admin, Author at Living Seas Hong Kong

Living Seas Hong Kong wins award for Most Trash Collected in Hong Kong Cleanup 2016

admin — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 15:39:20 +0000

(Hong Kong, 7 December 2016) Living Seas Hong Kong proudly wins the gold award in the Hong Kong Cleanup 2016 for the Most Trash Collected! A big thanks to all our volunteers for their contributions. Not only do we have a cleaner sea, but without their support we could not regain the title again from 2014.

The awards presentation ceremony took place at the Tasmania Ballroom,Central, Hong Kong. Dod, Jeffrey and Harry represented LSHK to receive the award. Let’s work together to raise the awareness about marine debris. Remember – “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”.

For the details of the cleanup please refer to http://livingseas.hk/wordpress/926-2/

Photo: Dod, Harry and Jeffrey represent LSHK to receive the award.

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Styrofoam identified as a major marine rubbish item in eastern coasts

admin — Sat, 29 Oct 2016 15:23:06 +0000

(Hong Kong, 29 October 2016) Styrofoam again was a major component of marine litter in the eastern waters of Hong Kong, as observed by volunteers from Living Seas Hong Kong (LSHK; 勃勃海洋) participating in the 2016 Hong Kong Cleanup campaign to clean the coastal areas in Hong Kong.

Bayside Beach (Pik Sha Wan 碧沙灣), Clearwater Bay was chosen as the cleanup site. This beach is popular not only with the local community, but also with snorkelers, divers and fishermen. Volunteers are divided into two groups: divers search and collect underwater marine debris and other group collects and removes refuse along the shoreline.

Bayside Beach was found in poor condition for this year’s cleanup. Volunteers saw more plastic and polystyrene than they have seen in recent cleanups. Styrofoam waste had broken down into thousands and thousands of very small pieces. Wind and storms had blown the pieces to the shore, accumulating on the beach especially around bushes and in drainage pools. Extra effort was needed to remove them.

In 2015 LSHK collected a total of 351 kgs of rubbish; this year almost 500 kgs was collected with fewer volunteers. Despite the recent increase in public awareness we continue to see excessive rubbish in our seas.

David O’Dwyer, Chairman of LSHK, said, “Waste continues to be a major issue for our marine environment and despite increasing public awareness and involvement, it remains a major problem for our marine life. The main sources of styrofoam waste found are packaging for which industry must take a substantial part of the blame, as well as small pieces from lunch boxes.”

“The Hong Kong public needs to stop this damaging life habit. These enter the sea and are now part of our food chain. A large and consistent effort is needed to stop this devastation,” he added.

The annual Hong Kong Cleanup Challenge runs from September through November, and is the region’s largest event of its kind. Volunteers recorded the type and quantity of litter found. The data will be compiled and analyzed so that we can better understand the challenge, and create awareness, action, and industry recommendations to help solve the issue.

Photo: Styrofoam is everywhere – on the beach, around the bushes and floating on water.

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Living Seas Hong Kong honors World Oceans Day at Lobster Bay

admin — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 08:46:52 +0000

Living Seas Hong Kong honors World Oceans Day at Lobster Bay

(Hong Kong, 11 June 2016) In honor of World Oceans Day, enthusiastic volunteers joined Living Seas Hong Kong (LSHK) to identify and remove ghost nets and rubbish surrounding artificial reefs in Lobster Bay (Lung Ha Wan). The goal this year was to explore the artificial reefs placed there and search for ghost nets or rubbish that might be harmful to marine life.

Abandoned fishing nets are commonly found in the bay. LSHK volunteers collected a significant pile of nets and garbage in the area. Ghost nets are hazardous to both marine life and humans. These nets become entangled on the coral reefs, the seabed or simply drift in the water. They restrict the movement of sea animals, causing starvation, laceration and infection, eventually death. Divers and snorkelers can get entangled too.

Mr Jeffrey Lee, Co-founder of LSHK said, “For the past several years, area students have been building and placing steel constructions about 1.5 m x 1.5 m in size near each other to create an artificial reef. In the first year, only a little marine life is attracted to each one, but after 3-4 years, the artificial reefs are teeming with life, with many juvenile fish and crabs, as well as large sweetlips, snappers and scads and groupers surrounding each one.”

“These, in turn attract fishermen who drop their nets near the steel artificial reefs. Sometimes they leave their nets behind, and they become ghost nets.” Lee added.

“Hong Kong’s marine environment is being literally destroyed by overfishing and now Hong Kong’s people are increasingly aware of the damage caused by marine litter,” said David O’Dwyer, the Chairman of LSHK. “Our daily litter can easily end up in the sea, where it smothers corals, traps marine life and enters the food chain, which ultimately affects our health. We have done some cleanups at Lobster Bay, but the solution lies in everyone reducing their consumption. Remember the three r’s: Reduce, Reuse then Recycle.”

LSHK supports World Oceans Day 2016. A healthy ocean is critical to our planet’s survival. Every year, World Oceans Day provides a unique opportunity to honor, protect, and conserve the world’s oceans.

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Concerned about LCSD overreaction to bamboo shark discovery

admin — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:37:57 +0000

The LCSD closed down the Shek-O beach and conducted a search of ten beaches on Hong Kong island after the discovery of two small bamboo sharks.

See the article on the HK government website

Click HERE for government article

Two letters have been written and published by the SCMP. These letters can be found as follows:

From Ken Chan on the 2nd June

Click HERE for Ken Chan letter

From David O’Dwyer on the 6th June

Click HERE for David O’Dwyer letter

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