Hong Kong Dolphin Watch
The world’s pinkest dolphins inhabit the waters around the mouth of the Pearl River, including a specially designated marine reserve just north of Lantau Island. Properly called Sousa Chinensis – the Indo-Pacific Humpback dolphin – this species is known locally as the Chinese pink dolphin because of the bubble-gum pink colouration of the adults.
Hong Kong Dolphin Watch was founded in 1995 to raise awareness of the rare and wonderful pink dolphins that inhabit the coastal waters around Hong Kong. A population of around 120 Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, coloured an amazing ‘bubble-gum’ pink, are fighting to survive against the usual environmental threats. Numbers have been dwindling for years but thanks to funds raised by ‘Dolphin Watch’ (part of which derive from the tourist boat cruises), the population is now stable.
Dolphin-watching activity began in Hong Kong in the mid-1990s with at least one commercial operator. Dolphin-watching activity expanded greatly after 1997 when the dolphin was chosen as the official mascot of the 1997 hand-over ceremony. As a result, more and more people wanted to see Chinese white dolphins. Responsible dolphin-watching operators also hope to increase people’s awareness of the importance of marine conservation through dolphin-watching activities.
Courtesy of Hong Kong Tourism Board
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