https://www.scmp.com/rss/292239/feed Andy Cornish completed a PhD on reef fishes at The University of Hong Kong. He worked on nature conservation issues for two decades before establishing Cornerstone Strategies, a boutique consultancy that provides strategic planning support. He is the coordinator for the Hong Kong Marine Protection Alliance. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Andy Cornish,Marine Thomas Andy Cornish,Marine Thomas The government is keen to expand ecotourism offerings, including our unique island and coastal resources, and it is not difficult to understand why. Our coastline covers an impressive array of marine ecosystems, from the estuarine mudflats of Deep Bay and the sheltered coves of Mirs Bay to the rugged and highly exposed outer islands in the south and east. These ecosystems are home to nearly 6,000 marine species, making Hong Kong one of the most biodiverse marine regions in China. Our rich marine... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3330262/how-hong-kong-can-dive-ecotourism-while-protecting-nature?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3330262/how-hong-kong-can-dive-ecotourism-while-protecting-nature?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Oct 2025 01:30:08 +0000 Summer is almost here, and with it comes the silly season of “shark sightings”. Today, few people realise that sharks were once common in our waters and that in the 1950s there were enough of them to support a targeted fishery. This fishery peaked in the late 1960s with around 2,400 tonnes of sharks caught annually. It had largely collapsed by the 1980s, likely because of too many fishing vessels and no catch limits, exacerbated by slow reproductive rates of many shark species. Catches by... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3178090/how-hong-kong-can-spark-wave-recoveries-shark-populations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3178090/how-hong-kong-can-spark-wave-recoveries-shark-populations?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 May 2022 22:45:23 +0000 Do you remember the furore back in 2005 when the public learned that shark fin soup was to be included on the menu at Hong Kong Disneyland? Shark fin consumption is a well-documented issue here. What is less well known is that Hong Kong is the world capital for shark and ray fin seizures – including a whopping 10 tonnes, or HK$110 million (US$12 million) worth, last October – and that the illegal fin trade in and through the city is contributing to a global extinction crisis. So why is it legal... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3164881/hong-kong-may-be-losing-its-taste-shark-fin-illegal-trade-still?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3164881/hong-kong-may-be-losing-its-taste-shark-fin-illegal-trade-still?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Jan 2022 02:15:13 +0000 Hong Kong’s love of seafood shows no signs of abating. Fortunately, as an article in the Post reported, an increasing number of restaurateurs are insisting that the seafood they serve is not only of the finest quality, but caught sustainably. This is not a passing trend, but a pragmatic approach to ensuring continued access to supply. WWF’s 2015 Living Blue Planet report found that populations of 492 fish species that we eat had declined 50 per cent globally between 1970 and 2010, and continue... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1995573/how-hong-kong-can-build-its-trawling-ban-become-champion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1995573/how-hong-kong-can-build-its-trawling-ban-become-champion?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Jul 2016 09:34:41 +0000 The first 10 months of the new administration has seen the Environment Bureau lay out more ambitious plans to tackle a swathe of environmental issues than we've seen in the previous five years, and an unprecedented level of collaboration with other bureaus on issues including air pollution and marine litter. We have a long way to go before the new initiatives bite, as the shocking air pollution demonstrates, but Hong Kong has the expertise and resources to become Asia's greenest city within a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1237699/lamma-quarry-site-could-be-environmental-eden?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1237699/lamma-quarry-site-could-be-environmental-eden?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The proposed beach at Lung Mei, incinerator at Shek Kwu Chau, expansion of the Tseung Kwan O landfill into Clear Water Bay Country Park and a potential third runway at the airport have all provoked strong reactions from environmental groups and sectors of the public concerned about their impact on wildlife and the environment. This is despite some of these projects having undergone environmental impact assessments, which have been accepted by the Environmental Protection Department. Advocates... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1129509/real-strategy-save-hong-kongs-endangered-natural-assets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1129509/real-strategy-save-hong-kongs-endangered-natural-assets?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 A few weeks ago, I hopped on a junk and went looking for dolphins. We had some great sightings in the Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau Marine Park, but equally memorable were the threats to these beautiful creatures: contaminated mud pits, high-speed ferries, trawlers scouring the seabed, and the site of the new bridge to Zhuhai and Macau. The Pearl River estuary is home to around 2,500 Chinese white dolphin, the largest known population in the world. Within Hong Kong, there are essentially three... https://www.scmp.com/article/972515/without-survival-plan-our-dolphins-are-doomed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/972515/without-survival-plan-our-dolphins-are-doomed?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Jul 2011 16:00:00 +0000