Where Thai and Indonesian firms might have once considered listing in Hong Kong, they are now attracted by the growing base of fund managers in Singapore (drawn there by the easy living and efficiency of the city, a far cry from Hong Kong's pollution and crowding).
The debate about the exact size of the patch is irrelevant (it is at the mercy of ocean currents and is constantly changing) and it risks diverting attention away from the far more serious implications of the pollution.
Noise pollution could significantly impact communication between fish: so far over 800 species of fish from 109 families are known to produce sounds, generally broadband signals at less than 500Hz.