Greenpeace catches Hong Kong geopark ‘golden week’ visitors damaging marine life
These included catching live sea cucumbers, using metal tools to dig out sea snails and clams, and picking up coral skeletons.
Visitors to Hong Kong's Unesco-listed geopark experienced significant damage to marine life during the National Day "golden week" in late September. Greenpeace documented about 100 incidents of visitors catching sea cucumbers and digging up sea snails and clams at Po Pin Chau, a popular spot in the High Island Geo Trail in Sai Kung.
On a separate day, nearly 90 instances of damaging behavior were recorded at Long Ke Beach. A Greenpeace inspection found that visitor numbers had surged to 3,010 at Hap Mun Bay, also known as Kiu Tsui Chau, during the same period. Greenpeace campaigner Ha Shun-kuen criticized the lack of enforcement, stating that additional manpower and public funding had failed to stem the damage.
He argued that measures like strengthening enforcement only after overcapacity is exposed is ineffective and suggested a more proactive approach. The group urged the government to assess visitor capacity at all countryside hotspots and set caps for each location, as well as implement an ecotourism policy focused on conservation and routine monitoring.
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