South Lantau Marine Park
South Lantau Marine Park
South Lantau Marine Park is situated in the southern Lantau waters, with a total sea area of about 2067 hectares. It was designated as marine park in June 2022, with the aim to help better conserve the Chinese White Dolphins and Finless Porpoises, their habitats and to enhance the fisheries resources therein. The landward boundary generally follows the high water mark along the coastline while excluding the four inner bay areas of Siu A Chau and two inner bay areas of Tai A Chau. The boundary is generally demarcated by yellow lighted buoys at the periphery of the marine park. Please refer to the gazette map and explanatory material for the actual boundary.
The South Lantau Marine Park is the third marine park in Hong Kong with the implementation of “Core Area” after Tung Ping Chau Marine Park and The Brothers Marine Park. A Core Area of about 145 hectares between the Soko Islands in the South Lantau Marine Park is set up. To further conserve marine and fisheries resources within the area, fishing activities are prohibited within the Core Area.
Ecology of the South Lantau Marine Park
South Lantau Marine Park is adjacent to the Southwest Lantau Marine Park, located in southern waters of Hong Kong, it serves as an important habitat for Chinese White Dolphins (Sousa chinensis) and Finless Porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides). Both dolphin species have been recorded in this area in different seasons throughout the year. The fisheries resource of Soko Islands is one of the best within southern Lantau waters, thus it also serves as an important feeding ground of both species.
For more details on the ecology of this area, please visit here.
Soko Islands and their History
Historically, both Tai A Chau and Siu A Chau were inhabited with Tin Hau Temple found on both islands. Villagers in Tai A Chau left in the 1980s when a detention centre for Vietnamese refugees was being built. Tai A Chau Detention Centre was once home to thousands of Vietnamese refugees from 1991 to 1996. It was closed in 1996 with all buildings demolished. Soko Islands since then remain uninhabited.
