Dolphins are being drowned out by noise pollution in Hong Kong
They rely on sound to socialize and hunt. But amid the din of this industrialized region, dolphin populations have dropped over 80 percent in 15 years.
The subtropical sea surrounding Hong Kong is a noisy place: A flow of massive freight ships chug through constantly; high-speed ferries jet time-pressed businesspeople to meetings in towers; and the coastal development is never-ending. It is one of the most densely-urbanized areas on the planet.
Meanwhile, the surrounding Pearl River Delta is home to somewhere around 2,000 Chinese white dolphins (Sousa chinensis), likely the world’s largest discrete population. But they are declining every year due to “severe human disturbance,” according to the WWF, a conservation group.
And the number within Hong Kong—mostly inhabiting the waters south of Lantau Island—has dropped by over 80 percent in the past 15 years, according to WWF.
“The dolphins are being suffocated by man-made noise,” says Doris Woo,
