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Strategic Moves, Quick Facts and Achievements

FACULTY AWARD

Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Award 2026

 

Oyster reefs were once a defining part of Hong Kong’s coastline and society, but they almost disappeared from both the environment and human memory. It has been a huge collective effort from our researchers, conservation partners and local communities to change that. By connecting research with practical restoration and public engagement, we are beginning to bring these ecosystems back and build the support needed to restore them at a meaningful scale.

 

Professor Bayden Russell

Professor Bayden RUSSELL
Professor, School of Biological Sciences

Oysters have long been part of Hong Kong’s food culture, but their value goes far beyond the dining table. Beneath the water, oyster reefs provide homes for marine life, naturally filter seawater and help protect coastlines. Once widespread along Hong Kong’s shores, these valuable ecosystems have almost disappeared after decades of coastal development and human activities.

Professor Bayden Russell of HKU School of Biological Sciences has received the Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Award for his initiative, “Restoring Hong Kong’s Lost Oyster Reefs with NGOs, Community, and Government.” Drawing on research at the Swire Institute of Marine Science (SWIMS), he and his collaborators have explored how these ecosystems can be restored and what their recovery could mean for Hong Kong’s marine environment and the broader community.

Working with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and local communities, the researchers have helped establish restoration projects in Lau Fau Shan, Pak Nai, Tolo Harbour, and the Hong Kong International Airport. The results have been encouraging, with more than 12,000 square metres of restored reefs attracting a large diversity of marine life, including a crab species recorded in Hong Kong for the first time.  The broader collaborative team now sources oyster shells for expanding restoration from restaurants, giving discarded oyster shells a second life as new marine habitats.

Beyond restoring habitats, the initiative has brought together scientists, conservation groups, local communities, and government stakeholders, raising awareness and informing conservation efforts. Public exhibitions, the documentary City of Shells, and the assessment of regional oyster reefs as Critically Endangered under the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems framework have further increased recognition of the urgent need to conserve and restore these habitats. Professor Russell’s work demonstrates how scientific knowledge and community collaboration can make a tangible difference, offering renewed hope for Hong Kong’s long-lost oyster reefs.

Related research

  1. Lau, S.C.Y., Thomas, M., Hancock, B. and Russell, B.D. (2020). Restoration potential of Asian oysters on heavily developed coastlines. Restoration Ecology, 28, 1643–1653.
    https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13267
  2. Hemraj, D.A., Bishop, M.J., Hancock, B., Minuti, J.J., Thurstan, R.H., zu Ermgassen, P.S.E. and Russell, B.D. (2022). Oyster reef restoration fails to recoup global historic ecosystem losses despite substantial biodiversity gain. Science Advances, 8, eabp8747.
    https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abp8747
  3. Lau, S.C.Y., Thomas, M., Williams, J.M., Thurstan, R.H., Hancock, B. and Russell, B.D. (2026). Millennial-scale societal shifts drive the widespread loss of oyster reefs in East Asia. Current Biology, 36, 217–226.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.10.048
  4. Klein, S., Feltracco, M.E., Thomas, M., Hancock, B., Janikowski, A.A., Lau, S.C.Y. and Russell, B.D. (2026). The lost ecosystem: historically extensive oyster reefs are now critically endangered in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Estuary. Global Ecology and Conservation, e04372.

Documentary

  1. City of Shells: Our Forgotten Oyster Reefs (香江遺礁).
    Click here for the official documentary website and online viewing. 
     
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