The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department revealed on Monday that Hong Kong's shallow waters was a factor leading to the death of a whale in Tai O. The stranded animal passed away despite rescue efforts by a team of veterinarians. Speaking on an RTHK radio programme, Assistant Director (Fisheries & Marine Conservation) Jim Chu pointed out that beaked whales usually inhabit deep waters. "Its natural habitat is in waters with a depth of between 300 metres and even a kilometre. The waters of Hong Kong are only around tens of metres deep," he said. "Around Tai O, the water depth is around 10 metres or less. So these conditions are totally unsuitable for these animals to survive." Chu revealed the cetacean was first discovered in Yi O on Saturday afternoon, before it appeared in Tai O in the evening. Authorities also said that a canvas bag was discovered inside the whale, and Chu said it was not known for how long it had been inside the animal's digestive system. But as the bag was still in good shape, it showed the cetacean was unable to digest it. Chu also said autopsy showed the whale's stomach did not have any food, and it is likely this was due to the bag blocking its digestive system. He added the Response Plan to the Sighting of non-resident Cetaceans in Hong Kong Waters was activated for the first time during this incident. It aims to minimise the nuisance caused by people to external species and provide emergency assistance. Taison Chang, chairman of the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society, told the same programme the animal was likely a tropical bottlenose whale. He believes the cetacean, measuring six to seven metres long, was an adult whale.
