The Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department today announced the establishment of Hong Kong’s eighth and largest marine park, the 2,400-hectare North Lantau Marine Park (NLMP).

The NLMP is also one of the measures for mitigating the impacts on Chinese White Dolphins (CWD) and fisheries habitats brought by the construction and operation of the Three-Runway System Project.

Its establishment increases the area of the city’s protected marine habitat to over 8,500 hectares, which is conducive to the conservation of the CWD and the marine environment and ecosystem in North Lantau waters.

The NLMP links with the nearby Sha Chau & Lung Kwu Chau Marine Park and The Brothers Marine Park in North Lantau waters to form a matrix of connected marine protected areas totalling about 4,570 hectares.

The NLMP is also contiguous with the Pearl River Estuary Chinese White Dolphin National Nature Reserve established in Guangdong Province, allowing for better protection of core CWD habitats.

The department pointed out that it is liaising with the relevant Mainland authorities regarding the establishment of the Guangdong-Hong Kong CWD marine protected areas network platform.

This platform will serve to strengthen co-operation on management and enforcement, ecological monitoring and enhancement as well as education and publicity between the two places, the department added.

It indicated that it also plans to conduct long-term ecological and water quality monitoring in the marine parks and encourage scientific research in marine parks.

Furthermore, the NLMP will adopt management measures similar to those of the existing marine parks, such as routine patrols and law enforcement, restricting vessel speed to 10 knots, and accepting NLMP fishing permit applications for local fishing vessels registered under the Fisheries Protection Ordinance.