Dead finless porpoise calf washes ashore at Hong Kong's Starfish Bay
A newborn finless porpoise carcass, believed to be three to five months old, was found at Starfish Bay. A marine expert warns the critically vulnerable local population faces threats from rising boat traffic and habitat disruption.
A newborn finless porpoise calf was discovered dead on the shore of Starfish Bay in Wu Kai Sha, Hong Kong, on Monday 5 October, according to online photographs and a marine mammal expert.
Photos circulating on social media showed the blackened carcass, less than 90 centimetres long, lying on the beach with its tongue swollen and protruding. Viena Mak Hei-man, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society, identified the animal as a calf believed to be only three to five months old.
Mak said finless porpoises mainly live in waters off Sai Kung and are rarely sighted inside Tolo Harbour. She suggested that ocean currents may have carried the body to the area. Hong Kong's wild finless porpoise population is estimated at 55 to 150 individuals, she added, describing the population as critically vulnerable.
The expert also expressed concern about government policy allowing Guangdong yachts to sail south into Hong Kong waters. Higher maritime traffic could seriously disrupt the porpoises' habitat, she warned. Finless porpoises are generally more wary of marine vessels than Chinese white dolphins, Mak said, and the combined effects of underwater noise, possible ship strikes and increased stress pose a major threat to the local population.
This is not the first time a carcass has been found at the site. In November 2016, an approximately 80-centimetre female finless porpoise was discovered at Starfish Bay.