Technical support, training, liaison services and financial assistance

Technical support and training

To improve the competitiveness and efficiency of the local capture fisheries, technical advice is provided on construction, equipping and maintenance of fishing vessels.

To help fishermen qualify to command and operate the engines and ancillary equipment of fishing vessels, free training courses are provided for fishermen to upgrading their skills and updating their fisheries knowledge which may assist them to develop or switch over to sustainable operations.

Training courses recently organized:

• Latest Fishermen Training Programmeť(Chinese version only)

• Snapshots of 2023 Fishermen Training Coursesť(Chinese version only)

Liaison services

Liaison with the fishing industry is mainly carried out through frequent contacts and regular liaisonťprogramme with fishermen organizations and individual fishermen. Through these liaison channels,ťthe department maintains close communication with the fishing community and provides advice and assistance related to fisheriesťto the fishermen. Liaison Offices are set up at Aberdeen, Shau Kei Wan,ťCastle Peak, Tai Po, Sai Kung and Cheung Chau.ť

Financial assistance

The department provides low interest loans to fishermen to help them switch to other sustainable operationsťand to meet operational needs from three fisheries loan funds, namely The Fish Marketing Organization Loan Fund, The Fisheries Development Loan Fundťand The World Refugee Year Loan Fund. Emergency Relief Fund is also made available to help fishermen to rehabilitate their business after natural disasters.

The Sustainable Fisheries Development Fund has been set up to fund projects that would facilitate the sustainable development of the fisheries industry, including the capture fisheries.

Sustainable fisheries and related operations

The department assists fishermen to switch to sustainable fisheries and related operations through the provision of the following services and technical support:

• Liaise with Mainland and foreign fisheries authorities and agencies to obtain information on sustainable fisheries and related operations such as offshore fishing, deep sea fishing, recreational fishing, aquaculture, fish processing and disseminate the information to fishermen;

• Assess proposals from fishermen and advise on their feasibility;

• Provide technical advice to fishermen on vessel construction, modification and other technical matters;

• Arrange suitable training courses and study tours for interested fishermen to acquire the necessary knowledge and technique and to explore development potential; and

• Provide low interest loans to support sustainable development proposals.