又中又英｜Whale watching

Whale watching can be very enjoyable if rules are followed to protect whales. I have never joined whale watching tours， but once saw migrating whales in the Pacific Ocean from the shore when I lived in the US. Migrating whales are whales that migrate， or travel， from cold to warm weather every year. Thousands of gray whales leave the Arctic every winter for the warm waters in Mexico where they feed. They migrate back to the Arctic in the summer. Gray whales are gray in colour with white patterns.

Interest in whales in recent years has caused a whale watching boom. The word 「boom」 used this way means a sudden increase in popularity. The International Whaling Commission， which has about 88 member countries including China， was created in 1946 to conserve whales. It has a list of about 50 countries with rules for whale watching. That」s why I was shocked when the Hong Kong government did so little to protect a young， injured whale that got lost in Sai Kung. The whale had two wounds caused by boat propellers yet large numbers of Hong Kong sightseers took boat tours to get close to it.

The US has laws to protect whales. Guidelines say tour boats should stay 100 to 500 yards away from whales depending on the species and remain only a short time. Experts say sightseers were to blame for the death of the Sai Kung whale by coming too close to it， causing stress. The dead whale had a new propeller cut. The government and sightseers should have a guilty conscience for causing the whale」s death.

觀賞鯨魚可以是非常愉快的——若伴隨着有保護鯨魚的條例。我從未參加過觀鯨團，但以前住在美國時，曾經有一次在岸上見到太平洋的migrating whales ——migrating whales 就是每年從寒冷的水域遷徙或移動至溫暖水域的鯨魚。每個冬天，成千上萬的灰鯨（gray whales）會離開冰極，遷至墨西哥的暖水區，在那裏覓食。到了夏天，牠們又會遷回北極。灰鯨（gray whales）是灰色的，身上帶有白色斑紋。

近年對於鯨魚的興趣，掀起了一陣觀鯨熱潮（whale watching boom）。Boom在這裏是指突然流行、蓬勃起來。國際捕鯨委員會有八十八個成員國，當中包括中國，是於一九四六年成立，目的是保育鯨魚。它有一個名單，列舉五十個國家的觀鯨指引。因此我相當驚訝 ，一條年幼、受傷的鯨魚於西貢海域迷失，香港政府所做的保護措施卻那麼少。那條鯨魚有兩處被船隻螺旋槳造成的傷口，可仍有大量的香港觀光客乘搭觀光船就近觀鯨。

美國有法例保護鯨魚。有多項指引說明，觀光船必須根據鯨魚的種類，距離一百至五百碼，而且只能逗留很短的時間。專家們指，西貢鯨魚的死亡，要歸咎於觀光客太近距離觀看，給牠施加壓力。死亡的鯨魚身上有一道新的螺旋槳傷口。政府和觀光客好應感到愧疚，是自己招致鯨魚死亡。

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻