SUNSHINE ACTION
SAVE THE SEA
Project Info
In 2010, Sunshine Action started the Save the Sea program which promotes:
-
Restocking the ocean by releasing small fishes and other aquatic life to their respective native regions.
-
Healthy environment for aquatic life (e.g., with mini artificial reefs)
-
Responsible aquaculture
-
Cleaner beaches​
​Fishing in Hong Kong and how Sunshine Action Helps
Hong Kong is comprised of a single peninsula and over 200 offshore islands, on the southeastern coast of Mainland China. Hong Kong is home to a diverse aquatic habitat with rocky shores, coral reefs and artificial reefs. Hong Kong also has a relatively high diversity of fishes, with over 1000 recorded marine fish species. Unfortunately the region also faces an overfishing threat.
In Hong Kong, the fishing rest period lasts 2 months, and in China, the fishing rest period lasts 2 and a half months. These short rest periods results in overfishing, which then leads to the depletion of resources, low aquatic life growth rates and low biomass levels. According to a 2008 UN report, the world's fishing fleets are losing US$50 billion each year through depleted stocks and poor management of fisheries. The purpose of this program is to restock the ocean with fish.
Sunshine Action does this by releasing native fishes to their local waters. The fishes are released near an artifical reef, which is a protected area which is under continuous supervision of the Hong Kong police. The program takes place in the summer, which is about the same time when species of smaller fish (which are released) have their hatching season.
Till date, Sunshine Action has released more than 118,800 indigenous small fishes and aquatic creatures into the the Ocean, including:
-
Yellow Tail
-
Star Snapper
-
Marbled Rockfish
-
Rabbit Fish