'Whale likely died of propeller-induced injuries'
A baleen whale found dead off Sai Kung last year was killed by back and spine injuries that were likely caused by propellers of a “fast-moving vessel”, authorities said on Friday.  Officials from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said they could not determine what type of vessel had hit the mammal, but ruled out the possibility it was a whale-watching or fishing boat. Sightings of the juvenile Bryde’s whale had led to people going out in boats to try to get a glimpse of it, and officials urged against any chases.  An expert from Spain consulted on the matter narrowed down the time of the whale's death to between the evening of July 30 and the early hours of the following day.  A necropsy also found two fresher wounds on the whale, including one near its blowhole and the other near the dorsal fin.  “It can be concluded that the cause of death of this Bryde’s whale was a fatal boat strike,” the report said.  “The individual may have become separated from its mother or lost her, depriving it of maternal care and guidance. As a result, it was exposed to an unfavourable environment and local dangers.” Kenneth Leung, who chairs an expert group on the conservation of marine mammals, said the boat involved was likely a dual propeller vessel.  But officials said no whale-watching activity was detected during the four days prior to the mammal’s death, and that fishing vessels generally do not travel at such high speeds.  “We cannot tell what kind of vessel it was, and also we cannot tell the size of the vessel,” said AFCD director Mickey Lai.  “But the only thing we know…the vessel striking the whale should be travelling at a very high speed. We are talking about over 10 knots or even faster. But for the exact speed, we can’t tell.” Ten knots is roughly equivalent to 18.5 kilometres per hour.  He also said officials will look into amending laws to designate temporary restriction areas more quickly, and banning whale-watching activities.  “If the legislation can give us more power in imposing more control within the restriction area, and give us more flexibility, and also give us more power to designate this area in a shorter period of time, it can really help us to protect the whale within a really short period of time,” Lai said.  “We are talking about emergency situations, and everything has to be done within a very short period of time.” He said the administration aims to put forward concrete proposals to the expert group in the third quarter of this year the earliest.