Irrawaddy dolphins triple in protected area: survey

MyanmarTimes: Irrawaddy dolphins triple in protected area: survey
A RECENT survey has found the number of Irrawaddy dolphins living in a protected area on the Ayeyarwady River has almost tripled in the past eight years.

The Irrawaddy Dolphin Protected Area was established in December 2005, spanning a 74-kilometre stretch of the river near Mandalay, from Kyaukmyaung and Singu townships in the north to Mingun in the south.

“The Irrawaddy dolphin population has increased gradually, year by year, between Kyaukmyaung and Mingun. We found 32 in 2002 but this had increased to about 90 in 2010,” said U Mya Than Tun, deputy director general of the Department of Fisheries.

“We conduct twice-monthly patrols in the protected area. On the patrols the project team conducts educational outreach activities, research on dolphin behaviour and fisheries, enforces the prohibition on illegal fishing techniques, and monitors the status of the dolphins and threats to their conservation,” he said.

In another positive sign for the critically endangered species, U Mya Than Tun said several hundred more Irrawaddy dolphins had been found in coastal areas. A survey of the entire Ayeyarwady River, conducted by the department, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Forestry Department and University of Yangon in Myanmar in 2002, found Irrawaddy dolphins living in a 400-kilometre stretch between Bhamo and Mingun. In 2010, the department and WCS conducted survey activities into Gulf of Martaban area of the Ayeyarwady delta; Rakhine coastal areas, including the Mayu River, Kaladan River and Laymyoe River; and the Myeik Archipelago, especially Thameehla Island.

“In Sittwe, especially in areas with a mix of fresh and salt water, we found quite a few Irrawaddy dolphins; we estimate there are about 100 in Rakhine coastal areas,” said WCS coordinator U Aung Myo Chit, adding almost 100 dolphins had been spotted in both the Ayeyarwady delta and Myeik archipelago.

“Many of these were found in ‘no fishing areas’ defined by local monks, who order residents not to catch fish within 300 metres of the compound of a monastery situated on the bank of a river,” he said.

However, U Aung Myo Chit said protected areas and education programs needed to be extended into these areas to ensure the species’ survival.

“We need more funding to extend protected areas and educate people about why it’s important to conserve Irrawaddy dolphins. We have only been able to establish one protected area so far,” he said.

“One of the successes of our education programs in this region has been that local residents now know to contact the Department of Fisheries when they find a dead dolphin,” he said. “We then research its morphology; feeding and cause of death.

“But most residents of delta and coastal regions don’t even know what a dolphin is – they think it’s some kind of big fish – because we haven’t conducted education programs in these areas,” he said.

U Mya Than Tun said there were several causes for the decline in the Irrawaddy dolphin population in modern times, including destructive fishing practices and gold mining operations. Rising sea levels and the deforestation of watershed areas of the Ayeyarwady River also had a negative impact, he said.

“I think dolphins have less time to socialise – they have to spend more time searching for food because the number of fish has decreased in some areas,” he said.

The Irrawaddy dolphin is one of 32 dolphin species globally and one of seven found in Myanmar. It is considered critically endangered.

The dolphins live not only in Myanmar but also in other areas of South and Southeast Asia, particularly the murky waters of rivers and estuaries.