The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department also said on Monday that 11 officers would patrol the island daily during the holiday, while five marine staff – two snorkellers and three kayakers – would monitor the sea for any disruptive visitor behaviour.
The department said it would step up education on protecting marine life and was seeking to turn the bio-sensitive area that was popular among tourists into a marine protected region so conservation laws could be enforced.
Labour Day, May 1, is a statutory public holiday in Hong Kong and also marks the start of the mainland’s five-day golden week break.
The Immigration Department estimates that Hong Kong residents and visitors will make 6 million passenger trips – inbound and outbound – by air, land and sea from May 1 to 5, an increase of about 7 per cent over the same period last year. About 84 per cent of the trips are expected to be made through land checkpoints.
Jim Chu Chun-wa, assistant director for fisheries and marine conservation, said the department estimated a daily peak of 1,000 visitors on the island during the golden week holiday.
