Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

A No Shark’s Fin Policy was launched in 2012 to stop shark’s fin consumption on campus and conserve the declining shark populations worldwide. No bluefin tuna will be consumed in any activities that are either organized or paid for by CUHK, as well as meals served in club houses, canteens or restaurants operated by the University and the Colleges; and no CUHK purchases may involve bluefin tuna.

Mangroves and other marine wetlands, such as saltmarshes and seagrass beds, form coastal ecosystems that capture and store carbon dioxide. A study led by Professor Joe S.Y. Lee and post-doctoral fellow Dr Xiaoguang Ouyang found that mangroves and other marine wetlands store 23% more carbon from the atmosphere than previously estimated, which further established the importance of ‘Blue Carbon’ and its contribution to countering carbon emissions. The study was published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Communications.

Jellyfish are found in major oceans from surface waters to the deep sea. They play an important role in the oceanic food chain. But climate change and ocean eutrophication have promoted a jellyfish boom, which has had a negative impact on the ecosystem and human activities.

In 2020, a research team led by Professor Jerome H.L. Hui, from the School of Life Sciences, decoded for the first time the high-quality genomes of two jellyfish commonly found in Asian waters. The findings provide a reference for further studies on the evolution, ecological roles and population boom of jellyfish. The research was published in the top scientific journal Nature Communications. The team will examine new methods to respond to the threat from the jellyfish boom and climate change.