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Letters | Turn whale remains into a monument of Hong Kong shame
- Readers discuss what it takes to teach marine life protection to Hongkongers, academia’s role in the world today, and university campus access
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Experts have completed a necropsy on the Sai Kung whale. Although the cause of death has not been officially revealed, Philip Wong, general curator of zoological operations and conservation at Ocean Park, said a new wound found on the whale was likely caused by a vessel. Was this murder or whale-slaughter?
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said it hoped the whale skeleton could eventually be turned into a specimen for education and conservation purposes. However, the Bryde’s whale would not be the city’s first whale specimen.
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Those who have been to Cape D’Aguilar have probably seen the skeleton of the juvenile male fin whale that turned up in Victoria Harbour in 1955. The skeleton was erected in 1991 for education and conservation purposes. However, recent events should have shown that just looking at a whale skeleton is not enough for Hongkongers to learn about marine life protection.
Despite serving as a popular Instagram and photography spot for years, the whale skeleton has clearly failed to educate us about conservation. What more can be done? There have been suggestions that boats should be banning from going near whales and that a restricted area should be established to protect wild animals in similar situations.
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However, whale movement might be unpredictable. It seems difficult to determine the best size of such a restricted area, especially if it covers busy channels. Therefore, education should be the key to preventing such a tragedy from happening again.
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