2026/05/18
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Conservation Measures

Conservation Measures

Legal Protections for Cetaceans in Hong Kong

Management Measures

Code of Conduct for Dolphin Watching

 

The Chinese White Dolphin is listed as "Vulnerable" in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, and is also listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix I (i.e. highest protection). In Chinese Mainland, it is listed as a "Grade I National Key Protected Species".

 

Legal Protections for Cetaceans in Hong Kong

All cetaceans (dolphins, whales and porpoises) found in Hong Kong are protected locally by the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance (Cap. 170). Import, export and possession of these animals are restricted under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Cap. 586).

 

Management Measures

AFCD has been implementing a comprehensive conservation program for dolphins including Chinese White Dolphin and Finless Porpoise since the early 2000s. Key initiatives include:

 

  1. Ongoing Monitoring of the conditions of dolphins including the distribution and population etc.

        

AFCD staff and collaborators are actively monitoring the dolphin conditions.

 

  1. Enforcing stringent environmental impact assessment requirements for coastal development projects near dolphins habitats to ensure potential impacts are thoroughly addressed.

 

  1. Designating critical dolphins habitats as marine parks, providing appropriate protection and management. Marine parks designated in recent years :
Designated year: 2020 Designated year: 2022 Designated year: 2024
Southwest Lantau Marine Park South Lantau Marine Park North Lantau Marine Park
  1. Implementing fisheries management and enhancement measures to promote sustainable fish resources and increasing foraging opportunities.

 

  1. Collaborating with different parties to organize educational and outreach activities to raise public awareness about dolphins conservation.

 

  1. Partnering with the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, Hong Kong (OPCFHK) to manage cetacean stranding cases.

 

  1. Regularly sharing the latest information and conservation experiences with relevant organizations in overseas and Chinese Mainland regions to collaboratively promote marine mammal conservation.

On Aug 15 2025, AFCD signed a MOU on the Joint Rescue Mechanism for Large Aquatic Wild Animals with the Ocean Development Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality to deepen the rescue co-operation of large aquatic wild animals between the two places, and to strengthen the exchange of experience and technology to improve the ecological safety of the adjacent waters of Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

On Nov 8 2025, AFCD and the Guangdong Pearl River Estuary Chinese White Dolphin National Nature Reserve Management Bureau signed a MOU on the Chinese White Dolphin Conservation Co-operation Platform to strengthen co-operation between Guangdong and Hong Kong in protecting Chinese White Dolphins inhabiting the Pearl River Estuary. 

Code of Conduct for Dolphin Watching