Whale carcass found in Hong Kong waters sparks anger against sightseers

A whale found floating dead off Hong Kong after two weeks in the area had a new wound to its dorsal fin, which sparked a flood of social media anger against sightseers. Fishermen discovered the carcass, believed to be the Bryde’s whale first spotted off Sai Kung on July 13, floating close to shore on 31 July morning.
 
The fresh wound was discovered after the carcass was taken to the west dam of High Island Reservoir in Sai Kung for a necropsy. “The new wound is located at the dorsal fin … in the middle of its back. We are still measuring the size,” Compass Chan, a scientific officer at Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, said. He added that experts earlier identified two older injuries on the animal’s back.
 
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said the examination of the carcass would probably take a few days and its results could help the government draw up plans to handle whales if more turned up in the city’s waters.
 
The news caused many to take to social media and insist that whale watchers and the government had to share the blame. Some wrote that people who went on boat tours to catch a glimpse of the mammal were “accomplices” to its death and others criticised the government for not doing enough to protect it. “Those who went on those boat rides are the killers of the whale,” one Facebook post said. 
 
The Marine Department said it had increased the frequency of patrols in the surrounding waters and distributed pamphlets to ask boat skippers not to approach the whale. The department also asked vessels that passed through the area to slow down, a spokesman added. The Ocean Park Conservation Foundation also “strongly” urged the public not to visit the area.