SWIMS biodiversity surveys there found 61 species in the abandoned farms versus just 26 in the neighboring mudflats, and 10 times greater biomass. However, it’s too soon to tell whether the restored reef patches have greater biodiversity than the abandoned farms, according to Thomas. But she adds that horseshoe crab numbers are increasing in the restored soft shore and seagrass habitats.

FRENCH-JAPANESE SUNDAY BRUNCH WITH UNLIMITED OYSTERS

Scarlett is a gemstone located in a not-well-visited part of Tsim Sha Tsui. With a great menu, spot-on execution and a very ranged wine-list, I’m just glad that I can come more often than just the normal wine-and-dine evenings. For a Saturday early afternoon, there were only a few of us. We need not line up frustrated as we might have if we had gone to some of the other brunch places in town. The best dried oysters are plump ones from Japan and Korea. Our biweekly podcast delivering news & inspiration from nature’s frontline.

#exclusive: The Regent returns to Hong Kong in spectacular dining fashion

The restaurant sources their oysters from different waters around the world, including Willapa Bay in America, and the waters of South Pacific Australia. Seafood lovers should go for the giant seafood platter for two, which includes sea whelks, sweet prawns, scallops, clams, and an assortment of freshly-shucked oysters. 生蠔網購 s not just those who rely on the ocean for their livelihoods who feel a deep connection to the sea.

With help from local communities, TNC has collected about 36 metric tons of discarded shells and placed about 21 metric tons of them on the seabed in three of its projects. It was identified as a new species in 2003 after DNA analysis. At one site, they are repurposing concrete posts from an abandoned oyster farm that made use of traditional oyster cultivation methods dating back hundreds of years. Conservationists and researchers are teaming up to restore oyster reefs across Hong Kong. The CFS has told the supplier and restaurants concerned to stop supplying and selling the affected raw oysters and is tracing the distribution of the affected product. The industry should also stop using or selling the implicated products.

But in Hong Kong, decades of development through large-scale coastal reclamation, dredging for lime, and overharvesting have decimated the once-abundant local oyster populations. A 2011 study estimates that 85% of oyster reefs have been lost worldwide, making them one of the most endangered marine habitats on the planet. Their efforts have proven remarkably effective.

Their creation has opened up space for horseshoe crabs, an endangered species dating back 475 million years. They stabilize shorelines in a way that both mitigates coastal erosion and allows seagrass to lay root. And, crucially, they act as filters to clean up the water, cutting the high levels of nitrogen that have led to toxic algae blooms in Hong Kong. This shoebox-sized hut specialises in takeaway orders. But its location on a car-less, quiet stretch of Hung Hom also makes it an ideal spot for dining in, and manager Frankie Yu will happily set up an impromptu alfresco dining environment with a few fold-up tables and chairs. They’ve also taken over a small store with several more seats, just a few doors down from their take-out location.