Part of a network of more than 20 artificial fish ponds in Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis development occupies government land without permission, with a green group warning that materials used at the site also threaten the area’s ecology.
The ponds are near the Mai Po Nature Reserve and the Inner Deep Bay wetlands, which have been designated as internationally important under the Ramsar Convention as they are a vital habitat for migratory birds.
Some of the ponds also fall within the proposed 338-hectare (835-acre) Sam Po Shue Wetland Conservation Park project.
Satellite imagery and official land records reviewed by the South China Morning Post found that parts of the complex in San Tin had spilled onto adjacent government land without authorisation.
After authorities inspected the site on June 22, the Lands Department set a deadline for the operation to stop occupying the government land, “failing which appropriate land enforcement action will be taken”, a spokesman said.
According to satellite records, preparation to build the sprawling aquaculture facility began as early as February this year, with significant expansion visible as of late June.