Chapter 2: Fish and Overfishing
1 Hours
6 Sections
20 MCQ
Introduction:
Hong Kong is rich in fishery resources. Overfishing began to occur in the 60s and 70s leading to significant degradation of the marine ecosystems. Targeted species are often long-lived top predators with slow reproduction cycles. They can hardly replenish their populations under severe fishing pressure. In recent decades, the demand for fresh fish from Hong Kong has led to the rapid growth of the Live Reef Food Fish (LRFF) trade which has severe impacts on fish stocks in the source countries in Southeast Asia. Avoiding overfishing may be able to reduce the loss of threatened marine species by 50%!
Course Objectives:
i. To understand how Hong Kong’s marine environment has changed in the past in relation to overfishing and other damaging practices.
ii. To understand how local and regional overfishing problems can affect global fish stocks.
iii. To understand the urgency and importance of marine protection in relation to maintaining a healthy and diverse marine fish population and marine environment.
iv. To explore the relationships and interactions of overfishing with other marine threats in Hong Kong.
v. To equip you with a better understanding of what actions you can take to tackle these pressing marine issues.
Course Outline:
Content may relate with:
Coral Conservation
Ocean Acidification
Microplastic Pollution
Section 1: Introduction
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Hong Kong Marine Environment
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Hong Kong Marine Biodiversity
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IUCN Red List & CITES
Section 4: Vulnerable Fish
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Characteristics of Vulnerable Fish
Section 2: Roles of Fish
Section 5: Fisheries Market
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Signs in Fisheries Market
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Overfishing and You
Section 3: History
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History of Overfishing
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Signs of Overfishing
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Hidden Fishing Pressure
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Changing Perspective
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What If……
Section 6: Actions
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Conservation & Management
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Look, Choose, Share & Learn
Acknowledgment
We are grateful to Professor Yvonne Sadovy (HKU), Stan Shea (BLOOM), Ir. CK Lee (HKIE) , Kitty Chan, Ben Lo, and Deidra Wirakusumah for contributing to this online course module “Overfishing”.
We are particularly grateful to Yukon Siu for graphic design; the Bloom Association, ADM Capital Foundation, 114°E Hong Kong Reef Fish Survey, Corals Of The World and divers for providing photographs and diagrams.