Near Kratie, a town on the Mekong River in northern Cambodia conservation officials are expressing concern that overzealous fishermen, hoping to cash in on wet season fish migration, are netting endangered Irawaddy dolphin calves.

“Two baby dolphins weighing about 10 kilograms each died from gill net deployments in February and March. Last year only one dolphin died from illegal netting,” Touch Seang Tana, chairman of the government’s Commission for Conservation and Development of Eco-tourism in the Mekong Dolphin Zone explained. “We have arrested two fishermen in connection with the deaths and subsequently confiscated their illegal fishing equipment and educated them prior to their release,” he said.

Traditionally, there is an increase of gill net deployment in the lead up to the wet season, with fisherman hoping to capitalise on fish moving into the new waterways created by the rains. “We have launched a new crackdown until the end of next month, arresting fishermen who use illegal techniques such as dynamiting, electric fishing and gill netting - however I still predict that we will lose one or two more dolphins because our patrols are restricted by limited resources,” Touch Seang Tana said.

The global conservation group WWF recently estimated Cambodia’s Irrawaddy dolphin population living between Kratie and southern Laos at between 76 and 86. In 2005, a similar study by WWF estimated the number to be between 108 and 146. In 2004, Cambodia’s dolphins were listed as a critically endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. WWF last year noted an increase in calf mortality and a decrease in birth rate being among several factors reducing the population.

For tours to Kratie and to spot the Irawaddy dolphins contact: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from Phnom Penh Post (1-5-09)