Oil prices ground Hong Kong fishermen

HONG KONG — Soaring oil prices are forcing many Hong Kong fishermen to stay ashore, and some say they may have to give up a business that has been all their families have known for generations.

Crude oil prices rose above $53 a barrel last week, nearly 80 percent higher than a year ago. Even before fuel prices jumped, the territory’s fishermen were struggling because of low seafood prices, dwindling fish stocks and stiff competition from mainland Chinese rivals.

Lai Kau-zai, 54, said he stopped fishing more than a month ago because he couldn’t make ends meet. His small boat was consuming $64 worth of fuel every day.

“It’ll be very good if I can just maintain a livelihood,” said Lai, who is living off his savings. But he worries Hong Kong’s fishing industry may not recover.

Hong Kong has about 2,000 fishing boats, mostly based on outlying islands or in communities well outside the bustling financial district.

Most are now going out to sea only occasionally, to keep costs down, said To Kwong-biu, vice chairman of the Hong Kong Fishery Alliance. He estimated the owners of half the boats wanted to call it quits and put their vessels on sale — except there are no buyers.

The downturn is devastating for the fishermen who know no other way of life. Many come from families that have been in the business for generations, some since before the British annexed the area in 1841, when fishing was the predominant business here.

“We buy a little fish and some vegetables and that’s a meal. We can’t eat voraciously anymore,” Lai said in a telephone interview.

The territory has seen its fishing fleet dwindle from about 6,000 in 1997, when Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule, to 2,000, To said.