IRRAWADY DOLPHINS: GOING DOWN THE RIVER?

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http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=32136

ENVIRONMENT:

Irrawady Dolphins Bowing Out

Marwaan Macan-Markar

 

BANGKOK , Feb 13 (IPS) - You can see them entertaining crowds at

dolphin shows in theme parks across Asia or, even better, these

friendly mammals can be glimpsed cavorting in their home waters, the

Mekong River.

 

But the recent deaths of 11 Irrawady dolphins, along a stretch of the

Mekong in central Cambodia, has environmentalists worried that the

world may soon see the last of this rare, delightfully playful species

of aquatic mammal.

 

''They could be extinct in 10-15 years,'' Rob Shore, freshwater

programme officer at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a leading global

conservation organisation, told IPS. ''The ones increasingly trapped

are baby dolphins. The current rate of deaths makes the status of the

dolphin not sustainable.''

 

Environmentalists monitoring these mammals in South-east Asia's

mightiest waterway say that the recent deaths -- nine possibly from

pollution and two after getting trapped in fishing gillnets -- reduces

by 10 percent their total numbers. Surveys reveal that there may only

be 80 -100 Irrawady dolphins left in the Mekong River.

 

There were eight baby dolphins among those that died within a

three-month period from December through February-- which is close to

the annual average of calves that die in the Mekong. Since surveys of

the Irrawady dolphins began in 2001, every year has seen 10 -15 deaths

of calves.

 

''For the past three years, the peak period of dolphin mortality has

been during the December to February period,'' says Alvin Lopez,

wetlands ecologist for the Mekong Wetlands Biodiversity Programme, an

initiative backed by the U.N. and other agencies. ''This is the dry

season, the Mekong River is low and there is always a problem between

communities, livelihoods of fishing people and the need to protect the

dolphins.''

 

The mortality rate troubles the Cambodian government, Lopez confirmed

over telephone from Phnom Penh. ''The council of ministers are due to

hear from experts about stronger conservation efforts to protect these

dolphins.''

 

Environmentalists are also awaiting results of tests being conducted

in labs in Canada to determine whether pollutants in the water led to

the death of nine dolphins over the past three months. There were

three deaths in December, six in January and two more in February.

 

Initial tests for traces of mercury in tissue samples have turned up

negative. Also put on hold is a theory that the mammals may have

succumbed to pollutants generated by gold mining along the tributaries

of the Mekong.

 

''It could be the flow from pesticides used in agriculture,'' says

WWF's Shore. ''The Mekong is relatively unpolluted and we suspect

there is a local problem. Pollution of the river in terms of affecting

dolphins is something we have only noticed recently..''

 

Irrawady dolphins are found in the rivers of Burma, Indonesia and the

Philippines. The species lives in lakes in just two spots in the world

-- Chilka, in the eastern Indian state of Orissa and Songkhla in

southern Thailand.

 

These friendly cetaceans, that are known to help fishermen by herding

in catch, figure high on the global watch list of endangered species

maintained by the World Conservation Union, or IUCN.

 

In Cambodia, the dolphin population suffered a major setback during

the 1970s when the ruthless Khmer Rouge regime resorted to

slaughtering the animals to extract oil, after being placed under

international sanctions.

 

Presently, there are an estimated 1,000 Irrawady dolphins living in

the wild, both in fresh and salt water settings, but the numbers are

declining fast. In the Philippines, for instance, the numbers have

dwindled to around 70 mammals.

 

Their friendly nature and happy demeanour make them ideal for Asia's

popular theme parks and dolphinariums, especially those offering

'swim-with-the-dolphins' facilities.

 

Perceiving an unsustainable demand for Irrawady dolphins as captive

entertainers across Asia, Thailand proposed a ban on trade in the

animal and the thirteenth conference of the parties (COP-13) of the

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in

Oct. 2004 at Bangkok saw the animal being 'uplisted' to Appendix I.

 

For environmentalists trying to save the dolphin in the Mekong River,

it is another economic activity -- fishermen using gillnets --that now

needs to be addressed urgently.

 

''These are large nets left in the water for a long time, sometimes

for one or two days, to trap fish by the head. But what happens is

that dolphins are getting trapped,'' says Shore. ''It only takes about

15 minutes for the dolphins to drown.''

 

Less harmful are the traditional forms of fishing, such as using

thrownets that fishermen cast into the water and then pull in, said

Shore. ''There is increasing use of gillnets as development comes to

the (Mekong) area. They help to maximise fish catch.'' (END/2006)

 

 

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