December 01, 2012

Hong Kong Reef Check 2012 found that local corals are generally in a healthy and stable condition with high fauna diversity, the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department says.
 
The department held a prize presentation ceremony today to commend the work of Reef Check teams and their contributions to the success of Hong Kong Reef Check 2012. The ceremony also marked the 15th anniversary of the annual survey.
 
The four-month exercise starting from June covered 33 sites of ecological importance, including three Marine Parks - Hoi Ha Wan, Yan Chau Tong and Tung Ping Chau. More than 570 volunteers from different sectors of the community, including education institutes and green groups joined the exercise.
 
The survey continues to yield encouraging results. A variation in coral coverage, ranging from 20% to 76.8%, was recorded. Nineteen sites, including dive sites within the Marine Parks recorded high coral coverage of over 50%. Coral Beach in Hoi Ha Wan recorded the highest coral coverage of 76.8%.
 
Most of the survey sites boast high species diversity. All of the 20 assigned indicator species including wrasses, groupers and butterfly fish were recorded.
 
Corals at seven sites were assessed using the Coral Watch tool in Reef Check 2012. The average health index is 4.13, which is similar to 4.14 last year. The average health index is well above the general average value of three. Coral Watch is to determine the health condition of corals by measuring the colour intensity of the coral using a specially designed Coral Health Monitoring Chart.
 
Coral bleaching and some coral damage was observed at some sites but the impact was minor and localised.
 
The department will continue to organise Reef Check activities to collect important information necessary for devising conservation and management measures to protect the precious corals.