As part of my participation in the Clipper Round the World Yacht race I want to raise money for a good cause. The proceeds of my charity efforts will go towards the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), one of the two official charities of the Clipper Round the World race. Having lived in Hong Kong the past four years I am aware of local concerns towards some of the pink dolphins which have their habitat in the waters of Hong Kong. As an Austrian who loves the outdoor I would like to extend my support to those groups that do hands on work to protect these wonderful animals from the threat of the the economic development and the environmental pollution that goes hand in hand.

How does it work: Sponsor me a mile! I will be racing from Australia to Singapore and then to Qingdao in China - a total of 5100 nautical miles. I will then continue to cross the vast Pacific Ocean on my way to San Francisco - a total of 5240 nautical miles. That's overall 10'340 miles. If many many people sponsor me one or two or three or as many as you want miles I can achieve my fundraising target of 1 EUR per mile - EUR 10'340.00.

How will the money be spent? The majority of the funds will go towards a research project in the Hong Kong/Chinese coastal waters. More information is below.

How can you contribute? Please click on the following link to make contributions: http://www.justgiving.com/matt-round-the-world

Thank you so much!!!!















                            

How will the money be used & project details



 
Photo: WDCS/Charlie Phillips
The Chinese white or Pink dolphin (Sousa chinensis) which dwells within Hong Kong waters was first highlighted internationally in the late 1980’s. At that time, very little was known of the population or indeed its relationship to other similar populations which were widely scattered in the coastal Indo-Pacific region. Considerable research throughout the last decade enabled the IUCN – the international body responsible for listing species’ conservation status – in 2008 to list Sousa as “Near Threatened (NT)”. This designation is used when a species is likely to be designated in one of the threatened categories, that is, “vulnerable”, “endangered” or “critically endangered”, in the near future. In simple terms, from what we understand about the population of dolphins near Hong Kong, it is unlikely they will survive unless we can implement effective conservation strategies.

With this in mind, in 2008, WDCS co-funded a workshop which brought together some of the worlds dolphins experts with the express intention of reviewing the diverse and considerable body of data available for Hong Kong’s dolphins and recommend a research strategy that would contribute directly to the populations conservation. It was very much intended that the panel would provide a road map to effective conservation which could be used to reverse the decline of the Hong Kong population. The panel ultimately made 25 recommendations, ten of which specifically aimed to improve knowledge on population distribution, abundance and interaction with the environment.
 
Despite the intensity of work conducted on the Chinese white dolphins, the exact distribution of the population is as yet unknown. This is largely due to a concentration of research in the area where the core population lives, which is also easily accessible to boats and researchers. One of the key recommendations is to understand fully the dolphins entire range and to estimate total population size. This will be achieved by conducting a series of concomitant surveys throughout the known range of the dolphins and in adjacent areas. This will be achieved by working with various boats and a team of researchers and volunteers from Hong Kong, China and international institutes. It is hoped that volunteers, both vessels and people, can be recruited as part of the Clipper fundraising drive to achieve this aim. WDCS shall co-ordinate the survey and its design in its entirety with the assistance of experts from the original workshop panel.


 
 














An often forgotten part of science, is that for every hour in the field, several hours in the laboratory are required to analyse the data. The data which will be gathered during the comprehensive survey will be processed at a training workshop proposed for late 2010 in Hong Kong. This training workshop will be conducted by some of the original panel members and also incorporates the 2008 workshop recommendations which recognised a need to facilitate transfer of skills from the international field of marine mammal science to local researchers in Asia. In this way, it is anticipated the survey and resultant data will be conducted and analysed in a short time frame and thus be immediately available.

The WDCS will then use this information, of total population size and full distribution, to add to their campaign to increase conservation initiatives focusing on Chinese white dolphin. Despite the action and research to date we must not forget that the panel of experts concluded that they knew of no other dolphin population that faced the multitude of threats that existed within Hong Kong and surrounding waters. The severity of these threats is intense and can only be alleviated through swift action based on sound research. The WDCS will then use this information, of total population size and full distribution, to add to their campaign to increase conservation initiatives focusing on Chinese white dolphin. Despite the action and research to date we must not forget that the panel of experts concluded that they knew of no other dolphin population that faced the multitude of threats that existed within Hong Kong and surrounding waters. The severity of these threats is intense and can only be alleviated through swift action based on sound research.

Priority 2a Improving Knowledge: NEW RESEARCH

Task 1 Expanding study area (R1,R10)

Collaboration with mainland Chinese Universities and government agencies.  Boat survey and data analyses. Part time research assistant, mainland Chinese student training.

9 months

Priority 3 Methodological Advice

Task 2 Redesign transect layout (R9)

Encourage Hong Kong and mainland authorities to undertake. (Could be conducted Priority 2a, Task 1).