Web updates have been even rarer than usual of late. While the webmaster was away at work for 2 months his laptop died, cutting him off from the means to edit things. All fixed now though having switched to Apple Mac there's a bit of a learning curve involved. Please bare with me.
Dives in August and September have been blessed with excellent weather, lots of enthusiastic attendance, several new members and plenty of fish life. Could things possibly get any better? Of course it can!!
Our next scheduled trip will be the second awesome camping trip of the year, departing from Tso Wo Hang near Sai Kung on October 15th & 16th. Join us for 2 days of diving with the added bonus of a barbecue, camp fire and a night under the stars on a remote(ish) Hong Kong beach. Bruce will be marshaling and sending out info to the mailing list. For more details, look up the club Facebook page or contact the Club directly.
The Legislative Council has approved a ban on trawling in all local waters on 12 May by raising no opposition to the governmentís amendment bill. The sub-legislation is scheduled to be passed automatically on 18 May 2011 without voting through the Legcoís ìnegative vettingî procedure, since no legislator had submitted any amendments or objections to the governmentís proposed amendment bill by 11 May. This is the first crucial step in reviving our marine environment and developing sustainable fisheries.
This could be the best thing to happen to Hong Kong waters since the introduction of the Marine Parks and have the potential for a far greater impact. It is also a victory for all those concerned citizens and organizations who campaigned and petitioned to make this happen. Renews one's faith in the power of common sense and persistance to bring about positive change in our part of the world.
For the full story by the WWF, click on the trawler picture.
From September 19th to October 19th, Hong Kong to Honolulu, Boston to Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands of people in more than seventy five countries will remove millions of kilos of trash from waterways and beaches all over the world during Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup (ICC).
During the cleanup challenge, thousands of teams of energetic volunteers descend on beaches, lakes, rivers, and streams all over the world to clean up trash and debris on land and in the water.
As local divers we witness first hand the amount of trash that litters our sea, seabed and beaches and would all wish for fewer sightings of "plastic bag fish". Hong Kong Underwater Club strongly supports the efforts of Ecovision Asia and Ocean Conservancy in organising this event in Hong Kong and will commit to participating in the clean up during our scheduled dive on Sunday November 21st.
A successful campaign in 2011 will result in cleaner seas for everyone. For more information on the organisers and the campaign please click the "no litter" icon.
The HKUC has voiced its support for the development of this project during the official consultation phase of the environmental impact assessment (EIA). This project will generate electricity for approximately 80,000 households a year and provides a substantive generating capacity, and important symbol for the city as we face increased local environmental degredation.
Commenting on the EIA we wrote:
The Hong Kong Underwater Club has been actively diving in the waters of Sai Kung and its surroundings for over 50 years. During this time we have witnessed the continual degradation of the environment in Hong Kong , most notably fisheries and air quality.
We strongly support this project that will be an important symbol to the Hong Kong community of more sustainable energy production and through its trawling exclusion zone provide a much needed sanctuary for local fish stock.
We would urge the Project proponent to capitalize on the unique opportunity to safeguard 16km2 of deep water ocean by enhancing the fishery potential via additional artificial reefs throughout the projectís footprint. Also, in order to provide sustainable fisheries for Hong Kong we would also propose the development of offshore mariculture within the wind farm footprint that would provide jobs for fishermen and limit the continued unsustainable pillage of the S China Sea.
Thanks to Denvy, the club's internet footprint has been enlarged to include www.facebook.com. Those of you that subscribe to this popular social networking site can do a search for Hong Kong Underwater Club and become a fan of the new page or just follow the link above. Take a look and you can keep abreast of upcoming events, make comments and post or view photos.
For news of our upcoming and recent social events, the Social Page can be found here
READ YOUR NEWS HERE - please send your news, photos or trip reports to the webmaster