Creative thinking

It’s been a while since there has been a chance to update the blog, and over that time there was something of a discussion in the letters page of the South China Morning Post responding to Eric Bohm of WWF who lamented the death of one of the sharks. The discussion focused on the efficacy of the park and the rights of indigenous fishers. I think that Hong Kong can move forward from here in a positive way if we recognize the opportunities brought to us all by events such as the arrival of the sharks. Instead of scare stories in the press, the banning of water sports and angry confrontations, we could have had an illuminating and engaging TV documentary on Hong Kong’s celebrity sharks. It could have served as a celebration of the partial success of Hong Kong’s Marine Parks programme (now over 11 years old) and it would have started the process of education about sharks, the need for marine parks and wider conservation issues. The word ‘celebration’ is very appropriate here: whilst much needs to be done, we should also take opportunities to congratulate the government and NGOs like WWF on what has been achieved so far in marine conservation. The sharks could have served as a living focal point of issues that need airing and discussion, not just in the letters page of an English language newspaper, but in the wider public arena. It may be too late to grab this opportunity, but let's all try to take advantage of the next one that comes along.

A sad ending

For those of you not in the know, one of the real sharks was trapped in a fisherman’s net in Hoi Ha Wan on August 30th. I read the news with great sadness as I feel I have almost formed a bond with these marvelous creatures by writing the tales of the celebrity sharks over the past few weeks. Of course fishermen catch and kill fish every day, however it doesn’t seem unreasonable to wish for a marine park to be a safe haven for marine life. Unfortunately in Hong Kong, even the tiny so-called marine protected area of the marine parks does not seem to be protected after all: fishermen still fish in the parks with nets and therefore the marine life cannot really flourish. Of course the fishermen claim it is their right as indigenous people to continue fishing and they have a point, but when interests such as these collide with the interests of the general public, negotiated solutions can be found. The question that needs to be asked here is why the government of Hong Kong has still not found a negotiated solution to this problem some ten years after the creation of the marine parks ordinance. At least we finally know the type of shark that has caused such disturbance, albeit to a small group of people. A blacktip reefshark is no man-eating monster endangering the public, particularly a juvenile of this size. Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park should have been the proud residence of a couple of real celebrity sharks, but with one down and little chance of the other surviving the ensnaring nets for much longer, it would seem that this is a forlorn hope.