Hong Kong government officials have denied that reclamation work on a planned Walt Disney theme park is responsible for the death of more than 20 tonnes of fish.
Lawmaker Wong Yung-kan, fishing trade representative, said, “at this rate, there will be no more fish by the beginning of next year.” He claims that dust from dredging work was causing the fish deaths and is also losing farmers millions of dollars.
Greenies have also accused the government of making light of the damage to the environment.
Government senior engineer Li Yeun-wing said, “Dredging work is taking place quite a distance from the fish farms. Fisheries experts told us the fish there have been dying of bacterial infection and not water contamination.”
Wong denied this and said, “The fish have not been able to breathe because of the particles that accumulate around their gills.” He added that tiny dust particles generated by the dredging at the Disney site have drifted six miles to the fish farms, where fishermen make a living selling fish to local markets.
The theme park is scheduled to open in 2005
