On 18 January 2015, Dr. Leszek Karczmarski, Research Scientist and Head of HKU's Cetacean Ecology Lab, issued a press statement drawing attention to "a horrendously injured Chinese White Dolphin...seen off Tai O peninsula". The case
of the Chinese white dolphin seriously injured by a boat two weeks ago and now
reported to be dying in Hong Kong waters is a sad indictment of our current
laws’ failure to protect wild animals. The Marine Parks and Marine Reserves
Regulation (Cap 476A), enacted in 1995, provides only piecemeal protection to
marine animals (and habitats) within Hong Kong’s four designated parks.
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| Photo taken on 21 Jan 15 by Dr S-L Huang |
Despite
recommendations from many researchers, only small areas of Hong Kong’s waters
have been designated as marine parks, and even within those areas there is lax
control on vessels (several hundred may still enter with permits). Without an
extension of legislative safe havens for vulnerable and endangered species and
a blanket ban on vessels entering marine parks, regrettable and avoidable
incidents such as this will continue. Written by Amanda Whitfort, who has written a more detailed study of the problem in A Review of Hong Kong's Wild Animal and Plant Protection Laws (2013) (with Andrew Cornish, Rupert Griffiths and Fiona Woodhouse).
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