Amid the concerns of overfishing in Hong Kong's waters, it is natural to ask what actually is left out there. This could be a question without a conclusive answer.
To get a better understanding of the issue, two South China Morning Post reporters went on board a 21-metre trawler for a 12-hour fishing trip last Thursday.
Leaving Tai Po in the afternoon, they headed into seas off Tap Mun and Tai Long Wan in Sai Kung, where the vessel planned to drag its net four times.
Each trawl lasts about 75 minutes, and involves pulling a long, cone-shaped net along the seabed at depths of about 20 metres.
The first catch came just before sunset, and the fourth and final one ended at about 11.30pm. As expected, the bulk of the fish and shellfish caught were tiny, some less than the size of an index finger.
A few larger fish were caught, but they were the exception. Most of them were flathead, blue crabs and mantis shrimp. These were separated immediately and put into aerated tanks, to keep them alive for a better price.