The Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department has announced that is saddened by the discovery of a whale carcass near Port Shelter.

The department said that along with the Ocean Park Conservation Fund Hong Kong (OPCFHK) it had arranged to salvage the carcass and that it had commissioned the OPCFHK to perform a necropsy on it to determine the species and the cause of death.

The work concerned may take a few days.

The necropsy results will shed light on whale behaviour and the specific cause of death in this instance, with the findings being used to inform the Government’s plans for handling the appearance of whales in Hong Kong waters in future.

After dissection, the department will make arrangements for the carcass, including exploring possibilities for using it as a specimen for scientific research or for educational purposes as appropriate.

The department had worked closely with the OPCFHK to monitor the health condition of the whale after it appeared in Sai Kung waters in mid-July.

With other departments, it also patrolled the waters in which the whale had appeared.

To avoid disturbing or scaring the whale, department staff distributed leaflets at various places, including the Sai Kung Public Pier, to urge members of the public not to go whale watching and to abstain from water sports.

In recent days, Government departments sent out six patrol to patrol a large stretch of sea and to track sight-seeing vessels, urging them to leave waters where the whale had appeared.

Whale watching and water sports activities in the waters concerned dropped sharply over the weekend.