Insight: Tidal wave of Chinese marine parks fuels murky cetacean trade

Haichang Ocean Park Holdings

20/09/2018 08:33

(Repeating to add video link)
    By Farah Master
    HONG KONG, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Eight beluga whales jump in
unison out of a bright blue indoor pool, flipping their tailfins
and spewing fountains of water, as a packed audience cheers and
snaps photographs.
    Whale shows like the one at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, located
in Zhuhai on China's southern coast, are proliferating at new
marine parks across the country, driving demand for threatened
species, according to scientists, executives and activists. 
    Orcas and beluga whales are among the marine animals caught
up in a shadowy trade in which individual cetaceans - often
caught illegally - sell for millions of dollars, they say.
    Marine parks and aquariums are opening monthly in China,
with more than 36 large-scale projects set to launch in the
coming two years. This comes as many live animal shows in the
United States and Europe are being scrapped due to widespread
opposition.
    "We've had great progress in shutting down marine parks in
the West but China is saying, 'it's my turn now'," said Ric
O'Barry, founder of the Dolphin Project, an advocacy group.
    Lured by booming domestic tourism, companies such as
Haichang Ocean Park  2255.HK , Guangzhou R&F Properties
 2777.HK , Dalian Shengya and Chimelong Group are spearheading
the rapid growth of the industry.
    Haichang's Shanghai Ocean World, which is due to open in
November, and Chimelong's Ocean Kingdom are preparing live orca
shows for the first time in China.
    O'Barry, who captured and trained dolphins and orcas before
launching a campaign against captive marine mammals in 1970,
said China was the main driver of the industry globally. 
    Over 60 marine parks already operate in China, ranging from
large-scale developments like Chimelong's Ocean Kingdom, to
small facilities which are typically add-ons to big property
projects, said industry executives.
       
    
    Chimelong, Haichang, Dalian Shengya, Zhonghong Group and
Rizhao Ocean Park did not respond to multiple requests for
comment. R&F said its planned resort would only include wild
captured cetaceans if they had been rescued, or came from
reputable zoos and aquariums.
    Cities often initiate marine park projects as an
eye-catching way of raising their profiles, and offer developers
vast tracts of land and cheap loans to build them.
    Noble Coker, president of Apex Parks and Entertainment
Services, which works with theme parks in Asia, said marine
facilities were often a secondary consideration in an overall
deal to acquire land from municipal governments.
    Developers benefit from the quick development and sale of
residential or commercial property, he said, with elements like
marine parks typically paid for by the property sales. 
    "All of the incentives for the developers are in the
short-term, so the 20-year moral and ethical impacts of the park
or aquarium they are building are rarely, if ever, considered,"
said Coker.   

    ILLEGAL CAPTURES
    Since 2014, 872 cetaceans - which includes whales, dolphins
and porpoises - have been put into captivity in China, according
to the China Cetacean Association.
    There are currently no local government regulations or
international standards to monitor the trade, said Lucio Conti,
vice president for marine facilities at Atlantis Sanya, a resort
located in China's tropical Hainan province. 
    Conti said Atlantis was working with the government to
establish an animal welfare standard at a time when there was
growing illegal trade of endangered wildlife.
    "If you go to the fishermen here on the island they can get
you whatever you want. They can get you a whale shark, they can
get you every species, endangered or not because there is no
such control."
    China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism referred a request
for comment to the State Forestry and Grassland Administration,
which is in charge of wildlife issues. 
    The administration referred questions to the State Oceanic
Administration, which in turn referred questions to the Ministry
of Natural Resources. That ministry referred questions to the
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Ministry, which did not respond to
a request for comment.
   Many Chinese marine parks feature whale sharks, belugas,
dolphins and manta rays. But no orcas - or killer whales, known
for their distinctive black and white colouring - have been
displayed publicly up to now.
    At least 13 Russian orcas were imported to China between
2013 and 2016, according to CITES, the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species. Another two were sent
in 2017 and more are set to be imported this year, according to
Oxana Fedorova, head of Dolphin Project Russia.  
    CITES did not reveal the companies involved.
    Whale and Dolphin Conservation, a UK-based group, said
Chimelong Ocean Kingdom possesses nine orcas, Shanghai Haichang
Polar Ocean World has four and two more are at Wuxi Changqiao
Ocean Kingdom.
    Russia, which is the sole supplier of wild orcas and beluga
whales to China, in July announced an investigation into the
illegal sale of 7 killer whales. 
    Four companies were involved in the sale of the orcas to
China, according to a statement from the Russian Prosecutor
General's Office. It did not name the companies or the
destination of the orcas.
    Russia approved a capture quota for 13 orcas in 2018.
Several killer whales have already been caught in Russia's Sea
of Okhotsk, said activists monitoring the hunt in August. 
   "The problem is the demand that is being created in China,"
said Fedorova, who worked with the team, organised by Ocean
Friends. She said the team of seven had been threatened, shot at
and robbed by the hunters.
    The activists said they were unable to record the captures
on film as their drone was shot down. 
   However, a photograph from Ocean Friends showed
transportation tanks on a Russian ship called Jurii Shvezov
holding two orcas. 
   A representative from Kupets, the company that owns the ship,
said it was engaged in the transportation of orcas and did not
catch them. She declined to comment further.
    
    DISPOSABLE MANNER
    Naomi Rose, a Washington-based marine mammal scientist at
the Animal Welfare Institute, said the captures were
unsustainable and inhumane.
    She added that the prospect of high profits would continue
to attract a criminal element.
    "When you have that much money involved - where an animal is
worth several million dollars- you are going to have crime and
danger."
    Once in captivity, the rate of mortality is extremely high,
said activists. This forces companies to continually repurchase
marine animals.
    "They just suffer in captivity. Especially for orcas, they
are the most unsuitable to be put in a tank. Their culture is in
the wild," said Taison Chang, chairman of the Hong Kong Dolphin
Conservation Society.
    Squalid conditions and poor welfare practices are growing
concerns amid the increasing flood of marine parks. 
    In June, for example, an online video showed a trainer from 
Ocean World in China's port city of Dalian applying bright red
lipstick on a beluga whale. The company later apologised and
promised to strengthen the animal protections, according to
local media.
    Activists worry that once China's biggest players start orca
performances, it will spawn a copycat effect at smaller, less
experienced parks around the country.
    Peng, who was watching the beluga show at Ocean Kingdom with
his wife and son, said he had not realised belugas were
endangered and that he had enjoyed the show. 
   "It's not cruel for them. They feed them and didn't beat
them."
 ($1 = 6.8297 Chinese yuan renminbi)

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China's ocean theme parks IMG    https://tmsnrt.rs/2oPi030
RTV: Wave of shady marine parks fuels murky whale trade    https://reut.tv/2xzjUsl
 
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 (Reporting by Farah Master; additional reporting by Bobby Yip
in Zhuhai, Ben Blanchard and Gao Liangping in Beijing, Timothy
Chan, Maggie Liu and Holly Chik in Hong Kong, the Shanghai
newsroom and Polina Nikolskaya in Moscow; Editing by Philip
McClellan)
 ((farah.master@thomsonreuters.com; +852 28431631 ; Reuters
Messaging: farah.master.thomsonreuters@thomsonreuters.net))