THE TRADE IN LIVE REEF FOOD FISH GOING GOING GONE VOLUME 1 MAIN REPORT Acknowledgements This report was prepared by ADM Capital Foundation and the University of Hong Kong. We would like to thank Sam Inglis, Lisa Genasci, Jane Chu, Kathleen Ho and and Ellie Appleby for their diligence in reading and editing; Doug Woodring, who drove the initial concept; and DESIGNORM for their innovative and informative graphics. Rachel Wong helped to compile some of the data, and Liu Min, Joyce Wu and Felix Chan kindly provided data. We are grateful to the government staff of the Marine Department, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, the Fish Marketing Organization and the Customs and Excise Department for responding to our questions and clarifying issues raised, as well as reviewing an earlier draft, and to the many traders and participants of the trade who we interviewed. Disclaimer This document (the ‘Document’) has been prepared by ADM Capital Foundation (‘ADMCF’) for general introduction, overview and discussion purposes only and does not constitute definitive advice on regulatory, investment or legal issues. It should not be used as a substitute for taking regulatory, financial, tax or legal advice in any specific situation. Information provided in the report has been obtained from, or is based upon, sources believed to be reliable but have not been independently verified, and no guarantee, representation or warranty is made as to its accuracy or completeness. Information contained in this Document is current as of December 2017 and is subject to change without notice. Information contained in this Document relating to unrealised data and projections is indicative only, and has been based on unaudited, internal data and assumptions, which have not been independently verified and are subject to material corrections, verifications and amendments. This information is not intended to constitute a comprehensive statement of any matter, and it should not be relied upon as such. None of ADMCF, its sponsors, affiliates, officers or agents provides any warranty or representation in respect of information in this Document. In no event will ADMCF be liable to any person for any direct, indirect, special or consequential damages arising out of any use of the information contained in this Document, or any other hyper-linked website, including, without limitation, any virus damage, lost profits, business interruption, loss of programs or data on your equipment or otherwise. This Document may provide addresses or hyperlinks which lead to other websites; however, ADMCF may not have reviewed any such websites, and is not responsible for the content of any such websites or pages. ADMCF makes no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the accuracy or completeness of any of the information in the Document, and accepts no liability for any errors, omissions or misstatements therein or for any action taken or not taken in reliance on this Document. The Document should not be regarded by recipients as a substitute for the exercise of their own judgment. All statements contained herein are made as of the date of this Document. This Document is for information purposes only and should not be construed as an offer, or solicitation of an offer, to buy or to make any investment. Suggested Citation: Sadovy de Mitcheson, Y., Tam, I., Muldoon, G., le Clue, S., Botsford, E. & Shea, S. (2017). The Trade in Live Reef Food Fish – Going, Going, Gone. Volume 1: Main Report. Parts I, II & III, pp.1-288. ADM Capital Foundation and The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. II GLOSSARY ACCS Air Cargo Clearance System ACE Advisory Council on the Environment ADB Asian Development Bank AFCD Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department AIS Automatic Indentification System AO Administrative Order APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation APFIC The Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission APT ASEAN Plus Three ASC Aquaculture Stewardship Council ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations AWB Air Waybill BSAP Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan C&ED Customs and Excise Department C&SD Census and Statistics Department CACC Court of Appeal Criminal Appeal CBA Capture-based Aquaculture CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CCAMLR Convention on Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species COFI FAO Committee on Fisheries CoP CITES Conference of Parties CPUE Catch Per Unit Effort CTI Coral Triangle Initiative CTI-CFF Coral Triangle Initiative for Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food security DAF Department for Agriculture and Fisheries (Queensland) DCCC District Court Criminal Case DFEH Director of Food and Environment Hygiene EAFM Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management EC European Commission EFSA The European Food Safety Authority EMAN Electronic System for Cargo Manifests EU European Union FAK Freight of All Kinds FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FEHD Food and Environmental Health Department FEHD Food and Environmental Hygiene Department FIFO Fish-In-Fish-Out’ Ratios FMO Fish Marketing Organization FoC Flags of Convenience’ FSO Food Safety Ordinance FSQC Flag State Quality Control GATT General Agreement on Tarrifs and Trade I GLOSSARY GT Gross Tonnage HBA Hatchery-based Aquaculture HCMA High Court Magistracy Appeal HKCSM Hong Kong Chamber of Seafood Merchants Ltd. HKHS Hong Kong Harmonized Commodity Description Codes HKLFC Hong Kong Licenced Fish Carriers HKLFV Hong Kong Licenced Fishing Vessels HKLRD Hong Kong Law Reports and Digest HKSARG Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government HKSARG Hong Kong Special Administrative Region HKSR Hong Kong Shipping Register HKU Hong Kong University HS Hormonized System IMO International Maritime Organization IPOA-IUU International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing ISPS International Ship and Port Facility Code ITQ Individual Transferable Quotas IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature IUU Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated LegCo Legislative Council LN Legal Notice LRFF Live Reef Food Fish LRFFT Live Reef Food Fish Trade MarDep Hong Kong Marine Department MF(M)O Marine Fish (Marketing) Ordinance MFN Most Favoured Nation MMSI Maritime Mobile Service Industry MPA Marine Protected Area MSC Marine Stewardship Council MSRA Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act MT Metric Tonne NDF Non-detriment Findings (from CITES) NESOI Not Elsewhere Specified or Indicated/Included NGO Non-Governmental Organization NMFS US National Marine Fisheries Service NOAA US’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NPOA National Plan of Action OFWG Ocean Fisheries Working Group OIE World Organisation for Animal Health OSCO Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance PCSD Palawan Council for Sustainable Development PNG Papua New Guinea II GLOSSARY PPMs Process abd Production Methods PRC People’s Republic of China PRQC Pre-Registration Quality Control PSC Port State Control PSMA Port State Measures Agreement RFMO Regional Fisheries Management Organisation SDG Sustainable Development Goals SEAFDEC Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Centre SOLAS International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea SPS Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement STC Said To Contain TAC Total Allowable Catch TBT Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement TID Trade and Industry Department UK United Kingdom UN United Nations UNCLOS United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea UNEP-WCMC United Nations Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime US United States USAID United States Agency for International Development US-CTI US Coral Triangle Initiative support group VAT Value-Added Tax VMPR Versatile Maritime Policing Response VSL Vessel Monitoring System WTO World Trade Organisation WWF World Wildlife Fund III PAGE 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 11 PREFACE 15 PART I SWIMMING AGAINST THE TIDE 145 PART II SLIPPING THROUGH THE NET - POLICY AND REGULATIONS IN HONG KONG 261 PART III NAVIGATING TOWARDS CALMER WATERS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ince the late nineties, intergovernmental agencies, NGOs, academics and extensive literature have highlighted the unsustainability of the South East Asian Live Reef Food Fish Trade (LRFFT). Despite the economic benefits for many involved, there is undeniably S a dark side to this lucrative trade in colourful fishes which involves a wealth of issues. Collectively, these represent a major challenge to ensuring the LRFFT’s long-term sustainability. A disturbing pattern has emerged of overfishing, illegal trade, tariff avoidance, of conservation threats to several species, destructive and damaging fishing methods and even corruption. This darker side is particularly relevant to the wild capture aspect of the trade. While many of these issues were recognised more than two decades ago, concerns continue be expressed. Despite various interventions having been launched and completed, the overall result has not reversed the worrying trajectory these fisheries are on and, today, continued overfishing and unregulated and unsustainable practices persist. If not addressed, the future of the trade looks bleak, potentially impacting thousands of livelihoods in the region, not to mention the viability of populations of several particularly favoured LRFF species. This report aims to reflect upon why so little progress has been made to date towards achieving a sustainable LRFFT, by examining