I REFER to Richard Yip's letter 'Cyanide fishing accusation unfounded' (South China Morning Post, November 25) which defends the Hong Kong Government for 'ignoring' the devastation of coral reefs in the region through cyanide fishing.
Mr Yip's letter correctly points out that Hong Kong has fisheries protection legislation which not only prohibits the use of cyanide for fishing but also the posses-sion of this substance on board a vessel.
This same law applies to explosive materials used for making fish bombs.
What the letter fails to address is that, although legislation exists, it is unsuccessful as a deterrent for these illegal fishing practices overseas and in Hong Kong's waters. Dynamite fishing is a common practice in the Mirs Bay area, so common that fishermen do not even wait until nightfall but proceed to bomb the coral reefs in daylight.
Reports to the police are fruitless since their reply is that the fishermen need to be caught red-handed and dynamite is easily discarded overboard upon the crew hearing an approaching police vessel.
When cyanide is used overseas it is almost impossible to prove that Hong Kong fishermen are to blame and therefore easy for both the Hong Kong police and the Hong Kong Government to sit back and pass the buck to other countries' authorities, or even to deny it is Hong Kong fishermen carrying out these illegal operations.
