A conservation specialist said on Wednesday that a new tracking system could help researchers find habitat requirements to enhance the breeding and survival rates of the local horseshoe crab population in Hong Kong.

Judy Wan, community education manager of Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong, said that the Mangrove horseshoe crab and the endangered Tri-spine horseshoe crab are facing the threat of extinction due to human exploitation.

She said that this pilot tracking study, the first underwater automated acoustic telemetry system, would give them an understanding of the crab's movements and behaviour, which would provide a foundation for future conservation projects.

"The tracking of the horseshoe crabs will help us have more information about the movements of the animals. We will know if they would go up to the beach at a certain month, or if they would be more active during day time or night time. Or will they stay in the inner bay at some of the period of the time. Or will they go to the open water during some of the months," she said.

"And we will know the pattern of the movement and the range of their movement. And then we can know if there is any relationship between the horseshoe crabs and the habitat usage."

Wan said that horseshoe crabs are endangered by human exploitation, which includes being used as bait for commercial fisheries. She added that people can minimise the damage by conserving the species' habitat.

"When we go to the mudflats, we need to minimise the disturbance on the mudflats or the animals there. For example, avoid digging in the mudflats or taking away any animals from the mudflats. And of course, if we have any trash, definitely we need to take it away along with us after our visit," she said.

The first batch of adult horseshoe crabs with tracking tags was released in Tung Chung Bay.