A Chinese White Dolphin with its back lacerated and its tail cut was found floating off Discovery Bay last Friday.

The find takes the toll this year of the Chinese White Dolphin – also known as the pink dolphin – to 17.  Sixteen deaths were reported to the end of July, mostly of carcasses found on beaches.

A local resident sighted the dolphin in open waters off Discovery Bay and reported it. A team from the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation later retrieved the corpse of an adult female dolphin near Peng Chau.

A vet who examined the dolphin said it had a deep one-metre wound on its dorsal fin, most likely the result of being struck by a boat, Apple Daily reported. The tail fin had been severed. The AFCD is following up the incident.

Dolphin numbers have fallen dramatically in the last ten years as a result of major projects such as the Hong Kong-Macau bridge and third airport runway.

The latest government survey found that just 47 remain in Hong Kong waters.

New marine parks have been declared off northern and south-west Lantau but conservationists say there is a need for another park off Tai O in west Lantau.