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Teaching Material

My Little Dolphin education booklet[include basic information of dolphins, the threats they face, colouring template and steps to make a little dolphin with paperclay]

Little Dolphin Colouring Template[show what threats dolphin face]

Dolphin step by step[steps to make a paperclay dolphin]

Dolphin Chessboard[designed base on the unique situation of Hong Kong. Chessmen can be made by following “Dolphin step by step”]

“Can you become a little dolphin embassador?” Q&A worksheet [available only in Chinese for the time being, can be used in games]

Report on Interactions between Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins (Sousa Chinensis) and the speedboats in Tai O waters of Hong Kong

If you’ve been to Tai O, you must have met people offering boat ride for sightseeing to the stilted houses and dolphin watching.  The skippers become busier when there are more visitors.  The speedboats come and go between the pier and the Tai O waters at high frequency.  So, would these speedboats create an impact on dolphins?

The purpose of this one-year long study is to observe the frequency of speedboats and their interactions with the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) at Tai O waters of Hong Kong, which is believed to be an important habitat for the dolphins.  The general situation of the speedboat operation in the study area was reviewed and it was found that the number of speedboat involved in dolphin watching had slightly increased in recent years.  The behaviour of the skippers was measured against the Code of Conduct for Dolphin Watching Activities issued by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.  While most operators had slowed down at a certain distance when approaching dolphins, practices which created disturbances to the dolphins were observed from time to time, as shown by the evasive behaviour of the dolphins.  Those practices include approaching the dolphins at high speed, clustering around the dolphins in high numbers, cutting across the course of dolphins, abrupt changes in boat direction, etc.  Although the negative impacts of dolphin watching activities are cumulative rather than catastrophic, repeated disturbances could have deleterious long term effects on the dolphin population.  In view of this, recommendations to the government were made in stepping up measures to reduce disturbances to the dolphins and increase the education value of dolphin watching at Tai O, to ensure the sustainability of the dolphin population, as well as the dolphin watching activities in Tai O waters.

To download the full report: [Dolphins and Speedboats at Tai O (E)]

Note: This report was submitted to the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) and the Chairman of the Islands District Board on 29 July 2010.  AFCD replied on 2 August 2010 in response to the suggested measures in the report (reply in Chinese).