(From Page 1) The government has deployed a maritime law enforcement team to patrol the surrounding waters and persuade unrelated ships to leave in a bid to maintain order in the water. The team is also in charge of cleaning fishing nets and collecting drifting ocean trash. In the meantime, recreational and fishing boats have been banned from the area where the Bryde’s whale is found. The General Office of the Dapeng New Area has set up a temporary press center to keep the public informed of the whale’s conditions. A livestreaming platform is also available for those who are concerned about the whale to watch it online. Volunteers from local environmental organizations also joined the protection efforts. Eleven volunteers from “Dive For Love” dived into the sea to pick up trash including garbage bags, beverage bottles, plastic cups and utensils, and fishing nets. The Shenzhen Blue Ocean Conservation Association acts as a coordinator to contact experts from different institutes and educate the public about the whale. Ma Haipeng, executive secretary of the association, told Shenzhen Daily that the appearance of the whale was “mind-blowing and dreamlike” for marine protection workers like him. Ma suspected that the whale’s appearance is related to the current fishing ban in Dapeng, which lasts from May 1 to Aug. 16 this year. In recent years, Dapeng has achieved great progress in the preservation of its ecological environment and marine biodiversity. According to Hong, the sewage collection rate has increased to 98.7 percent. The air quality index ranks first in Shenzhen and the coral coverage in Daya Bay areas has reached 50 percent. | 