The Chinese white dolphin has been voted the most favored marine animal by Hong Kong people on the web.

Despite Hongkongers' love and passion for the sea mammal and some other species, much needed to be done to protect these rare species in the territory.

To raise public awareness of local marine species, WWF Hong Kong organized a public pool for Hong Kong people to vote for 10 selected species - "Ocean's 10" - from June to October this year.

Mirroring its usual popularity, the Chinese white dolphins took the top spot in all three categories, namely "My Favorite Ocean's 10", "Ocean's 10 Most Wanted" (10 marine species that need most protection) and "The Most Energetic Ocean's 10".

The Green Turtle was ranked the second in both "My Favorite Ocean's 10" and "Ocean's 10 Most wanted", followed by Horseshoe Crab and Brain Coral in the two respective categories.

Mudskipper, a star species at WWF's Mai Po Nature Reserve, surprisingly surpassed the slow-moving Green Turtle as the second "Most Energetic" species.

Marine conservation is truly a matter of serious concern among the public, since over 95 percent of all voters agreed to commit themselves to marine conservation by using the WWF Seafood Guide to support sustainable seafood consumption.

While the public embraces the charismatic marine species, the results also show that Hong Kong people pay less attention to certain critically endangered species such as Chinese Bahaha - a kind of fish that makes an expensive dish.

"Chinese Bahaha is the most critically engendered species among our Ocean's 10, and it is currently listed as Grade I State Protected Species on the mainland," said Andy Cornish, Conservation Director of WWF Hong Kong.

Other species as Chinese white dolphins and Horseshoe Crab are also threatened by over-fishing in the territory, since the former suffer from a lack of food sources while the latter are often caught by fishermen.

WWF urges the public to stop fishing in the marine parks. The move will also help increase the effectiveness of marine parks in conserving certain species, such as corals.

"We also urge anglers to report catches of engendered species, such as Hong Kong Grouper, to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD)," Cornish said.

An AFCD spokesperson stated that fishing in marine parks has been controlled through a permit system and the permits are issued to bonafide fishermen and local residents with specific fishing methods in accordance with the Marine Parks and Marine Reserves Regulation.

"These permits are non-transferable and would be phased out eventually. Only regular permit holders conduct fishing operations in the four marine parks in Hong Kong," the spokesperson said.

(HK Edition 11/16/2007 page6)