Close your eyes and imagine you are in the middle of the ocean, swimming freely on the surface. You can hear the soft waves and the calls of other animals.
This is nature’s music. Amongst the touching music is a song, a song that we dolphins sing. My name is Peanut because of the shape of my dorsal fin. I’m also known as NL226 as by the scientists. We dolphins are all great singers. We use different sounds and clicks to communicate on a daily basis. Singing is in our nature.
We live in a world that is full of sounds. We use high frequency echos to determine our surrounding. Every note and pitch is as clear as crystal. It might just be a crashing of waves or the movement of fish. We pick it all up. However, because of this reason, the noise pollution from all the vessels has literally been a headache for us. Its much more difficult to hunt and communicate with each other.
Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau Marine Parks is one of our rare safe havens. There aren’t a lot of vessels which go through the waters there and those that do are restricted to a slow speed limit. Human construction work is also at a reasonable distance away. However this doesn’t seem like it will last for us. The proposed reclamation area for the airport’s third runway is less than 1km away from the marine park. Apart from the construction being dangerously close, there will be countless construction and transportation boats parked around during the construction period. The reclamation will also force all the high speed ferries close to the marine park. Even if they go around the north of the marine park they will be affecting our daily lives. Please don’t take the last safe haven we have in north of lantau waters!
Do you hear the dolphins cry? Crying for all that they have lost?
It is the music of the dolphins who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart echoes the clicking of their songs
There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!
Will you join in the campaign? Who will be strong and stand with us?
Beyond the barricade Is there a world you long to see?
Then join in the fight that will give dolphins chance to be free!
Do you hear the dolphins cry? Crying for all that they have lost?
It is the music of the dolphins who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart echoes the clicking of their songs
There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!
Will you do all you can do so that the dolphins can survive
Some will fall and some will live will you stand up and take your chance?
The sound of your voice will protect the dolphins of Hong Kong!
Do you hear the dolphins cry? Crying for all that they have lost?
It is the music of the dolphins who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart echoes the clicking of their songs
There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!
Flaws of the Third Runway EIA report (23)
The EIA report does not address the issue of the various sound pollution made my different vessels. Asides from analyzing high speed ferry noise pollution, the airport authority fails to acknowledge the effect of increase in numbers of transportation and construction vessels on Chinese White Dolphins. The EARs method that was used to analyze high speed ferries was not comprehensive or well rounding and can only be used a observational statistics. There are other more effective ways to measure sound pollution in relation to vessel distance which should be used in the EIA. The EIA report also does not examine the behavioural changes or other effects on dolphins in the presence of noise pollution. This should be done before the EIA is passed.
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