Visitors urged to tread lightly in newly famous Lung Mei beach
Green groups urge public to tread lightly as crowds flock to coast's sealife attractions
The controversy over a stretch of coastline near Tai Po destined to become a man-made beach has boosted the area's popularity, alarming green groups concerned about a new disturbance to its marine life.
The number of parents and their children visiting Lung Mei has doubled in recent weeks, after environmental activists stepped up their campaign to stop the government-funded development from going ahead.
Environmentalists, whose concerns have alerted the public to the area's marine life, which includes seahorses, have now appealed to visitors to minimise the disturbance to sea creatures, such as destroying their nests or even taking them away.
Six-year-old Maggie Lam was among the curious children sticking shovels into the sand to see what they could find.
"We are trying to catch some [marine species] and take them home to keep them," Maggie told the South China Morning Post yesterday. "We'd caught starfish before and had taken them home. But after two days, they all died."
"Locals fear loss of Lung Mei beach" Video by Hedy Bok
Jellyfish, starfish and other sea life were fished out of the water along the roughly 200-metre-long beach. Beachgoers armed with nets, plastic buckets and toy shovels were a common sight.