Tighten controls on dolphin watching trips, Hong Kong conservation group urges, after rare mammal is hit
But green group WWF resists call for tough action and operators say they are doing their best not to harm the endangered creatures
A Hong Kong conservation group has called for greater controls on dolphin watching boat tours run by Tai O villagers after a Chinese white dolphin was hit – and possibly killed – last month.
But the operators say they have been cooperating with green group WWF to minimise harm and disturbance to the threatened mammals.
There were conflicting claims as to what exactly happened in the incident as the operator involved dismissed witness claims as hearsay and cast doubts on the motives of the conservation group.
The Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society received a report from the government on July 27 that a Chinese white dolphin may have been struck by a Tai O tour boat.
Chairman Dr Samuel Hung Ka-yiu was told that WWF volunteers were performing a routine survey on land when they heard screams out at sea.
According to the witness, the boat was idling 100 metres from a pack of seven or eight dolphins when one of them went astray and hit the tail of the boat, near the propeller. The adult mammal then disappeared briefly before it struck the boat again.
Unaware of the incident, the boat left the scene. The dolphin did not show any movement and slowly drifted away with the current.
Hung said it was common sense that the dolphin was “highly likely” to have died, but WWF did not agree.
“There were brown patches on the dolphin’s body, but we did not know whether it was blood or an oil stain,” assistant conservation manager Samantha Lee mei-wah said.
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said it had teamed up with Ocean Park to mount a two-day search operation but could not find the dolphin.
The department has drawn up a code of conduct for dolphin watching activities but it was not legally binding and was largely ignored. A spokesperson said it had no plans to legislate for now.
The WWF launched a pilot programme last year and devised new rules for operators to weed out bad practices, such as speeding or getting too close to the animals. All five operators in Tai O joined the scheme this year.
Dolphin watching trips are a highlight for tourists visiting the fishing village, famous for its stilt houses. Both the Ngong Ping 360 cable car and Tai O Heritage Hotel have incorporated the boat rides into their suggested itineraries.
Lee said since the programme kicked off, the violation rate had dropped from 85 per cent to between 44 and 52 per cent, although she admitted there was considerable room to improve.
Hung was less optimistic about the figures. “I’m sure the violation rate is much worse in reality, so I urge the WWF to seriously consider whether they should continue the programme.”
The WWF could sever ties with any operator in question, but it said this was something it did not wish to see.
The operator involved, Tai O Boat Excursion, refused to comment on the incident but questioned the motives of the conservation group. He admitted they did not always abide by the rules but said their skippers were all veteran seamen with 10 to 20 years’ experience.
Tourists were unaware of the situation. After being told of the incident, a party of six from France said they would think twice about going on another tour.
“We had a very, very happy time out there, but we might not have hopped on board if you had told me beforehand,” Jerome Chabert said.
A white dolphin spotted off Tai O in January last year was sporting severe cuts on its fin and back, believed to have been caused by a propeller. It was treated at Ocean Park but had to be put down.
