Hong Kong’s angling zone in Central opens to little fanfare but hooks in a few fishing enthusiasts
Plan to get office workers to enjoy spot of fishing during lunch brings in retirees instead on second day of opening
Two fishing enthusiasts spent hours on Saturday casting their reels into the inaugural angling zone along Central Promenade, but there was little to show for their efforts.
The fishing policy, spearheaded by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, was initially proposed to lure the army of office workers in Central to enjoy a spot of fishing or swimming during lunch. But it was panned and ridiculed for lacking much common sense, with district councillors raising concerns over the high cost of the plan, as well as growing fears over the water quality in the zones.
During lunchtime on Saturday, white-collar workers were not seen in the angling zone, which opened on Friday. Instead, retirees were spotted in the area, equipped with rods, hooks and bait.
Little fanfare was made of the 200-metre stretch of fishing facilities, complete with a shelter, tables, wash basins and storage. It cost about HK$3.5 million to build and will cost HK$900,000 to run annually.
The zone is located at the tip of Tamar Park in Admiralty, north of the Legislative Council complex. A second cut-price fishing zone in Tai Po will open soon.
Though the weather was overcast on Saturday, with winds making the harbour’s waters choppy, one of the two anglers at the Central zone managed to reel in a fish.