“Treasures of Western Waters” Exhibition Raises Awareness of Marine Conservation

To raise public awareness of marine conservation, the “Treasures of Western Waters” exhibition was unveiled today in the public area at the Arrivals Hall of Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).

From today till 8 June 2025, the exhibition engages passengers and members of the public with interactive games that take visitors on a journey into Hong Kong’s western waters, to explore the rich and diverse marine ecosystem around the airport. Featured inhabitants of the western waters include Chinese White Dolphins (CWD), gorgonian coral, oyster and a wide variety of fish. Exclusive souvenirs will also be given away at the exhibition.

The exhibition marks the beginning of a series of activities showcasing Airport Authority Hong Kong’s (AAHK) efforts in enhancing the ecology and biodiversity in Hong Kong’s western waters and related public engagement activities. Upcoming activities comprise educational eco-tours for students, green groups and other stakeholders in the second and third quarters of this year, and a fish restocking exercise in line with the National Fish Releasing Day on 6 June 2025.

Tse Chin-wan, Secretary for Environment and Ecology; Mable Chan, Secretary for Transport and Logistics; and Patrick Lai, Acting Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation, officiated at the exhibition’s launch ceremony today, together with Vivian Cheung, Acting Chief Executive Officer of AAHK. Among the guests are Ling Kar-kan, Chairman of the Country and Marine Parks Board; Zhang Chaoming, Director of Guangdong Pearl River Estuary Chinese White Dolphin National Nature Reserve Management Office; Nora Tam, Chairman of the Marine Ecology Enhancement Fund Management Committee; Ann Kung and Perry Yiu, Board members of AAHK; Edmund Leung, Director of The Marine Ecology & Fisheries Enhancement Funds Trustee Limited; and Steven Ho, Legislative Council member.

Addressing the ceremony, Vivian Cheung said, “HKIA sits on a trove of marine treasures in the western waters. Considering the unique location of the airport and the characteristics of species in this area, we have designed and implemented a series of conservation measures. AAHK is committed to achieving a balance between airport development and environmental protection. Our ultimate goal is to develop HKIA into one of the greenest airports in the world.”

Secretary Tse Chin-wan said in his remarks, “The SAR Government has always been committed to protecting marine ecology. In the past five years, we have designated three new marine parks, which increased the total area of protected marine habitats in Hong Kong by 1.5 times to more than 8,500 hectares. The North Lantau Marine Park (NLMP) is the eighth and largest marine park in Hong Kong. We hope to join hands with all sectors of the society to drive ecological civilisation and create a greener and sustainable future.”

Secretary Mable Chan remarked, “The establishment of the NLMP and the commissioning of the Three-runway System Project is not only a testament that the Government attaches great importance to protection of environment and ecology while developing the infrastructure, but also an acknowledgement of various stakeholders' efforts and achievements over the years.”

AAHK has long been committed to protecting and enhancing the ecology and biodiversity in HKIA’s surrounding waters. AAHK has partnered with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department to establish Hong Kong’s largest marine park, the NLMP, which connects with the Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau Marine Park and The Brothers Marine Park in the North Lantau waters.

The interconnected areas form a protected area and provides synergistic benefits for CWD and the broader marine ecosystem.  The NLMP is also contiguous with the Pearl River Estuary Chinese White Dolphin National Nature Reserve. Linking the marine protected areas in western Hong Kong with the large Mainland reserve will further enhance the conservation potential among these important CWD habitats, helping to promote the use of waters around HKIA and North Lantau by CWD and benefiting other important marine life and fisheries resources.

Meanwhile, AAHK has been conducting voluntary marine ecology and fishery enhancement projects, including eco-enhanced seawall blocks, deployment of artificial reefs and shellfish reefs, and fish restocking, all of which have shown positive results. AAHK has also set up two independent funds with an injection of HK$400 million in 2016, namely the Marine Ecology Enhancement Fund and Fisheries Enhancement Fund, to support marine ecology and fisheries projects.