Hong Kong's famed population of pink dolphins is dwindling faster than ever, environmentalists say, shrinking 60% in the past decade because of heavy pollution and construction work in the waters they inhabit.
香港著名的中华白海豚数量正以前所未有的速度在减少。环保人士说，由于栖息水域污染严重，并受到建筑施工的影响，中华白海豚的数量在过去十年中减少了60％。The city's Chinese white dolphins─popularly known as pink dolphins for their skin's rosy hue─are a beloved tourist attraction. In 1997, the city went so far as to choose a pink dolphin with a smiling face as its official mascot during the former British colony's handover back to Chinese rule.
观赏香港中华白海豚（由于它们的皮肤呈粉红色，所以又被称为粉红海豚）是一项深受游客喜爱的旅游项目。1997年，前英国殖民地香港回归中华人民共和国时，一条带着微笑的中华白海豚被选为了官方吉祥物，这足以显示香港人民对它的锺爱。Many locals at the time pointed out the irony of selecting a mascot whose ranks were alarmingly small and rapidly shrinking. Now, according to the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society, which has been conducting weekly excursions to monitor the population for years, the city's dolphin population has declined to just 61 last year from 159 in 2003. 'They're a treasure of our natural heritage,' says Samuel Hung, who heads the Dolphin Conservation Society. 'Their decline indicates the overall health of our marine ecosystem.'
不过那时就有许多香港人指出，将数量少的惊人、并仍在持续减少的中华白海豚选为吉祥物实在是太讽刺了。如今，根据香港海豚保育学会(Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society)多年来一直进行的每周数量监测显示，香港的海豚数量已经由2003年的159条下降到了2012年的61条。 “它们是自然赐予我们的瑰宝，”海豚保育学会的负责人塞缪尔•洪(Samuel Hung)说， “中华白海豚数量的减少反映了整体海洋生态系统的健康欠佳。”
Such a fall in numbers appears to have sped up with the construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, which is slated to open in 2016, says Mr. Hung. Other factors threatening the dolphin population include the rise in high-speed ferry traffic to the nearby gambling mecca of Macau, as well as proposed reclamation efforts to expand the city's airport, he says.
洪先生说，海豚数量的锐减同即将于2016年通车的“港珠澳大桥”的工程建设有关。洪先生补充道，其它威胁因素还包括，通往附近赌城澳门的高速汽船班次的增加，以及正在商议中的扩建机场新跑道的填海造陆工程。Apart from Hong Kong, Chinese white dolphins are also known to inhabit other waters across the heavily polluted Pearl River Delta. But while the dolphins could try to migrate elsewhere, Mr. Hung says that they should stay put. 'They aren't going to be better off in Chinese waters,' he says. 'They'll face the same problems.'
除了香港，中华白海豚还栖息在珠三角的其他水域，这些地方污染也很严重。洪先生说，虽然海豚可以尝试迁移别处，但留在原地是目前最好的选择；他说，“即使离开中国水域，情况也得不到改善，中华白海豚还是会面临同样的（污染）问题。”The issue of pink dolphins' decline got an extra burst of attention earlier this spring when one local dolphin-watching tour group spotted a dolphin mother clinging to her dead calf. The mother's struggle to keep the calf's body from sinking were captured on video and widely circulated. Mr. Hung says that such incidents aren't surprising, given high rates of local dolphin calf mortality rates. Chinese white dolphins are currently listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as a 'near threatened' species.
中华白海豚数量锐减的问题在今年春天得到了格外的关注。一个海豚观赏团看见了一条成年海豚正努力抱住她死去的幼崽。海豚母亲挣扎着不让小海豚的尸体沉没，整个过程被摄像机记录了下来，并广为流传。洪先生说，介于当地幼年海豚的高死亡率，这个画面不足为奇。目前，中华白海豚已经被国际自然保护联盟(International Union for Conservation of Nature)列为“近危”(near threatened)物种。On Wednesday, Hong Kong's environment undersecretary Christine Loh said that like Mr. Hung, she was concerned about the dolphins' plight and stressed that the government was working hard on conservation. Ms. Loh said the government implemented a trawling ban last year, which green groups hope will improve local fish stocks and protect Hong Kong's dolphin population. 'The government is committed to doing everything it can for the dolphins,' she said.
香港环境部副部长陆恭蕙(Christine Loh)于周三表示，和洪先生一样，她也很关心海豚的困境，她同时强调，政府正在努力实施保护计划。陆女士说，香港政府去年实施了禁止拖网捕鱼法案，环保团体认为这将改善当地的鱼类种群并保护栖息在香港的海豚。她说，“政府正竭尽全力保护海豚。”She also said it was unclear whether the dolphins were dying off or simply relocating to other parts of the Pearl River Delta. 'They could have swum off somewhere else,' said Ms. Loh, adding that the government needed to do more work with authorities across the border in China to support the population.
她还表示，目前尚不清楚海豚究竟是正在灭绝还是只是迁徙到了珠三角的其他水域，陆女士说，“他们可能已经游去别的地方了”。她补充道，香港政府需要同中国内地相关部门通力合作以维持中华白海豚的数量。