Light of Fishing Boats Grows Dimmer

By Ruth Lam

The light of fishing boats has been flickering along the coast of Macau for hundreds of years. Macau used to be a fishing village and many inhabitants made a living out of fishing. However, the light from boats becomes dimmer and dimmer in our generation as more and more fishermen have abandoned their fishing boats and moved to live ashore.

The fishing industry has been in Macau for hundreds of years. In the evening, about a thousand fishing boats were docking in the harbor. This scene will probably never be seen again in our time. The fishing industry is going to become extinct in Macau .

"I don't want my children to work in this field. Fishing does not have a future," said Kwan Man Fai, a fisherman, who belongs to a special group called Tanka ( 蜑家, boat people) in Macau . He lamented that the fishing industry in Macau is coming to an end and the last 150 fishing boats will soon disappear.

Macau 's fishermen have been suffering from the increasing business of aquaculture in the past 20 years. Prices of seafood from aquaculture are cheaper than those from fishing, yet its quality cannot always be guaranteed. "Aquaculture is the main reason which causes the fishing industry to disappear in Macau ," said Kwan.

Aquaculture can eliminate expenses of fuel and repairs a fishing boat requires. It can produce seafood in a great amount and sell it at lower prices. Kwan remembers that a kilogram of prawns were sold at the wholesale price of MOP30 about 20 years ago; however, aquaculture changed it. The same amount of prawns sells for only MOP10 today. Although all fishermen are unwilling to lower their prices, trade companies do not make any concession. Otherwise, trade companies would only depend on seafood from aquaculture.

Traditionally, the Tanka is a group in the Guangdong area that lives on boats and stays inshore. Tanka people make a living on fishing and most of them are not educated because every time when they have to leave for fishing in the ocean, they have to stay inshore for about a month; therefore, they cannot receive a regular education.

Most fishermen do not want their next generation to be like them and to work in such a hard industry; they prefer to send their children to school and live ashore. As a result, fewer people work in this field, which causes a shortage of workers in the fishing industry.

Facing difficulty in hiring workers, the fishing industry in Macau can only rely on imported laborers from mainland China because no local teenagers are willing to work in this industry. Fishermen in Macau will become an extinct group in the next generation.

The prolonged high price of fuel is another reason for fishermen to abandon their boats and to live ashore. Kwan revealed that they can earn over MOP10, 000 in a day when fishing in the mainland ocean. However, this is not their net profit. They have to deduct MOP7,000-8,000 for fuel expenses for each journey.

The Macau Government has taken measures to help fishermen in recent years. There is a fishing moratorium which lasts for two months every summer. The purpose is to reduce over-fishing and improve the supply of fish. However, Kwan explained that during this period fisherman have to face another extreme difficulty. They have to dock their boats in the harbor for two months without income and the humidity of the coast will cause damage to the engine and machines. When the fishing moratorium is over, they have to spend a lot of money on repairs.

The Macau Government then provides another measure to help ease this burden. Fishermen can borrow money interest free from the government to maintain their living in these two months and for repairing their fishing boats. However, this can only help them to solve their financial problem temporarily. Kwan said that these measures are almost useless and cannot solve their problems in the long run.

"I'm sure there will be no more fishermen in Macau after my generation. I am the last generation to work in this industry," said Kwan.