水質污染建築侵佔 香港中華白海豚數量銳減

Hong Kong's famed population of pink dolphins is dwindling faster than ever, environmentalists say, shrinking 60% in the past decade because of heavy pollution and construction work in the waters they inhabit.

香港著名的中華白海豚數量正以前所未有的速度在減少。環保人士說，由於棲息水域污染嚴重，並受到建築施工的影響，中華白海豚的數量在過去十年中減少了60％。

The city's Chinese white dolphins─popularly known as pink dolphins for their skin's rosy hue─are a beloved tourist attraction. In 1997, the city went so far as to choose a pink dolphin with a smiling face as its official mascot during the former British colony's handover back to Chinese rule.

觀賞香港中華白海豚（由於它們的皮膚呈粉紅色，所以又被稱爲粉紅海豚）是一項深受遊客喜愛的旅遊項目。1997年，前英國殖民地香港迴歸中華人民共和國時，一條帶着微笑的中華白海豚被選爲了官方吉祥物，這足以顯示香港人民對它的鍾愛。

Many locals at the time pointed out the irony of selecting a mascot whose ranks were alarmingly small and rapidly shrinking. Now, according to the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society, which has been conducting weekly excursions to monitor the population for years, the city's dolphin population has declined to just 61 last year from 159 in 2003. 'They're a treasure of our natural heritage,' says Samuel Hung, who heads the Dolphin Conservation Society. 'Their decline indicates the overall health of our marine ecosystem.'

不過那時就有許多香港人指出，將數量少的驚人、並仍在持續減少的中華白海豚選爲吉祥物實在是太諷刺了。如今，根據香港海豚保育學會(Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society)多年來一直進行的每週數量監測顯示，香港的海豚數量已經由2003年的159條下降到了2012年的61條。 “它們是自然賜予我們的瑰寶，”海豚保育學會的負責人塞繆爾•洪(Samuel Hung)說， “中華白海豚數量的減少反映了整體海洋生態系統的健康欠佳。”

Such a fall in numbers appears to have sped up with the construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, which is slated to open in 2016, says Mr. Hung. Other factors threatening the dolphin population include the rise in high-speed ferry traffic to the nearby gambling mecca of Macau, as well as proposed reclamation efforts to expand the city's airport, he says.

洪先生說，海豚數量的銳減同即將於2016年通車的“港珠澳大橋”的工程建設有關。洪先生補充道，其它威脅因素還包括，通往附近賭城澳門的高速汽船班次的增加，以及正在商議中的擴建機場新跑道的填海造陸工程。

Apart from Hong Kong, Chinese white dolphins are also known to inhabit other waters across the heavily polluted Pearl River Delta. But while the dolphins could try to migrate elsewhere, Mr. Hung says that they should stay put. 'They aren't going to be better off in Chinese waters,' he says. 'They'll face the same problems.'

除了香港，中華白海豚還棲息在珠三角的其他水域，這些地方污染也很嚴重。洪先生說，雖然海豚可以嘗試遷移別處，但留在原地是目前最好的選擇；他說，“即使離開中國水域，情況也得不到改善，中華白海豚還是會面臨同樣的（污染）問題。”

The issue of pink dolphins' decline got an extra burst of attention earlier this spring when one local dolphin-watching tour group spotted a dolphin mother clinging to her dead calf. The mother's struggle to keep the calf's body from sinking were captured on video and widely circulated. Mr. Hung says that such incidents aren't surprising, given high rates of local dolphin calf mortality rates. Chinese white dolphins are currently listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as a 'near threatened' species.

中華白海豚數量銳減的問題在今年春天得到了格外的關注。一個海豚觀賞團看見了一條成年海豚正努力抱住她死去的幼崽。海豚母親掙扎着不讓小海豚的屍體沉沒，整個過程被攝像機記錄了下來，並廣爲流傳。洪先生說，介於當地幼年海豚的高死亡率，這個畫面不足爲奇。目前，中華白海豚已經被國際自然保護聯盟(International Union for Conservation of Nature)列爲“近危”(near threatened)物種。

On Wednesday, Hong Kong's environment undersecretary Christine Loh said that like Mr. Hung, she was concerned about the dolphins' plight and stressed that the government was working hard on conservation. Ms. Loh said the government implemented a trawling ban last year, which green groups hope will improve local fish stocks and protect Hong Kong's dolphin population. 'The government is committed to doing everything it can for the dolphins,' she said.

香港環境部副部長陸恭蕙(Christine Loh)於週三表示，和洪先生一樣，她也很關心海豚的困境，她同時強調，政府正在努力實施保護計劃。陸女士說，香港政府去年實施了禁止拖網捕魚法案，環保團體認爲這將改善當地的魚類種羣並保護棲息在香港的海豚。她說，“政府正竭盡全力保護海豚。”

She also said it was unclear whether the dolphins were dying off or simply relocating to other parts of the Pearl River Delta. 'They could have swum off somewhere else,' said Ms. Loh, adding that the government needed to do more work with authorities across the border in China to support the population.

她還表示，目前尚不清楚海豚究竟是正在滅絕還是隻是遷徙到了珠三角的其他水域，陸女士說，“他們可能已經游去別的地方了”。她補充道，香港政府需要同中國內地相關部門通力合作以維持中華白海豚的數量。