Underwater blasting off Fujian province is raising concerns about the future of habitat vital to the Chinese white dolphin.
Authorities in Quanzhou carried out the blasting in Weitou Bay on 13 May as part of a project to allow larger vessels to enter a port. The bay is an important habitat for this protected species of marine mammal, notes Friends of Nature, an environmental NGO. The group warned that blasting could cause serious disturbance and even death to the animals, which are also known as the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin.
Red Star News, a provincial news outlet, reported that in response to growing concern, two blasts scheduled for 14 May were cancelled. The project’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) indicated that the blasting site lies outside the official dolphin protection zone, reported the outlet.
But Li Mengchao, a public interest lawyer with Friends of Nature, told Red Star News this does not mean dolphins are absent. He called for an expansion of the protected area based on actual dolphin activity. He also noted that as this is the species’ breeding season, blasting may interfere with reproduction.
At the same time, Caixin reported that the Guangdong Jiangmen Chinese White Dolphin Provincial Nature Reserve is proposing to make the reserve smaller. The reason is a planned national-level infrastructure project, likely the expansion of the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant.
That project is expected to increase water temperatures in parts of the sea to levels exceeding Class I marine water quality limits, which apply to areas with protected marine species. Experts interviewed by Caixin said the direct impact on dolphins may be limited but the ability of the reserve to protect the species would likely decline after the adjustment.
The Chinese white dolphin is listed as a Class I protected species in China – the highest level of protection in the country. It is also classified as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – one level down from “endangered” in the group’s risk system. Fewer than 6,000 individuals remain globally, with an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 living in Chinese coastal waters. Around 300 are found near Jiangmen – about 5% of the global population. Due to their low numbers and high sensitivity to environmental change, the species is sometimes called the “panda of the sea”.
Zheng Ruiqiang, science director at China Blue Sustainability Institute, previously told Dialogue Earth that systematic population data is key to conserving the species. Visualising this information helps inform government decisions and public involvement, he said.
Efforts to protect these dolphins also improve coastal ecosystems and benefit local communities. “If the Chinese white dolphin is thriving,” Zheng says, “then humans can thrive too.”