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Tsang asks park to explain death of Olympic sturgeon

Hong Kong’s leader on Tuesday called on experts at the city’s Ocean Park theme park to explain how they allowed a valuable “Olympic” fish to die just days after it was presented to the city by China.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang (曾蔭權) spoke after a rare Chinese sturgeon, one of China’s five Olympic mascot symbols, was found dead on Monday, four days after being publicly released into a theme park aquarium.

The death of the fish caused a minor but embarrassing diplomatic incident.

The fish was one of five sturgeon — one for each Olympic ring — presented to Hong Kong by China last week. Its death will be seen as an inauspicious portent for the August Games by some Chinese.

Vets at the theme park believe the 1.1m sturgeon, the smallest of the five presented by China, was fatally injured when a barracuda sharing its giant tank bit it on Saturday.

An official from China’s National Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Association quoted by Hong Kong’s government-run radio station on Tuesday questioned whether the fish had been “adequately handled.”

He said the sturgeon would be replaced but called on Ocean Park officials to “better communicate” with Chinese experts to prevent any further sturgeon fatalities.

Tsang echoed the official’s tone on Tuesday, telling reporters: “I am sure that Ocean Park ... will explain the circumstances surrounding the death of this fish.”

“Most importantly, they must give us an assurance in future that the five precious fish will be well protected,” he said.

He said Hong Kong was “very grateful to the central government for giving us a replacement fish.”

In contrast to Tsang’s contrite tone, theme park officials insisted the two species should have been able to coexist and said they had consulted Chinese experts before allowing them in the same tank as the barracuda.
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