Monitoring

Yan Chau Tong Marine Parks (since 1996)

Seagrass bed

Seagrass is a marine flowering plant that grows on sandy and muddy substrate. Seagrass functions to prevent the loss of coastal soil. It also provides shelter for juvenile and larvae of most fishes and marine invertebrates, and serve as food for some marine lives such as sea urchin and fishes. Japanese eel grass (Zostera japonica) is mainly distributed in the northeastern coast of Hong Kong. While Lai Chi Wo in Yan Chau Tong Marine Parks is the site with high coverage of marine eel grass (of about 2 ha.). The flowering period of Japanese eel grass is from March to July.

Mangroves

Two important mangrove sites in Yan Chau Tong Marine Park are Lai Chi Wo and Sam A, covers an area of about 2.7 hectares and 3 hectares respectively. All the eight species of true mangrove recorded in Hong Kong can be found at Lai Chi Wo while 7 species, except the Heritiera littoralis, could be found at Sam A. Mangroves bed commonly act as nursery grounds for juvenile of fishes and other marine invertebrates and provide food for different coastal marine lives. The wide spread of both seagrass and mangroves at Yan Chau Tong Marine Park may also explain the richness in fisheries resources at Yan Chau Tong Marine Park.