Southern Waters
Southern Waters are bounded by Lantau Island to the west, Kowloon and Hong Kong Island to the north and facing the South China Sea. It has 544.4 km2 of water area and four fish culture zones (Cheung Sha Wan, Lo Tik Wan, Po Toi and Sok Kwu Wan). There are a number of scenic beaches on the southern district of Hong Kong Island, and on Lantau Island. Cheung Chau, Lamma Island, Peng Chau and Lantau Island are the four most populated outlying islands in Hong Kong and famous tourist attractions. Chinese White Dolphins are found near Soko Islands. The sandy beach at Sham Wan, Lamma Island is the only regular nesting site of Green Turtles known in Hong Kong and designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest since June 1999.
The major pollution sources in Southern Waters are located in Victoria Harbour. The government has implemented the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme (HATS) in stage to improve the water quality in Victoria Harbour. Fish culture zones in this region are less affected by local pollution sources but the impacts from Pearl River are significant in the western part of Southern Waters, which leads to excess nutrient concentrations in the summer. During the period 1975 to 2008, 168 red tides were reported within Southern Waters, which counts 20% of total red tide occurrences in Hong Kong. Most red tides occur in summer and in diatom species due to stratification and eutrophication by the estuarine water.
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Likelihood of red tide occurrence:
 Low < 30 % (Forecast for 2012-04-19)
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