Crowds on Hong Kong’s Sharp Island won’t have major impact on corals: government
Environmental authorities say they will review condition of coral reefs off Sharp Island, but green group, marine biologist say damage has been done
Overcrowding at a Unesco-listed geopark in Hong Kong during the National Day “golden week” holiday is not expected to have a “significant impact” on coral colonies, the city’s environment chief has said, stressing that authorities will assess the health of the reefs near an outlying island and review crowd control measures.
Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said on Monday that the damage to coral reefs off Sharp Island in Sai Kung was not extensive, after tourists were seen trampling on them.
However, that did not mean authorities were not taking the issue seriously, he noted, adding that the government would deploy sufficient law enforcement officers at tourist hotspots during the holidays.
Earlier in the day, Patrick Lai Chuen-chi, deputy director of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, said staff would conduct an assessment of the Sai Kung reefs “as soon as possible”.
He added that the department regularly monitored the reefs and would send staff to take photographs to check for irregular “special situations”, following recent reports of tourists trampling on them.
“The coral reef is quite a distance from the beach at Sharp Island, so we believe the impact on the coral reef should not be significant,” Lai told a radio show.