Chinese white dolphins in Hong Kong are facing pervasive threats of habitat loss and degradation, underwater noise disturbance, vessel collision, water pollution and other major human threats arising from coastal development in recent years. The situation is worrying as estimated dolphin numbers in Hong Kong have dropped by >80% in the past 17 years. The dolphins also show sign of southward shift in their distribution since 2015, likely due to construction development (e.g. 3rd Runway reclamation) taking place off northern Lantau. Busy marine traffic is also threatening the survival of local cetaceans off southern Lantau, especially along the major shipping lanes (as indicated within red box in image below). Frequent vessel operations have been found to increase the chance of cetacean-ship collision, and severe underwater noise disturbance on the animals.
