Newborn finless porpoise carcass washes ashore at Starfish Bay

A newborn finless porpoise calf was discovered dead on the shore of Starfish Bay in Wu Kai Sha.

Photos circulating online on Monday showed the blackened carcass, less than 90 centimeters long, lying on the beach with its tongue swollen and protruding. Marine mammal expert 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, and suggested that ocean currents may have carried the body to the area. She added that Hong Kong’s wild finless porpoise population, estimated at 55 to 150 individuals, remains critically vulnerable.

Mak also expressed concern about government policy that allows Guangdong yachts to sail south into Hong Kong waters, stating that higher maritime traffic could seriously disrupt the porpoises’ habitat.

She said finless porpoises are generally more wary of marine vessels than Chinese white dolphins, and that the combined effects of underwater noise, possible ship strikes and increased stress pose a major threat to the local population.

It is not the first time a carcass has been found at the site. In November 2016, an approximately 80-centimeter female finless porpoise was discovered at Starfish Bay.

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓