The Chinese name for the Southern district enclave of Aberdeen is Heung Kong Zai or 'Little Hong Kong'. The name is also a synonym for 'Hong Kong Boy', and one who can claim that title is 53-year-old Leung Siu-yung, a fisherman born and raised on Aberdeen Harbour.
'If you are an Aberdeen fisherman, you will always stay in Aberdeen,' says Leung, who operates a trawler with his younger brother with the help of deck hands hired from the mainland.
A visit to Aberdeen Promenade today makes it apparent that the gaudy seafood eateries, such as the Jumbo Floating Restaurant, and its harbour teeming with luxury yachts and sightseeing sampans have overshadowed the fishing vessels that gave Aberdeen its claim to fame.
Leung comes from a line of fishermen stretching far back to his great-grandfather, but the family tradition will end with him. His greatest wish is for his two sons to find a career less rough than fishing, and to his delight, his 22-year-old eldest son graduated from Polytechnic University this year and is now looking for a job - on land.
'My two sons aren't interested in fishing, and I wouldn't want them to be because life out at sea is too taxing,' says Leung of an occupation now almost entirely dominated by men. 'I would say the 40-somethings are the last generation of fishermen in Aberdeen.'
According to the Hong Kong Fishermen Consortium, there are more trawlers in Aberdeen than in other major fishing communities such as Shau Kei Wan, Tuen Mun and Cheung Chau. At the last count, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department found trawlers - which catch fish by dragging a net through the water - made up 70 per cent of the 600 to 700 fishing vessels in Aberdeen.