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Following is a question by the Hon Kenneth Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (February 25):
Question:
Earlier on, a Chinese white dolphin (CWD) suspected to have been hit and injured by the propeller blades of a vessel was spotted in the waters off Tai O. The dolphin was subsequently rescued and sent to the Ocean Park for treatment, but it was eventually euthanised due to deterioration of its injuries. Regarding the conservation of the marine ecosystem and marine life, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has collected information on cases about the injuries or deaths of CWDs and other types of dolphins, and set up a database; if it has, of the details, and whether the authorities will make public the contents of the database;
(2) of the number of cases about the injuries or deaths of CWDs and other types of dolphins uncovered by the authorities in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by species, level of injuries and the assessed cause of injuries or deaths;
(3) whether the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has guidelines on handling injured CWDs and other types of dolphins at present; if the AFCD does, of the details, and whether the AFCD will review the guidelines in response to the above incident; if not, the reasons for that, and whether the AFCD has any plan to formulate such guidelines;
(4) given that many leisure boats provide dolphin-watching tours for tourists at present, whether the authorities will establish a licensing regime to regulate matters such as the quality and operation of such services, as well as the operation of leisure boats (e.g. routes, speed, boat sizes, noises generated and pollutant emission volumes); if the authorities will, of the details and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that;
(5) whether the authorities have discussed with the operator of SkyPier and formulated measures to reduce the speed or adjust the routes of the speedy ferries plying the pier, so as to minimise the impacts of these ferries on dolphins and other forms of marine life; if the authorities have, of the details and implementation timetable of the measures;
(6) whether the authorities will urge the Airport Authority to expeditiously implement, irrespective of whether the construction works of the third runway can be commenced, the specific mitigation measures mentioned in the relevant Environment Impact Assessment Report for the protection of CWDs and the marine ecosystem, including speed control on construction vessels and the re-routing of SkyPier speedy ferries plying Zhuhai and Macao; if the authorities will, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that;
(7) whether the ambit of the Shipping and Port Control Ordinance (Cap 313) (the Ordinance) covers the habitat of and the waters cruised by CWDs and other types of dolphins, including the waters where the aforesaid injured CWB was spotted; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and of the rules that regulate the speed and routes of vessels within these waters at present; whether the authorities will amend the scope of the Ordinance with a view to minimising the impacts of vessels on dolphins in these waters; if the authorities will, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that and the difficulties encountered; and
(8) of the enforcement situation of the Ordinance in each of the past five years, including the respective numbers of people prosecuted and convicted, and the highest and lowest penalties imposed?
Reply:
President,
(1) to (3) The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has been following up all marine mammal stranding cases in the waters of Hong Kong, and has established guidelines setting out the handling procedures for marine mammals stranded under different scenarios. Upon receiving a stranding report, the AFCD will conduct an on-site investigation together with staff of Ocean Park Conservation Foundation to collect data and to ascertain the species involved. In case of a live stranding, the team would consider various rescue options after taking into account the situations on site, including transporting the animal to Ocean Park for inspection and veterinarian treatments. Most of the stranding cases however involve dead animals. The investigation team would collect various data and tissue samples from the carcasses for determining the cause of death and for the purpose of scientific research. Since most of the stranded carcasses were in a rather advanced stage of decomposition, the number of cases with the cause of death confirmed was very low. Information on the numbers of stranding cases handled every year is uploaded to the department homepage.
In the last five years, i.e. from 2010 to 2014, all stranded Chinese White Dolphins (CWDs) were dead individuals. The cases of stranding and the cause of death were listed in Table 1 of the Annex. Stranding of other marine mammal species was mostly dead individuals as well. Their number of cases and cause of death over the same period were listed in Table 2 of the Annex.
The AFCD does not deliberately record cases of injured CWDs, because it is not uncommon to find wounds on their bodies, especially those teeth marks made by other dolphins through physical interaction. In the past, wounds on dolphins which were suspected to be associated with fishing gears or encounters with vessels were also found, but these wounds had no observable effect on the animals' mobility or behaviour in general. In the recently reported case, a Chinese White Dolphin was seriously injured to such a level that its ability to travel or forage might have been compromised. The case was the first of its kind recorded in years of monitoring.
The injured CWD reported by the media did not strand ashore, but its situation had aroused much concern, the AFCD thus cooperated with the staff of Ocean Park in handling the case upon receiving the report. The AFCD is going to discuss this incident in the Marine Mammal Conservation Working Group and examine the need of revising existing guidelines to cope with possible cases of seriously injured dolphins in future.
(4) Operators of dolphin watching activities have to observe the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance (Cap 170) which provides that it is an offence to cause wilful disturbance to dolphins. When operating within marine parks, they also have to observe the requirements in the Marine Parks Ordinance (Cap 476) including the speed limit of 10 knots. However, the above Ordinances have not empowered the Authority to regulate dolphin-watching activities through licensing regime. Moreover, they are required to comply with marine control legislation applicable to all vessels including the safety requirements relating to vessel construction standards, navigation of the vessel, safety equipment, passenger capacity and qualifications for masters and engineers.
To avoid posing threats and disturbance to dolphins during dolphin watching activities, the AFCD issued a code of conduct for dolphin watching to inform the operators and participants the "do's and don'ts" when watching dolphins. The code include: vessels shall cruise slowly, avoid sudden change of course, always keep a distance from dolphins, and only one vessel watching a pod of dolphins at any time. The AFCD has been in regular contact with the local operators at Tai O to promote the code of conduct. The operators generally take our advice seriously and abide by the code. It is also their wish to ensure the long term viability of dolphins in order to foster the sustainable development of tourism in their community. In fact, the local tourism industry in Tai O is vitally linked to the continued appearance of dolphins there.
The Government has no plan to enact legislation to regulate dolphin watching activities. The AFCD would continue with its publicity effort in promoting the code of conduct for dolphin watching to both the dolphin watching operators and participants, and would explore further collaboration with non-governmental organisations to strengthen publicity efforts at the community level. In fact, with their home range extending to open waters, it is inevitable that there is an overlap between habitat of CWDs and that of other marine uses and vessel traffic. If the code of conduct were enforced as a legal requirement, there would be difficulties in collecting evidence and in prosecutions. The actual outcomes may well fall short of our expectations.
(5) and (6) The relevant Environmental Permit (EP) for the Three-Runway System (3RS) project granted by the Environmental Protection Department in November 2014, sets out all the conditions that the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) must comply for taking forward the 3RS project. Regarding the high speed ferries (HSFs) operating at SkyPier and the arrangement for the construction vessels during the construction stage of the 3RS project, the AAHK shall implement the following measures:
- to submit a Marine Travel Routes and Management Plan of the construction vessels moving to and from the project site during the construction stage, to the Director of Environmental Protection (DEP) for approval no later than three months before the commencement of construction of the project; and
- to submit a Marine Travel Routes and Management Plan for the HSFs of the SkyPier, to DEP for approval no later than three months before the commencement of the construction of the project. The plan shall include the imposition of a speed limit within Hong Kong waters which are hotspots of the CWDs during the construction phase so as to minimise chances of collision and disturbance to the CWDs, and to cap the number of HSFs at the current level of operation (i.e. an annual daily average of 99) prior to the designation of the proposed marine park. The plan shall also explore the feasibility of imposing a daily cap on the number of HSFs leaving the SkyPier and imposing further speed restriction at different spots along the marine routes after detailed study.
With regard to the conservation of the CWDs, the AAHK shall implement the following initiatives:
- to submit a marine park proposal including the proposed size and management plan of the marine park to the DEP for approval no later than three months before the commencement of the related works and assist the Government in completing the preparatory work for the designation of the proposed marine park with an area of 2 400 hectares before the operation of the 3RS project. The proposed marine park will connect with the existing Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau Marine Park to the north of the Airport Island and the planned Brothers Marine Park to the east (to be designated under the Hong KongˇVZhuhaiˇVMacao Bridge Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities project), forming a huge marine protected area of as many as 5 200 hectares. The unprecedented synergy effect thus gained will contribute significantly to the long-term conservation of CWDs;
- to establish an independent Marine Ecology Enhancement Fund (the Fund) which shall have adequate resources to meet its conservation objectives in a long-term and sustainable manner. A detailed Marine Ecology Conservation Plan shall be submitted to the DEP for approval no later than three months before the commencement of the related works. The plan shall be formulated for the conservation of marine life, particularly CWDs within Hong Kong and the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) waters. The plan shall also cover the relevant marine parks and other important marine habitats in Hong Kong to enhance their carrying capacity, "dolphin friendly" activities, the recovery of fisheries resources, and scientific research for the overall benefits of marine mammals, particularly CWDs, in the PRE. A management committee shall be set up for the Fund comprising different stakeholders, including relevant academics, green groups and dolphin experts, for effective implementation of the plan;
- to adopt advanced designs and specific construction methods, such as the non-dredged method for land formation, deep cement mixing for ground improvement at contaminated mud pits, horizontal directional drilling for the diversion of submarine pipelines, and acoustic decoupling measures for equipment on barges;
- to avoid bored piling during the peak CWD calving season; and
- to submit a Marine Mammal Watching Plan to the DEP for approval no later than three months before the commencement of the related works. The plan shall include regular inspection of silt curtains, visual inspection of the waters around silt curtains and the works areas, and a response plan to cope with any unpredicted incidents, for example, when CWDs or any marine mammals are found within the waters surrounded by silt curtains or the works areas.
Under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (Cap 499), the AAHK shall design, construct and operate the 3RS in accordance with the recommendations contained in the approved Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report as well as the conditions imposed in the EP so as to mitigate, compensate for and minimise the environmental problems and potential impacts caused by the 3RS. The AAHK shall carry out comprehensive environmental monitoring and audit in compliance with the requirements described in the EIA Report to ensure effective implementation of the proposed mitigation measures. Subject to the Government's approval for the implementation of the 3RS project, AAHK shall implement the relevant conservation measures in tandem with the requirements of the EP.
(7) The safety of vessels navigating within Hong Kong waters are regulated under the Shipping and Port Control Ordinance (Cap 313) and the Merchant Shipping (Local Vessels) Ordinance (Cap 548) respectively. The former is applicable to all vessels within Hong Kong waters other than local vessels, and the latter is applicable to local vessels within Hong Kong waters. The major consideration in implementing restrictions on routes of vessels and speed under relevant legislation is to protect marine traffic and navigation safety. Protection of marine environment is carried out through the measures described in part 4 above.
(8) If vessels travel at a speed over the speed limits stipulated under the Shipping and Port Control Ordinance and the Merchant Shipping (Local Vessels) Ordinance, the maximum penalty is a fine of $10,000 and imprisonment for six months. To ensure navigation safety, patrol unit of the Marine Department carries out regular special operation to combat speeding behaviour. In the last five years, on average 40 cases were prosecuted for violation of speed limits each year (* Remarks), of which over 95 per cent of the cases were convicted, and the highest and lowest penalties imposed were a fine of $8,000 and $400 respectively.
* Remarks: In simple terms, relevant provisions require all vessels to navigate with cautions within Hong Kong waters, and when navigating within speed restriction areas, the maximum speeds for vessels as stipulated in the law shall not be exceeded.
Ends/Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Issued at HKT 18:20
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