Bill Leverett is looking particularly stressed out. You would think
he
has a great job, organising day-long dolphin-watching tours. But here
it is, already noon, and no dolphin, nary a flipper, has been spotted.
The passengers, who've each paid HK$350 (Bt1,160), are getting
restless. They are mostly mothers with little children, and the
youngsters are quickly finding the tour company's boat all too confining.
''Why haven't we seen any dolphins?" one youngster asks a rather tense
Leverett. ''Maybe it's because you haven't been looking hard enough,"
he urges the child, before raising his binoculars again and scanning
the
seas for a fin, a fluke or any other sign that the marine mammal Sousa
chinensis is in these waters.
Of course, it may also be because there simply aren't many dolphins
left in Hong Kong's waters.
In fact, a recent scientific survey concluded there are about 150
Chinese white dolphins in the territory's seas. Since there were no
previous reliable studies, nobody knows whether the population is steady,
or
declining drastically. Nor has any proper research been carried out
in
surrounding Chinese waters: The Pearl River Delta region may have as
many as 3,000 dolphins or as few as 300, says Leverett.
Researchers do know that around 10 dolphins wash up dead on Hong
Kong's shores every year (many more could be dying but simply aren't
recovered). They can only speculate as to the causes of death, but
most
of those found are babies and have only milk in their stomachs. Since
dolphin
milk is 40 per cent fat, and since fat is where dolphins store toxins
that have accumulated in their bodies, it is likely that the pollution
in
Hong Kong's waters is causing mother dolphins to inadvertently poison
their own babies.
Truth be known, however, there are many threats to these marine
mammals in Hong Kong, ranging from massive land reclamation projects,
to
high-speed shipping traffic in the marine reserve set up for the
dolphins, to the tonnes of pollution pouring into Hong Kong's harbour
every day.
All of which makes you wonder why the preparatory committee for the
Hong Kong handover celebrations decided to highlight this situation
by
naming the Chinese white dolphin the official mascot of the ceremony.
Three reasons were given, according to Leverett: The animal's name
has the
word ''Chinese" in it; the dolphins go back to China every year
(actually, they go back and forth between the two territories every
day, says
Leverett); and they never sleep, representing the hard-working nature
of
the Chinese.
In fact, while dolphins may not sleep like humans, they do enter a
kind of restful trance by switching off half their brain every once
in a
while, a practice which does seem to be popular with some Hong Kong
policy-makers.
For instance, the aircraft fuel receiving facility being built for
Hong Kong's new airport is going to sit smack in the middle of the
dolphin reserve. Although another site on the Chinese island of Gui
Chan was
more appropriate, says Leverett, it was ruled out by Hong Kong officials
who cited ''security" reasons - even though Hong Kong will soon be
part
of China.
Whatever the reasons for the dolphins' selection as official mascots,
Leverett and other conservationists hope this opportunity can be used
to
assist the animals by setting up a fund to help protect them or,
perhaps more importantly, to raise awareness in Hong Kong about their
plight.
Despite their name, Chinese white dolphins are neither white nor found
only in China. They can be found in geographically isolated populations
ranging from South Africa to Australia, including Thai waters. Although
they exhibit a great deal of physical variation - dolphins around Hong
Kong and Xiamen, for instance, start off grey and turn pink as they
grow
older - genetic tests have shown they are the same species.
Sousa chinensis likes to live along coastlines, preferably near the
mouth of a major river where there is plenty of brackish water. The
Hong
Kong population can generally be found around Lantau Island and other
nearby islets, where all the development in the area has had a big
impact on the dolphins, Leverett explained.
For example, the Chek Lap Kok airport project, the biggest landfill
project in the world, has taken away nine square kilometres of prime
dolphin habitat. Still more habitat has been lost to the expressway
being built to connect the airport to the rest of Hong Kong: it sits
on a
strip of partially reclaimed land about 10 kilometres long.
The reclamation projects seem endless. More dolphin habitat will be
lost to new container terminals planned for a coastal area near Castle
Peak Power Station in the New Territories, while an entire new port
on
the northeastern tip of Lantau will require another five kilometres
of
reclaimed land, destroying a fish spawning ground and altering currents
in the process. More coastal waters will be sacrificed nearby to build
floating dry docks. These facilities will be used to strip vessels
of
their paint, which contains TBT, a toxic anti-fouling agent that kills
shellfish and affects the immune systems of fish and dolphins.
Meanwhile, just north of the new airport are a series of contaminated
mud pits, where toxic sludge dredged up from other parts of Hong Kong
harbour are dumped. The pits are ''capped" by clean mud, and
environmental officials insist this technique does not pollute the
waters further.
Overfishing presents another threat. Poor fishery management has
caused catches to decline since 1989: ''Every time the dolphins go
to
the refrigerator, there's less food to eat," Leverett explains to the
tour-goers.
The dolphins are also in danger of being hit by speeding boats, as
many shipping channels pass through their range. Boats are supposed
to
slow down as they move through the new marine reserve, but many still
don't,
he says.
''But the biggest threat is probably pollution," Leverett concludes.
The dolphins should eventually be able to adapt to changes in coastal
lands, but pollution sticks around. Around 150,000 cubic metres of
raw
sewage is dumped into the Hong Kong's western harbour every day, and
that number is due to rise to 700,000 cubic metres per day by the year
2010.
All these factors combine to make the dolphins' existence in Hong Kong
a rather precarious one. Leverett has set up the Hong Kong DolphinWatch
tour company to raise awareness about the dolphins - about what
fascinating and friendly creatures they are, and about how serious
their
plight is.
As we take to the seas again after lunch, he assures us that the
dolphins only fail to show up on about five per cent of the excursions,
and in those cases passengers are welcome to come out again on another
day
for free.
Finally, our patience is rewarded. At about 2pm, a passenger gives a
shout and we all rush to the front of the boat: Sure enough, there's
a
dolphin leaping joyfully into the air just off the coast of Lantau.
And
there's another, and a third, surfacing, flipping, nodding their snouts
at us, blowing out air. They are definitely pink, with a white underbelly
and smudges of grey.
''Oohs" and ''aahs" emanate from the rapt audience. All previous
thoughts of boredom are washed away as the children crowd up front
to
gawk.
What exactly are the dolphins up to? In this case they seem to be
feeding, suggests Leverett, as they keep close to the surface and change
direction often while chasing after fish. In other cases, their
playfulness seems to be part of a mating ritual.
Dolphin- and whale-watching tours have come in for some criticism -
although none has been directed against Leverett's operation in
particular, he says - by those who feel they disturb the animals being
viewed.
But in this case, at least, the animals don't seem to be harmed. In
fact,
they rather seem to enjoy the attention, approaching the boat
occasionally to show off for their human audience. The dolphins may
even
benefit from the tours; some of the youngsters on board will no doubt
become
dolphin supporters for life.
Finally, after about half an hour, the excitement among the tour-goers
starts to fade, and the dolphins seem to grow bored with showing off
for the humans. They swim off, and a much-relieved Leverett starts
taking us back to shore.
Everyone seems happy. The only thing that can match the smiles on the
childrens' faces are the dolphins' permanent smiles - so enigmatic
under
the circumstances - which will remain embedded in our memories for
a
long time to come.