FWD: Saving river dolphins

July 16, 2002

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<DIV ALIGN=RIGHT>Tuesday, July 16,

2002

Saving river dolphins

RIPPLES break the bottle-green surface of the Mekong River as a pair of dolphins

emerge momentarily from the cloudy depths of South-East Asia & #8217;s foremost

river. & nbsp;

Their silvery dorsal fins glisten in the setting sun, then disappear with a

splash, leaving only echoes of the high-pitched clicking of their unique sonar

language. & nbsp;

</td></tr>

<tr><td><div class= " caption " >A fisherman casts a net on the Mekong River in the

Kampi district of north-eastern Cambodia, home to the largest group of the

country's rare Irrawaddy dolphins. A mix of ancient Cambodian legend and local

action are giving these aquatic mammals a chance of

survival.-Reuters</div></td></tr>

</table>

In Cambodia, fishermen still remember when rare Irrawaddy dolphins were a

relatively common sight in rivers and waterways as far flung as the great Tonle

Sap lake in Cambodia & #8217;s rugged north-west. & nbsp;

Nowadays dolphin numbers have dwindled. The Mekong River as it meanders through

north-eastern Cambodia is one of the few places they can still be seen as the

massive waterway winds its 4,300km way towards the sea. & nbsp;

Fishing, hunting and increased river traffic have wreaked havoc on the

dolphin & #8217;s habitat, but a mix of ancient Cambodian legend and local action

offers these rare aquatic animals a chance of survival. & nbsp;

More than 1,000 dolphins inhabited Cambodian rivers and lakes before the

country lurched into bloody civil war in the 1970s, said Touch Seang Tana,

Cambodia & #8217;s top dolphin expert at the Department of Fisheries in Phnom

Penh. & nbsp;

Only 80 dolphins are estimated to remain, living in the stretch of Mekong River

from Cambodia & #8217;s north-eastern Kratie province to the far-northern border

with Laos. & nbsp;

& #8220;Before the war, hundreds of dolphins were seen in the Tonle Sap river.

Now, no one talks about dolphins there, & #8221; said Touch Seang Tana. & nbsp;

Little is known about the Irrawaddy dolphin which grows up to 2.75m in length

and is found in coastal and freshwater regions from South Asia to Northern

Australia. Scant information has kept the dolphin off the world & #8217;s

endangered species lists but some authorities believe they are in general

decline. & nbsp;

In Cambodia the decline began three decades ago. During Cambodia & #8217;s civil

war and the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge & #8220;killing fields & #8221; years, Mekong

dolphins were shot for target practice or hunted like their relatives the whale

for oil to grease weapons of war. & nbsp;

& #8220;Khmer Rouge soldiers killed dolphins to use the oil in their motor

boats, & #8221; said Touch Seang Tana. & nbsp;

The killing continued under successive regimes that ruled Cambodia after the

Khmer Rouge, said Seam Kin, deputy director of fisheries in Kratie province

& #8211; the last large dolphin habitat in Cambodia. & nbsp;

To catch fish, Cambodians & #8211; who after years of warfare had more weapons

than fishing nets & #8211; have lobbed hand grenades into rivers or shot electric

currents through the water, killing dolphins in the process. Many more were

trapped accidentally in fishing nets. But mythology and taboo have always

prevented them being hunted as food to extinction. & nbsp;

Fisherman Seng Roeun casts his net from the cramped confines of his boat

hollowed from the trunk of a giant tree. Late in April the catch is good said

Seng Roeun, 36, and though dolphins are blamed for eating too many fish, locals

never intentionally kill the revered creatures. & nbsp;

There is a Cambodia story of a fair maiden who cast herself into the swirling

Mekong River to escape an arranged marriage to a giant magical python. She was

swallowed by the river, but soon returned as the giant mermaid-like dolphin with

human-size eyes, wide smile and enchanting sonorous sounds. & nbsp;

But there is more reward for protecting dolphins than just good luck, said Seng

Roeun, who now earns a princely US$5 (RM19) each day taking groups of young

backpacking tourists out in his boat to see the dolphins. & nbsp;

In a country where many subsist on less than US$1 (RM3.80) a day, the modest

amounts of money spent by the tourists has become key in local dolphin

conservation efforts. & nbsp;

& #8220;We must protect the dolphins, they improve our living conditions, & #8221;

said 25-year-old fisherman Pho Phal. & nbsp;

Bonding dolphins, visitors and local fishing communities was the brainchild of

aid organisation Oxfam, which began dolphin conservation in 1996 in Kratie and

further north in Stung Treng province in 1998. & nbsp;

Dolphin numbers are now stable in both provinces, said Oxfam & #8217;s Sam

Sovanna. But the threat to the aquatic mammals is far from gone. & nbsp;

Danger looms from events unfolding beyond Cambodia & #8217;s borders upstream and

downstream in the Mekong and its tributaries where Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and

China have built or are planning dozens of hydroelectric dams. & nbsp;

The concrete barriers provide vast areas with electricity but also block the

primordial patterns of fish migration and the river & #8217;s seasonal ebb and

flow that synchronises the cycle of fish breeding and spawning. & nbsp;

Cambodians and Irrawaddy dolphins alike rely on those fish for food, and in the

dry season the Mekong river is now dropping to levels unknown before in

Cambodia, said Chhlorm Yeng, project manager for Oxfam & #8217;s community

fisheries project in Stung Treng. & nbsp;

& #8220;If the water is low, the fish will go and the dolphins cannot

feed, & #8221; Chhlorm Yeng said. & nbsp;

Says Oxfam & #8217;s Sam Sovanna: & #8220;When there is no water, there are no

fish. With no fish, there are no dolphins. & #8221; & #8211; Reuters & nbsp;

Related Stories:

<a

href= " /lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2002/7/16/features/chinadolphin2 & sec=features " >\

On a rescue mission</a>

& nbsp;

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