Does dolphinwatching harm the dolphins?
Adding another diesel-powered boat to the existing traffic certainly doesn’t do the dolphins any good. In fact, in some areas, dolphins and whales are threatened by tour operators acting irresponsibly. In Hong Kong, however, the total amount of dolphinwatching traffic created by us is very very small compared to the amount of other boat traffic ferries, tankers, fishing boats, container ships, lighters, police boats, dredgers, barges, etc. using the harbour. Boat traffic, in turn, is only one of the threats facing the dolphins, and probably not the most serious one. Hong Kong Dolphinwatch Ltd. follows a code of conduct designed to minimize the disturbance to the dolphins. Against the minimal harm that we do by watching dolphins, you have to balance the small hope that the educational effect of dolphinwatching will eventually lead to the human population of Hong Kong taking steps to protect the dolphins.
