Secretary for Environment & Ecology Tse Chin-wan today said the Government will review the case of a whale that emerged and died in Sai Kung waters and develop a set of protocols for the future.

After meeting Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong experts at High Island Reservoir West Dam to learn about the necropsy performed on the whale carcass this afternoon, Mr Tse explained to the media the challenges faced in dealing with the whale.

“The Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department (AFCD), together with the Ocean Park Conservation Fund Hong Kong, have been monitoring and participating in the protection of the whale from the very beginning. Also, they have been working day by day in order to protect the whale as well as to find a new way to bring the whale back to the ocean.

“There were a lot of difficulties. For example, the whale could appear in one place and disappear, and then appear again in other places. Therefore, how to protect it was complicated.

“Also, there were different views among the experts on whether and how they could bring the whale back to the ocean. After a lot of discussion with different experts - not only from the Ocean Park Conservation Fund Hong Kong, but also other experts both locally and overseas - I think what they could agree on is that they should observe the situation for a longer time.”

He added that the Government will review whether the law can be improved and look into more ways to better handle a similar situation in future.

“Perhaps the AFCD can have more immediate power to manage, for example, those people who came to observe the whale, and that sort of thing. Therefore, we will review whether the law can be adjusted to offer AFCD colleagues more power to manage this sort of situation.

“We will also try to develop a set of protocols to deal with this sort of situation in the future, so that we can save time for different experts to talk and discuss how to do it.”