AquaMeridian: Hong Kong to California
About AquaMeridian Hong Kong
Founded 2013 | Hong Kong
AquaMeridian was founded in Hong Kong by Sharon Kwok in 2013 to create a Chinese-based yet international conservation entity. The mission: change mindsets to end demands for endangered wildlife and enable sustainable lifestyles through creative and cross-cultural programs.
Who is Sharon Kwok?
Sharon Kwok is a conservationist, artist, and actress who has worked in Hong Kong's broadcasting and film industry since 1987. She's been a diver since age 8, and that early love of the ocean led her into full-time conservation work.
Her credentials are serious: ADEX Ocean Ambassador, the first Asian inductee to the Women Diver's Hall of Fame, nominated as one of the "18 Most Influential Women in Ocean Conservation" by Ocean Geographic, member of the Society of Women Geographers and The Explorers' Club.
But what matters most is the work she's actually done.
What AquaMeridian Hong Kong Does
Hong Kong sits at a crossroads. It's a thriving hub for wildlife trade — ivory and shark fin sold openly and legally. It's also a multicultural bridge between East and West, and the gateway to China. That position makes it uniquely powerful: change minds in Hong Kong, and the impact ripples across Asia.
Sharon understood this early. She started by lobbying restaurants to stop serving shark fin soup. Then she went bigger — testifying at the California State Assembly for trade bans, working with legislators in Hong Kong to ban the ivory trade entirely, pushing a motion through the Legislative Council to protect Green Sea Turtles (it passed unanimously). At the international level, she helped get all eight pangolin species onto CITES Appendix 1 during COP17.
But she also knew policy alone doesn't work. You have to shift culture. So AquaMeridian created educational toys with conservation messaging, worked with fast food chains to phase out single-use plastics, convinced a Traditional Chinese Medicine company to promote sustainable products and drop non-sustainable ingredients, organized beach cleanups with thousands of volunteers, and brought celebrity-led campaigns into schools and corporations.
They also champion the Southern Hong Kong Hope Spot — waters home to finless porpoises, sea turtles, horseshoe crabs, Chinese white dolphins, and migratory whale routes. Sharon works with local communities, legislators, and NGOs to expand marine protected areas and actually enforce them.
The work spans rescue (Hong Kong Parrot Rescue), education (Zuri International Academy), and direct action. The thread running through all of it: education is the key to a sustainable future. Change perception, change behavior, change policy.
Our Connection — and Our Gratitude
AquaMeridian US is the first US chapter, founded in 2023 by students in Silicon Valley. That Sharon Kwok trusted us — a group of students with no track record, just commitment — to carry the AquaMeridian name to California's coast is something we don't take lightly.
We're honored to be part of this. Honored to learn from someone who's spent over a decade working at the intersection of policy, culture, and conservation. Honored that she's visited our chapter, shared her experience, and believed in what we're building here.
We're student-run and locally focused. Our monthly beach cleanups at Seaplane Lagoon, our partnerships with DOER Marine and CASA, our community outreach — it's all built for the Bay Area. But knowing we're connected to AquaMeridian Hong Kong's mission raises the bar for what we do. It reminds us that this work isn't just about picking up trash on a Saturday morning. It's about building something that lasts. It's about being part of a movement that spans continents and operates at every level — from beach cleanups to legislative chambers.
Sharon's approach shapes how we think: education over preaching, community engagement over one-off events, policy change over performative activism, and most importantly — showing up consistently, not just when it's convenient.
AquaMeridian Hong Kong operates at the legislative level, working with governments and corporations to shift entire systems. AquaMeridian US operates at the grassroots level, building a generation of young people who understand that consistent action compounds over time.
We're grateful for the opportunity to lead this chapter. Grateful to be learning from someone who's actually moved the needle on issues most people think are impossible to change. And grateful to everyone who shows up to our cleanups, because you're helping us prove that this model works here too.
AQUA ... THE WATER OUR LIVES DEPEND ON
MERIDIAN ... THE LAND WE LIVE ON
PROTECT LIFE - CONSERVE NATURE
Same mission. Different shorelines. Both working toward healthier oceans.
Learn more about AquaMeridian Hong Kong: www.aquameridian.org
