1. Saving the Pink
Dolphins
By Daniel Liu and Hank Ng 10E
and Jack Tsien 10N and Rafael
Pang 10D, Chun Yiu Yu 10~
2. Introduction Pink Dolphins
The Pink Dolphin (Sousa Chinensis Chinensis) is a species of Humpback Dolphin. Pink Dolphins can
be white or pink as it matures, but most of the dolphins in Hong Kong are pink. This is a result of its
overdeveloped blood vessels which is ideal for thermoregulation. This humpback dolphin has an
unusual diving posture, first lifting its beak out of the water and arching its back, and then pausing
before dipping below the surface or flipping its tail to dive. Male pink dolphins measure up to 3.2
metres and females up to 2.44 metres. The weight of the dolphin ranges from 150 to 200 kg.
Observers can sometimes see small groups of around three to seven dolphins swimming together in a
pod. Their average speed is 4.8 km/hr which is quite slow. However, they slap the surface of the water
with tail when jumping out of the water and they raise their heads vertically out of the water and sink
below the surface silently. The dolphins prefer to consume fish that can be directly swallowed,
however, their diet depends mainly on their distribution. Natural predators include sharks and killer
whales. On the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) list, these dolphins are under
the Near-Threatened category. The Pink Dolphins that we are concerned about are the dolphins that
inhabit the Pearl River Estuary located in the vicinity of Hong Kong. The locals of Hong Kong call them
the “白海豚” or”烏忌白忌/乌忌白忌”.
Currently, there are approximately 2,500 Pink Dolphins in Hong Kong. The human threats of the Pink
Dolphins are over-fishing, entanglement in fish nets, water pollution (causing both habitat loss and
diseases when breathing in), coastal development and heavy marine traffic. This species of dolphins
prefer the coasts and therefore, coastal development affect their population numbers.
3. Our Goals
We aim to:
● Make the waters of Hong Kong and the Pearl River
delta cleaner so we can preserve what remains of the
coral reef in Hong Kong
● Reduce marine traffic or decrease water pollution, so
that the fish we consume won't be polluted.
● Make Hong Kong a more sustainable place.
● Re-introduce more pink dolphins to the vicinity of Hong
Kong.
● Raise the awareness that the population of pink
dolphins is diminishing
● Save the pink dolphin
4. Our Values
● Make the waters of HK and Pearl River delta cleaner so we can preserve
what remains of the coral reef in Hong Kong.
● Reduce marine traffic or decrease water pollution, so that the fish we
consume and other predators won't be polluted.
● Make HK a more sustainable and environmentally aware place
● Re-introduce more pink dolphins into the vicinity of HK.
● Raise the awareness that the population of pink dolphins is diminishing
● Save the pink dolphins
6. CAS week trip
Day 1:
9:30- Meet up at Island School
10:00- Trip Briefing
10:30- Travel by MTR to HK Marine Dept
11:15- Board boat to check dolphin state
12:25- Lunch on beach
13:15- Beach Cleanup
15:00- Travel back to Hong Kong Island
16:00- Report writing
17:00- Bus ride back to Island School
Day 2: 9:30- Meet up at Island School
Day 3: 9:30- Meet up at Island School
Day 4: 9:30- Meet up at Island School
Day 5: 9:30- Meet up at Island School
7. Reports
-Each student must produce a report of what
they did during the day.
- They should report what went well, what
went wrong and what they actually
completed during that day.
- They should also state what they aim to
achieve in the following day
