Sceptical Hong Kong oyster farmers brace themselves for Northern Metropolis plans to transform their Deep Bay village
- Proposals for IT hub, new housing leave long-time oyster farmers worried about their livelihood
- Lack of details in development blueprint has residents asking if this might be ‘all talk, no action’
At a Hong Kong coastal village that has been producing glossy golden dried oysters for more than 200 years, farmer Chan To-ngan, 72, is agitated as she thinks about the future.
Flipping endless rows of oysters drying on racks in the sun, she says: “I really don’t know how things will change. Maybe I should start taking photos of our farm and this sea view.”
The coastal village of Lau Fau Shan in the New Territories made its name from its dried oysters, supplying the delicacy in Hong Kong and mainland China, and drawing visitors all year round.
Located at Deep Bay, facing Shenzhen on the mainland, the village has been earmarked for transformation in the government’s Northern Metropolis blueprint to create an economic and residential hub for about 2.5 million people in the New Territories over the next two decades.
Residents and farmers are perplexed about the plans for Hong Kong’s only oyster farming area. It has left Chan, who has been raising, gathering and drying oysters at the village for more than 40 years, wondering if the oyster industry will survive as promised.
