent years. The increasing price of fish maws is thus because of the decline in the availability of fish maws, but not the economic growth. Similar trends are observed for other seafood items, such as abalones, sea cucumbers and seahorses. 2069

23 Figure 11: HK Consumption of Fish maws Figure 12: Price of Fish maws (Source: Census and Statistics Department, 2005) Figure 13: Consumer Price Indices in Hong Kong 2070

24 In 2004, Hong Kong imported 5,000 tonnes of fish maws from 56 countries. As mentioned previously, Hong Kong is the largest trade centre of fish maws in the world. Among the countries supplying fish maws, Bangladesh and Mainland China were dominant, with countries of origin spread from all around the world as shown in Figure Limitations of the Source Data Figure 14: Countries of Origin of Fish maws in 2004 There are some limitations when using the above trade data. Since the aim of the Census and Statistics Department (CSD) in the way they collect the data is different to that of the present study. The aim of the classification system is for multi uses for customs and statistical department, traders and others concerning international trade, it is not specifically designed for conservation or scientific purposes. Some seafood items are reported in general categories, without clear reference to the exact species (for example, in the case of shark fins). Some of the CSD trade statistics are shown in Figure 15. In order to study impacts of the seafood trade in Hong Kong, all the seafood products should be ideally converted into live weight for comparison. For shark fins and fish maws, which are body parts of fish, live weight should be calculated to reflect the true weight of fish of which is being affected. Unfortunately, conversion factors of each of the seafood items are not found, except shark fins and sea cucumbers (Clarke, 2002 and 2004). Therefore, trade data were analyzed without conversion. In addition, the data reported by the CSD is probably inaccurate and underestimates or overestimates may occur. Since the trade data is based on shippers self declarations, poor identification skills of the declarers affect the actual number of trade. Moreover, there are few or even no inspections of the species by an authority with professional knowledge or training on identifying the seafood species. In addition to locally licensed fishing vessels being excluded from the declaration of imports (Lau and Parry Jones, 1999), discrepancy between the reported data and the actual amount does exist. 2071

25 Figure 15: Screen layout of Trade data from the Census and Statistics Department Margins of errors could be estimated to show the inaccuracy of the above data. However, since global trade is also underestimated, no accurate data can be used as reference to estimate the error. Thus the accuracy of the trade data needs to be improved to facilitate analysis in the future. 4. Results To sum up, the impact of Hong Kong seafood trade is large due to the large scale of imports and re exports. Local consumption of seafood is placed fourth among other developed countries or areas. The large seafood consumption is affected by traditional Chinese culture. Since local demand on seafood products cannot be fulfilled by domestic fishery production, Hong Kong needs to import at least 1.8 times the local seafood products from other countries. As a global trade centre, Hong Kong re exports vast amounts of seafood products. Over half of imports are re exported to other countries, especially Mainland China. As a consequence, the seafood trade in Hong Kong results in over exploitation of marine species worldwide, including sharks, croakers, sea cucumbers, abalones, reef fishes (giant grouper and humphead wrasse) and seahorses. Sharks, Chinese bahaba and sea horses are vulnerable species which have already been low in abundance worldwide. Demand on them and expansion of the seafood market make their status even more threatened. For instance, Hong Kong has leaded Chinese bahaba, species from which fish maws are made, to be 2072