Hi there! Wait wait! Please stay and talk to me! I know there are more dolphins over there, but I’m really lonely and in need of a friend I can confide in. My name is Mis-chief or NL242 by scientists.
Thanks for staying! I used to be very mischievous but I finally learnt my lesson.
It has been a year and a half since the unfortunate incident happened. I used to roam the waters of North East Lantau but got separated from my family and ended up here in West Lantau. At that time, the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities reclamation construction had just begun. Not only were the noise and pollution severely affecting the lives of North Lantau Dolphins, the addition of construction and transportation vessels to the already existing high speed ferries from Sky Pier also put pressure on our livelihoods. To say the lack of open water was scary is an understatement.
One day, when my family and I were out hunting for fish, a high speed ferry came our way so we dove down to avoid it as usual. However, when I resurfaced, my family was nowhere to be seen. Even though I spent hours calling out to them, they couldn’t hear me because of the noise from the vessel engines. I was soon forced to leave as those waters were not safe for a lone dolphin to roam around in. Thus I started to swim away from all the construction and that is how I found myself in West Lantau waters.
I was lost, confused and exhausted; I had never been to West Lantau before. It was elating when I spotted other dolphins, maybe they could take me in for a while. However, they weren’t the welcoming bunch I had imagined. They were very suspicious of the strangered they had encountered. Even now they still remain hostile to me; I’m not allowed to join in games or hunting sessions. They think that I might bring other dolphins and take their territory. I’m allowed to hang around and have the leftover fish but that’s about it. How much longer can I live like this for?
I really miss my family and friends from North East Lantau but I despite my efforts, I haven’t be able to return. The first few times, I managed to get back but had no luck and the increasing vessels made the task very difficult. Soon after, it became evident that I was never going to see them again. When I attempted to swim back I found my path blocked by a wall of vessels. To this day, the vessels are still here and pillars from the sea bed grow beneath them. The humans are building a bridge.
That’s not even the worst news. I also overheard the dolphins talking about the airport planning to reclaim 650 hectares land for a third runway. That’s exactly where I used to play around and hunt at night! That’s where my family live. It is one of the last area of usable open water they have. If only they can swim down here, but the path is blocked by the bridge. What are they going to do? Can you help save them?
Flaws of Third Runway EIA Report (11)
No alternative consideration of environmental compensation has been proposed asides from the one marine park mentioned in the report. Alternatives such as establishing a Marine Park from the Southwest Lantau towards Tai O would be very beneficial towards Chinese White Dolphins according to many past study. Such park can be established now instead of wait until the runway construction is over. If it is not practical to designate the already proposed marine park during construction (13.11.5.37), then alternative off-site compensation measure should be considered. No reason of why that is not considered AT ALL!
Connect with us
Facebook