AN Eden’s whale endearingly called by Shenzhen citizens as “Xiaobu” was spotted foraging in the sea area near Xiaomeisha, Yantian District, on Thursday, Shenzhen Evening News reported.

The whale was identified as an Eden’s whale through environmental DNA methods last week. It was first seen in the waters off Dapeng Bay on June 29.

According to the scientific monitoring Thursday morning, Xiaobu swam between the Yantian sea area and the Shayuchong sea area of Dapeng Bay.

Dapeng New Area sent a letter to Yantian District’s government on the same day, hoping to further strengthen information sharing and cooperate in protecting Xiaobu.

Relevant parties in Yantian District also attach great importance to Xiaobu’s activity, saying that they are actively organizing inspectors to observe the Eden’s whale along the coastline.

In the meantime, some citizens are worried that Xiaobu will get stranded as it is only about 30 meters away from the coastal promenade.

In this regard, experts from the whale and dolphin protection working group in Dapeng New Area said that Xiaobu may be close to the shore because it is hunting for food, but the risk of being stranded is low at present.

Although the Eden’s whale is a rare marine visitor to Dapeng Bay, experts remind the public and crew not to approach or feed Xiaobu and passing ships should avoid the whale and make detours.

While Xiaobu’s visit proves that the ecological environment of Dapeng Bay is on the mend, the fishing ban in Dapeng Bay has also played a role in attracting the Eden’s whale and providing nutritious and delicious food of fish for Xiaobu.

The fishing moratorium of Dapeng Bay is from May to mid-August every year.

As the fishing ban is about to come to an end, some environmentalists expressed hopes that the city’s fishery department can postpone the fishing season in Dapeng Bay. In the long run, it is also hoped that relevant departments can work on a comprehensive fishing ban system in Dapeng Bay.

According to Shenzhen Special Zone Daily, the city’s planning and natural resources bureau is making preliminary research on the new closed fishing areas in offshore waters and the expansion of marine fishery resources protection. It will determine the scope of closed fishing in combination with the city’s actual situation.

At present, Shenzhen has a no fishing zone in Shenzhen Bay, which is closed to fishing all year round and prohibits all fishing and aquaculture activities.

(Zhang Yu)