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Simon Parry

WWF still fighting for tougher penalties to save coral and deter illegal fishing

A leading conservationist has called on the judiciary to introduce tougher sentences for people who damage coral and fish in marine parks, saying magistrates are handing out 'ludicrously low' fines.

WWF  chief executive officer Eric Bohm  has written to Wong Fook-yee,  assistant director  of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department,  attacking the prosecution regime as a 'waste of taxpayers' money'.

Mr Bohm said tougher penalties were urgently needed  to protect  marine parks at Tung Ping Chau, Yan Chau Tong, Hoi Ha Wan and Sha Chau. A copy of his letter was sent to Secretary for Justice Elsie Leung Oi-see.

According to  official figures, the average fine for mainland fishermen caught collecting coral in marine parks at the end of last year  was just $300 - one fifth of the fine for littering or spitting in the street.

Fines for  anchoring in marine parks averaged less than $1,000, while the average fine for  fishing in marine parks was $450.

The figures show 58 prosecutions were brought under the Marine Parks Ordinance over a three-month period - more than a quarter of them for littering.

A further 468 verbal and five written warnings were issued to fishermen and marine park visitors.

'The fine for littering is $1,500, but you break a coral and it takes a lifetime to come back, and you get a fine of $300,' Mr Bohm said.

'This is a ridiculous situation. It is not a suitable deterrent.'

The WWF initially appealed two years ago for tougher penalties for  offences in  marine parks, but Mr Bohm said it appeared the situation had not improved.

'We are disappointed to note that the number of offenders continues to be high, but with low prosecution rates combined with ludicrously low financial penalties,' he wrote in his letter.

'The actions on the part of the authorities are not providing a suitable deterrent, which is not only a waste of taxpayers' money but also does little to stop the ongoing degradation of our marine environment.

'We strongly urge the government to review and enhance the penalties so that there is an adequate deterrent to discourage people from committing such illegal actions.'

Mr Bohm said there was an urgent need for an interdepartmental approach to  protect the marine environment, saying a measure of political will was essential.

'In certain jurisdictions where you are involved in illegal fishing on a commercial scale, the boat is confiscated,' he said.

'In other words, the risk-reward ratio is such that the reward is no longer worth the risk. That may be part of what has to happen in Hong Kong.'

Magistrates also needed  to take marine park offences more seriously, he said, citing the example of one magistrate who repeatedly let off offenders or gave them only nominal fines because he believed it was usual for children to collect shells and marine life.

'He made a remark along the lines that 'boys will be boys' and said he did similar things when he was young,' Mr Bohm said.

'Well that was probably in the 1960s or 1970s, when the place was teeming with marine life. Now they are endangered and the same rules don't apply.'

The judiciary has previously rejected criticism of low fines for marine park offences, saying it was up to the prosecution to satisfy the courts of the need for harsher penalties.



'Ludicrous' fines fail to protect marine parks