Dolphins (information)

The sea of Hong Kong is becoming a very dangerous habitat for the Chinese White Dolphins. This is due to the increase in poaching, landfills, and sea traffic. Since Chinese White Dolphins are territorial animals and rarely stray far away from their habitat, the water pollution in Hong Kong has a high impact on them.

Industrial, agricultural, and domestic sewage are amongst the threats to the dolphins. In the Pearl River Delta, about 190,000 cubic metres of sewage is drained into the sea without any treatment daily. The raw sewage and industrial pollutants affect the dolphins as well as the whole ecosystem. The large amounts of heavy metals, such as mercury, and organic materials that have been found by scientists in the corpses of Chinese White Dolphins indicates that tributyltin (TBT), an anti-fouling agent, and organochlorines, such as PCBs and DDT, have entered the dolphins' food chain. These have had a negative impact on the immune systems of the dolphins.

As mentioned above, the construction of the Chek Lap Kok Airport resulted in a 9.5 square kilometer loss of prime dolphin habitat. Other construction projects like the North Lantau Expressway, river trade terminal between Tuen Mun and Castle Peak Power Station, and Hong Kong Disneyland, need further reclamation. This will lead to a yet more severe loss of dolphin habitat. Another potential threat is the proposed LNG terminal on the Soko Islands.

Overfishing and heavy boat traffic near northern Lantau also threatens the lives of the dolphins. Overfishing may be a major danger to the dolphins because there are few regulations on the fishing industry set by the Hong Kong Government. There are many fish that are caught which become bycatch ('trash fish') because they are not the right size or species to be sold for profit. Therefore, dolphins risk both being caught and becoming bycatch. As for boat traffic, about 70 boats pass an average Hong Kong shipping channel daily (Mak, 1996). Boat engine noise interferes with the dolphins' communication channels through animal echolocation.