Hong Kong’s Fishing Industry
Hong Kong’s Fishing Industry – An Historical Overview
Hong Kong’s insatiable appetite for fresh fish and seafood is legendary, and the city remains a trading centre for dried and preserved marine products of world-wide significance.
In 1946, local fisheries were the single largest economic activity in Hong Kong, yet have declined into relative insignificance today. Hong Kong’s once-massive fishing industry, and its overlooked regional significance, stretches back centuries before the establishment of British rule.
Wide-ranging social and economic links connected small islands and scattered coastal settlements to larger urban centres around the Pearl River delta and beyond within a fascinating human matrix.
The ethnic communities represented within the fishing industry, principally the Tanka or boat people, played vital roles in the establishment of Hong Kong in fascinating, unexpected ways that extended far beyond fishing.