Busy weeks

Hi !

The weather is turning cool now which is just perfect for field research! In the past weeks, I had more opportunities to conduct boat surveys, especially for those near South Lantau and Lamma Island. These areas are popular to get sightings of the finless porpoise and fortunately we are starting to see them around. At times, the sea conditions in those areas are pretty rough due to the strong tides and we even got records of Beaufort 5. I think it was the strongest Beaufort I have experienced so far and luckily no one in our survey team got sick. As for the Chinese white dolphins, they were mostly spotted near Sha Chau, Lung Kwu Chau and West Lantau these days. We also got some sightings in South Lantau which are not so common at this time of the month. I wonder if the construction of the HKMZ bridge is a possible reason for this.

Other than doing surveys, I got the chance to visit the office more often. I learned how to process the survey data and was able to help out in a mini project conducted by the HKDCS. Due to the Hong Kong International Airport’s third runway proposal, it is expected that the habitat of the Chinese white dolphins will be greatly disturbed and may result in a drop of dolphin numbers. The project is basically a simplified Social Return on Investment (SROI) assessment of the economic impacts that the decline of dolphin population has on the dolphin watch industry. We decided to collect our data through questionnaires and interviews, so there will be lots to prepare in the coming weeks! I can’t wait to know the results of the project, especially on how Hong Kong citizens and tourists value our Chinese white dolphins. Hopefully, it will be something encouraging!

Please stay tuned for more updates...

Beautiful sunset in Tung Chung

 with the HKMZ bridge's construction site at the horizon  

Tiffany ^_^

Memorable events

Hi, it’s me again J. A lot has been happening lately, so I will briefly update the progress of my internship. From being a newbie to a more capable intern, I have gained a lot more experience with the land and boat surveys. One of my favorite surveys is the land-based research conducted in Fan Lau. It is a great location to see dolphins as they can be found surfacing very near to the shore. On that day, we had two teams working together for the theodolite tracking and dolphin dive times. Since there were more people on work rotation, each of us took turns doing the scans and operating the computer. At other times, I tried to do the boat counts and learned how to fill in the dive time sheets. Though there were fewer sightings than expected, nevertheless, it was fun for me to take part in different roles during the survey and I had a great time learning.

Other than the work in Fan Lau, one thing that excites me is that I am starting to get my own sightings now. It is always enjoyable whenever I see the dolphins, especially when I can recognize a few. Another highlight of the month was that I was able to see the finless porpoise finally!! Thanks to one of our staff members, we got two sightings right away during my boat survey in South Lantau. Unlike the Chinese white dolphins, the finless porpoise are more sensitive and challenging to spot. Having to see them really made my day and hopefully, there will be more to come!

As for last week, we had a farewell dinner for Anke and other beloved staff members who will be leaving us. We had a memorable time working together and it was my pleasure to meet them. Everyone enjoyed themselves at the table and we also celebrated the birthdays of two staff members. Though we were all stuffed by the end of the dinner but still we managed to finish off two birthday cakes. Way to go everyone! It was nice to see how the staff here cared about each other and the passion they have for their work. After all, other than the great learning experience I had in here, what I can truly feel was that interning with HKDCS not only brings you good food… but also friendship =)

That’s all for now! I look forward to what will come next.

                                                           Our survey team in Fan Lau!

Cheers,

Tiffany

The end

All good things come to an end and my internship with the HKDCS is over, already. I can’t even begin to account for all the things I’ve learnt during the two months. First of all of course there I added a new species to my personal list, which is so different from other dolphin species that I’ve already encountered. It not only differs in its appearance (it’s PINK!), but also in its behavior (the sometimes erratic surfacing patterns still gives me some trouble following the animals at times, and then there are the mysterious disappearances after a couple of surfacings). I learnt new boat- and land-based methods, protocols, and a computer program. I got to know many interesting survey areas and places with very different dolphin and human activities. To see the extent of the anthropogenic influences (including all the vessel traffic and construction work) really is remarkable, and yes, disturbing. And of course I met a whole bunch of new people. The team welcomed me heartily and made me feel included right from the start. I know it must have been a little annoying at times to repeat everything in English just because I don’t speak Cantonese ;) I did pick up some words, though, and although my Mandarin didn’t help at all, I’ll certainly consider learning more Cantonese in the future.

While I didn’t see any porpoises, I’m not sad. It was to be expected because they’ll only move further inshore closer to the beginning of winter.

I enjoyed my stay in Hong Kong at lot and although I didn’t see too much of the actual city, yet (which I will explore in the nedt 1.5 weeks), I really loved the “natural Hong Kong”. It is incredible how much nature there is to explore – and to protect! I’m confident the team will to do a great job continuing their efforts to conserve not only the precious dolphins but the whole environment.

Thanks for all the experiences and opportunities. While it’s time for me to go home and sort out my future plans, now, I certainly hope to come back one day!

Cheers and all the best and good luck with all that upcoming projects and obstacles,

Anke