KE Spotlight

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  HKU study reveals Hong Kong hosts more than ¼ of all marine species recorded in China

  Hong Kong has a record of 5,943 marine species, according to a recent review by a research group led by Professor Gray A. Williams of The Swire Institute of Marine Science (SWIMS) and School of Biological Sciences of  HKU. This first comprehensive review of local marine biodiversity shows that with only about 1,651 km2 marine area (~0.03% of China's total), Hong Kong already accounts for ~26% of the total marine species recorded in China. However, currently only less than 2% of Hong Kong’s marine area is protected as marine parks or reserve. The research team urged the government to move towards the global target of at least 10% marine protected area by the year 2020 under United Nation's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). To establish a platform for the international scientific community to access the marine species in Hong Kong for conservation, research and education purposes, the research team, in collaboration with international experts, has also launched the Hong Kong Register of Marine Species (HKRMS) under the umbrella of the largest global marine biodiversity database, the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Hong Kong is one of only ten regions in the world that has such a regional species database, and was the first in Asia.

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