Tagged: Tai O
Dolphin death off Lantau is 17th for the year
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.
Police seize endangered tortoise in $3.4m smuggling bust
Hong Kong police and customs seized illegal $3.4 million in contraband, including an endangered tortoise, after disrupting smugglers at Tai O on Tuesday night.
Acting on a tip-off, Marine Police and customs officers found a group of men loading packages aboard a speedboat in Tai O at about 8pm, Apple Daily reports.
As officers moved in, the speedboat took off and fled toward Chinese waters. Marine police intercepted the craft and forced it back toward Tai O port, but the driver of the boat escaped along with seven men on the shore.
Law enforcement officers seized 35 suspected smuggled goods at the scene including African spurred tortoise, which is on the UN endangered list and a CITES-protected species. The goods, which also included animal fur and amber among, had a total market value of about HK$3.4 million.
Photo: Melissa Mitchell (Baseballchck02 at en.wikipedia), Creative Commons
Dodging bullets on a Lantau trail
A surprise encounter with a cache of bullets sent police rushing up Nga Ying Shan this week.
Local resident Venus Khongphet and friend Mark Tee came across the hoard of around 800 bullets while hiking down a remote path on Tsim Fung Shan near Tai O on Tuesday.
Venus posted photos of the find to a local Facebook page. Forum members quickly told her they were likely blanks or expended cartridges used in British military training exercises 30 or so years ago. One Facebook friend called the police.
So Venus and Mark had another unexpected encounter when they exited the hike at Shek Pik – seven or eight members of South Lantau’s finest.
“We knew the bullets would be tricky to find, even when we pointed out their approximate location to the police on a map,” Venus later posted on her own Facebook page. So she headed home for a cold beer and left it to her friend to guide the police to the spot. As she explains:
Mark returned to Tai O and he, a uniformed police sergeant, and two ordnance experts climbed up to Nga Ying Shan, and managed to find the pile of bullets again. After the experts assessed they were safe to move the pile was collected into four or five heavy bags, carried safely down off the mountain, and taken away for further processing.
They eventually thanked Mark for his cooperation and sent him home buzzed with the excitement of having ascended an extra peak in the failing light on an empty stomach, and blessed with the opportunity to contribute to law and order on Lantau.
I was very impressed with the Lantau Police and their quick response. I was very scared to see these bullets, and I think the two guys who do this kind of cleanup are very brave. Even my friend Mark put in a big effort to help find the bullets again. It’s great to be part of the caring Lantau community.
She reminds that bullets are dangerous. “If you see them on the trail please look but don’t touch them. Report them to the police immediately.”
RTHK reported that police found the bullet stockpile “not suspicious.”
Carrie Lam makes flying visit to Tai O
Chief executive-elect Carrie Lam made a lightning visit to Tai O on Friday, one of a number of locations she has dropped in on since winning the CE poll in March.
She spent an hour in the town late Friday afternoon, taking part in the fifth anniversary ceremony for the Tai O Heritage Hotel and then strolling around the town with Tai O rural committee chief Lou Cheuk-wing, HK01.com reported.
She shook hands with a salted fish store owner and met people at the Tai O Community Hall. Lam reportedly agreed to look into upgrading the paths between the village’s distinctive stilt homes, which Lou said were being worn out from the increasing number of tourists.
Apart from Tai O, Lam has also visited Sha Tin, Tsuen Wan, Kwun Tung, Hung Hom and Central.
Tai O chief calls for end to Lantau closed road
The head of the Tai O Rural Committee has called on the Transport Department to lift all vehicle restrictions for South Lantau.
In a written question ahead of next Monday’s Islands District Council meeting, Lou Cheuk-wing argues that now the government has ruled out a direct Tung Chung-Tai O link, it should open up South Lantau to all traffic.
This would allow “Lantau residents and all Hong Kong people to bring their vehicles without having to apply for a permit. Free movement between Tung Chung and southwest Lantau would bring convenience for city residents,” Lou said.
His request will almost certainly be rejected out of hand because of the limitations of the road network. Rural committee leaders have been pressing for the upgrade of South Lantau Road into a standard highway to support the unrestricted flow of vehicles onto the island. The Transport Department eased permit rules last January, allowing 25 private cars and 40 tourist coaches daily.
Last May 60 residents blocked Keung Shan Rd near Tai O to protest the danger posed by the growing traffic on the narrow, winding road.
The government rejected the Tung Chung-Tai O road, which has been under discussion on and off for 30 years, because of the cost and impact on the sensitive coastal environment.
Lantau Confidential 