The Hong Kong government has established the North Lantau Marine Park, the region’s largest marine park spanning about 2,400 hectares of water, to safeguard Chinese white dolphins and the marine ecosystem.

According to a press release issued on Friday by the Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department, the marine park — the eighth in Hong Kong — expands the protected marine area within the special administrative region from 6,117 hectares to over 8,500 hectares.

The establishment of the park is aimed at protecting Chinese white dolphins and fisheries habitats from the impact of the construction and operation of the city’s three-runway system, developed by the Hong Kong International Airport on reclaimed land north of the airport island.

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Chinese white dolphins are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals, and as Grade 1 National Key Protected Species on the Chinese mainland.

According to the press release, the new marine park “links with the nearby Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau Marine Park and the Brothers Marine Park in North Lantau waters to form a matrix of connected marine protected areas totaling about 4,570 hectares. It is also contiguous with the Pearl River Estuary Chinese White Dolphin National Nature Reserve established in Guangdong province, allowing for better protection of core Chinese white dolphin habitats.”

The department said it is engaged in discussions with the relevant mainland authorities over setting up the Guangdong-Hong Kong Chinese White Dolphin protected marine areas network platform. This collaborative effort is aimed at bolstering the coordination of management and enforcement, ecological monitoring and enhancement, and educational initiatives and public awareness between the two regions.