Seven of the nine dolphins born at Ocean Park since 1989 have died and park management has admitted that survival rates have been 'very poor' in the past.
Ocean Park prides itself on its captive breeding programme, but a detailed report stretching back to the 1970s has revealed a catalogue of mismanagement, poor husbandry and outbreaks of disease.
As a result, few of the 139 mammals caught in the wild to stock Ocean Park since 1974 have survived. Today, 32 marine mammals, including Hoi Wai the killer whale and Barney the false killer whale, are housed at the Ocean Park theatre.
The report, published in Asian Marine Biology, reveals that during the first 14 years of operation 'serious problems were encountered, leading to poor survival'.
The five short-finned pilot whales caught in 1976 died within 10 weeks of their arrival. Of the 19 false killer whales caught in the 1980s, only two remain alive - one at Ocean Park.
The report says the survival rates of 98 bottlenose dolphins were 'poor' and 'below industry average'.
Many of the dolphin deaths were attributable to 'start-up problems' including disease and food poisoning, which 'certainly bespeak a failure in husbandry and veterinary practices', according to the report.
