HONG KONG, Apr 26 (AP) -- About 260 Hong Kong fishermen and fishmongers on Tuesday protested proposed fishing restrictions, saying water pollution, not overfishing, led to dwindling catches, and that new controls would devastate their already struggling livelihoods.

Carrying protest signs, the demonstrators marched from a downtown pier to the legislative building, where a hearing was held on the measures. Police spokeswoman Ivy Yue said as many as 260 protesters turned up.

"Fisherman can still scrape by in Hong Kong waters, but if they take forced breaks from fishing, they can't even scrape by, it's like sending them to the guillotine," said To Kwong-biu, vice chairman of the Hong Kong Fishery Alliance.

The Hong Kong government wants to boost depleting fish stocks in local waters by limiting fishing in protected areas, banning trawling in certain months and introducing a fishing license system.

Fish catches in most areas dropped 50 percent in the decade ending 1998, according to government figures.

But To said pollution from dredging for construction projects, not overfishing, is to blame for declining fish stocks and the proposed controls don't address the root of the problem.

The government said in a briefing paper the measures will make the fishing industry more viable in the long run.

Hong Kong was once a fishing outpost but the industry has been in decline as the territory became a thriving trading and financial center.

The number of fishing boats has dropped from 12,000 in 1993 to about 2,000.